| Your Safety Matters | | | | where they cannot be seen or heard and will not be |
| This information letter is distributed to those people | | | | visited by another worker for some time. This can |
| who are ensuring that their workplace is safe and | | | | occur in any workplace. |
| healthy. This includes members of OHS Committees, | | | | The time in which the employee will be alone may |
| OHS Representatives, Safety Officers,Supervisors, | | | | only be quite short but nevertheless could result in a |
| Managers and Directors. "Your Safety Matters" | | | | tragedy. |
| (formerly "Committee Member") is free information | | | | An emergency situation may arise because of a |
| letter which has been distributed since 1996. | | | | medical condition, an accidental work-related injury or |
| At work Alone | | | | because the employee is attacked by an intruder or |
| In some instances an employee has to work alone | | | | member of the general public. You may have an |
| and that in itself could create a risk that has not | | | | employee who works in an area of your workplace |
| been anticipated. | | | | where there are no other employees, or perhaps you |
| Some years ago an employee was working alone on | | | | have an employee who works when everyone else |
| the weekend at a water reservoir. The full details of | | | | has gone home. |
| this tragic incident are not known but apparently he | | | | If you have an employee who works alone, a risk |
| fell into the reservoir and drowned. No one was there | | | | assessment should be carried out and steps taken to |
| to hear his cries for help and render assistance. There | | | | control any risks involved in that situation. |
| were safety buoys nearby but nobody was there to | | | | WorkSafe in Western Australia has published a useful |
| throw one to the drowning man. | | | | checklist of factors that may increase risk for people |
| When we think of people working alone we tend to | | | | who work alone, on page 4 of their Working Alone |
| think of an employee who is in an isolated location | | | | Guide. You can download a copy of this via our |
| such as an employee on a farm, a geologist doing a | | | | website at |
| survey, or an employee in a forest operation. | | | | This publication provides general information about |
| However isolation itself is not the basic factor that | | | | ohs. It is not a legal opinion and does not represent a |
| creates the risk. | | | | comprehensive statement of the law to be applied |
| The risk arises because someone is working alone | | | | to a particular problem. |