5 Steps to Improve Lone Worker Safety and Workplace Safety Compliance (Easy Guide for Employers)
Working alone is part of many jobs. Security guards, mobile patrol staff, maintenance workers, cleaners, delivery drivers, field technicians, healthcare workers, and after-hours employees may spend some or all of their shifts without another person nearby.
That independence can create additional safety concerns. If a worker becomes injured, faces violence, experiences a medical emergency, or cannot communicate, help may not be immediately available.
A practical lone worker safety program helps employers stay connected with their teams and respond when something changes. It also supports workplace safety compliance by showing that your organization identifies hazards, provides instruction, maintains communication, and reviews its procedures.
The following five steps can help you build a clear and manageable lone worker program.
1. Identify lone workers and assess their hazards
Start by identifying every role where a worker may be out of sight or sound of another person. This includes employees who work alone for an entire shift and those who only work in isolation for short periods.
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) notes that lone workers can include security guards, drivers, cleaners, custodians, field workers, home-care workers, retail employees, and many others.
Look beyond job titles. Consider:
✓ Where does each worker perform their duties?
✓ How long might they be alone?
✓ What time of day or night do they work?
✓ Do they travel between locations?
✓ Can they reliably communicate from the work area?
✓ What would happen if they became injured or ill?
✓ Could they encounter violence, hazardous equipment, extreme weather, or unsafe individuals?
Common hazards may include falls, vehicle breakdowns, hazardous products, machinery, confined spaces, working at heights, medical emergencies, and interactions with the public.
Speak directly with your workers during the assessment. They often understand practical risks that may not appear in a written job description. Ask about near misses, communication problems, difficult locations, and tasks that feel unsafe when performed alone.
Then decide whether each activity can be completed safely by one person. Some high-risk work may require two workers, additional supervision, schedule changes, or different controls.
A documented assessment gives you a stronger foundation for both safety improvements and workplace safety compliance.
2. Create a clear lone worker policy
Once you understand the risks, put your expectations in writing. A lone worker policy does not need to be complicated. It needs to be clear enough that workers, supervisors, and managers understand what to do.
Your policy should explain:
✓ Who your organization considers a lone worker
✓ Which tasks and locations allow lone work
✓ Which activities require additional support or are not permitted alone
✓ What controls workers must use
✓ When workers must check in
✓ Who monitors check-ins
✓ What happens after a missed check-in
✓ How workers trigger emergency assistance
✓ How incidents and near misses are reported
✓ How the policy will be reviewed and updated
Assign specific responsibilities. For example, a worker may be responsible for checking in and reporting hazards. A supervisor may manage schedules and confirm that procedures are followed. A designated contact may monitor alerts and start the response process.
Your policy should also connect with your existing workplace violence, emergency response, first aid, and incident reporting procedures. In Ontario, employers should review their responsibilities under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and related workplace violence requirements. The City of Toronto’s Working Alone Safely policy provides one example of how working-alone expectations can be organized.
Keep the policy accessible. Include it in onboarding, review it during refresher training, and update it when work locations, equipment, staffing, or identified hazards change.
A written policy gives your team a consistent process instead of leaving decisions to chance.
3. Set check-in schedules and missed check-in alerts
Regular communication is one of the simplest ways to improve lone worker safety. A check-in confirms that a worker is where they are expected to be and able to continue working.
The schedule should match the level of risk. A low-risk worker may check in at the start and end of a shift, while a worker handling a higher-risk task may need more frequent contact. Consider check-ins when a worker:
✓ Starts a shift
✓ Arrives at a site
✓ Changes location
✓ Begins a higher-risk task
✓ Takes a scheduled break
✓ Finishes work or leaves the site
✓ Encounters a hazard or unusual situation
Do not create a schedule that is so frequent or difficult that workers stop following it. The goal is to make communication reliable and practical.
Your process must also explain what happens when a check-in is missed. A simple escalation sequence could be:
- Send a reminder or contact the worker.
- Contact the supervisor or backup person.
- Review the worker’s last known location and work assignment.
- Follow the emergency policy.
- Contact emergency services when the situation meets the defined criteria.
The designated responder should know how long to wait, who to call, and when to escalate. They should also have access to relevant information, such as the worker’s location, shift schedule, vehicle details, emergency contacts, and site instructions.
Keeping records of check-ins, missed alerts, responses, and incidents supports accountability. It also helps you identify patterns. For example, repeated missed check-ins at one site may indicate poor cellular coverage, an unrealistic schedule, or a process that needs adjustment.
4. Provide emergency response training
Technology and written procedures work best when people know how to use them. Train lone workers and the people responsible for monitoring them.
Training should cover:
✓ The hazards connected to each role and location
✓ The organization’s lone worker policy
✓ Check-in expectations and missed check-in procedures
✓ Panic buttons and other emergency communication tools
✓ How to report incidents, hazards, and near misses
✓ How to respond to violence, injury, illness, vehicle trouble, and environmental hazards
✓ When to stop work and request assistance
✓ What supervisors and designated responders must do
Practice matters. Run simple exercises so workers can follow the process without confusion. Test a missed check-in. Practice triggering an alert. Review how the response team receives information and confirms the worker’s status.
Our approach at RIPS is shaped by real-world emergency response experience. Matthew Kelly is an active volunteer with Ontario Mine Rescue and provides regular emergency response training to RIPS guards based on that experience. Mine Rescue training reinforces the importance of preparation, clear communication, teamwork, and calm decision-making.
That practical experience supports the way we approach security, protection, and lone worker monitoring. A policy should not only look complete on paper. Your team should be able to use it when conditions are busy, uncertain, or stressful.
Review training after incidents, near misses, staff changes, and significant changes to the work environment. Short refreshers can help keep the process familiar.
5. Use the right lone worker monitoring app
A lone worker monitoring app can bring your check-ins, alerts, schedules, emergency policies, and reports into one place. It should support your safety plan rather than replace it.
When choosing a solution, look for features that match your workers’ actual needs:
✓ Scheduled check-in intervals
✓ Reminders and missed check-in alerts
✓ A panic button for quick assistance
✓ Incident and hazard reporting
✓ Emergency policies with assigned response steps
✓ Worker schedules and site information
✓ Reports for managers and clients
✓ Location information where appropriate and permitted
✓ A simple interface that workers can use without extra complexity
At RIPS Investigation and Protection Services, we provide lone worker monitoring supported by RIPS Safety. The app helps workers check in on schedule, trigger an alert when needed, submit incident reports, and follow assigned emergency policies.
Managers can use tools such as guard schedules, site reports, client dashboards, and real-time visibility to stay informed. This is especially useful for organizations managing multiple workers, sites, shifts, or mobile assignments.
RIPS Safety can support a broader service plan that includes professional security personnel, patrols, guard management, alerts, and emergency response. That combination helps connect everyday monitoring with trained human support.
We also offer a family-dedicated plan for loved ones who want additional peace of mind when someone they care about works alone.
Technology should be simple to adopt. Workers need to understand when to check in, how to request help, and what happens after an alert. Managers need clear information and a response process they can follow consistently.
Improve safety with a practical process
Lone worker safety and workplace safety compliance become more manageable when your organization follows a consistent process:
✓ Identify who works alone and what hazards they face.
✓ Create a written policy with clear responsibilities.
✓ Set check-in schedules and define missed check-in responses.
✓ Train workers, supervisors, and responders.
✓ Use RIPS Safety and other appropriate tools to support monitoring and reporting.
No system removes every workplace risk. However, a clear program helps your team stay visible, communicate concerns, and get support when it matters. It also gives managers better information for reviewing incidents and improving procedures.
If you would like to review your organization’s lone worker needs, get in touch with RIPS Investigation and Protection Services. We can discuss lone worker monitoring, security services, guard and site management, emergency policies, and how RIPS Safety may fit into your current safety plan.
For additional guidance, review the CCOHS resource on working alone and consult the requirements that apply in your province, territory, or industry.