A factory can have hundreds of employees and still have lone workers. A technician checking a pump in a separate building, an operative counting stock in a quiet bay or a cleaner working after production ends may all spend time without immediate support.
Recognising these situations is the first step towards managing lone working on industrial sites.
What Is Lone Working?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines lone workers as “those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision”.
On an industrial site, this can include people working separately from colleagues within the same building. They do not need to be the only person on the premises.
Lone working can be temporary. An employee might spend most of a shift alongside a team, then work alone during an inspection, stock check or maintenance task.
Who Could Be a Lone Worker on Your Industrial Site?
Look at where work happens and when help is available, as well as the employee’s role.
| Working situation | Why lone working may be overlooked |
|---|---|
| A maintenance engineer checking a compressor house | The production team is on site, but in another building. |
| A stock controller counting steel sections in a storage bay | Stacked material separates the worker from colleagues. |
| An operative inspecting equipment on another floor | People are nearby horizontally, but access is via a different staircase. |
| A cleaner working after a line shuts down | A normally occupied area has become quiet. |
| A contractor inspecting a plant room | The contractor’s location and expected return may not be known to the site team. |
For a visual introduction to the topic, see our LinkedIn post: Who is a lone worker?.
How to Recognise Lone Working
Walk through the site during different shifts and ask employees about the tasks that take them away from their team. Include contractors, temporary staff, cleaning and shutdown work.
For each task, ask:
- Would someone notice an incident? Consider machinery noise, obstructed views, separate rooms and different levels.
- Could the worker request help? Check whether communication works where the task takes place.
- Would someone know where to find them? A department name may not identify the building, bay or floor.
- What happens if they do not return? Establish who notices a missed check-in or an overdue task.
- Can the task safely be done alone? Assess the hazards, the worker’s competence and the assistance required.
A radio or phone can support contact, but its presence alone does not establish that lone working is safe.
Why Does Recognising Lone Workers Matter on your industrial site?
A slip, injury or sudden illness can become more serious when nobody is available to notice it and organise assistance. A colleague working in the next building may not know anything has happened.
The assessment must therefore consider both the task’s hazards and the consequences of delayed help.
What Should Employers Do Next?
Once lone working situations are identified, assess whether they can be avoided or reorganised. Where lone working is appropriate, establish suitable training, supervision, contact and emergency arrangements.
HSE’s guidance for Great Britain requires employers to manage risks to lone workers, keep in touch with them and respond to incidents. It also identifies high-risk activities that require additional people.
Record the task, location, responsible contact and response to a missed check-in. Review these arrangements when layouts, staffing or working patterns change.
Start with the work people actually do throughout their shift. That is where less obvious lone working situations are often found.
Yes. An employee may be a lone worker when working beyond colleagues’ sight or hearing, even if hundreds of people are on site. This could include inspecting equipment on another floor, checking a separate plant room or counting stock in an isolated storage bay.
Review tasks across all shifts, including maintenance, cleaning and contractor activities. Ask whether someone would notice an incident, whether the worker could request help and whether responders would know where to find them. Include occasional tasks that take employees away from their usual team.
