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SC01 - Appendix 1
16 Jun 2016
Yes
-  

 

 

STFC Lone working standards

No

​​​​​​​​

 
​Lone workers should not be put at significantly more risk than those working with others. This Appendix sets out the minimum controls to be employed when undertaking risk assessments and managing work where lone working is necessary. These do not apply in emergency situations where life is at risk.

Lone working must not be undertaken where there is a reasonably foreseeable risk that the work might result in a SHE Incident.

Special attention should be paid to assessing the risk for the following classes of personnel working alone, these are:

  • Individuals for whom Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) are required (SC32 - Fire and Emergency Management). Such individuals should not undertake lone working unless the controls detailed in the PEEP can be provided at all times; and
  • Personnel under 19 years of age.
ClassificationActivity
Lone working permitted
Standard office work or IT use, experimental data manipulation/ analysis and movement around site.
Routine inspections/tours conducted out of hours for example by site security; estates teams; or those manning scientific facilities.
Lone working permitted
Subject to:
lone working controls detailed in Risk Assessments, including the provision of either automatic lone worker monitoring / alarm system; or
systems of periodic (at least hourly) contact established through visits, telephone or radio communication etc. 		Familiar/normal/routine laboratory or workshop operations that have been assessed as having low risk. Where the direct presence of co-workers is not a prescribed, or universally anticipated active control measure.
Lone working NOT permitted

Work in confined spaces or areas where there is a potential risk of asphyxiation or exposure to toxic gases. A factor in determining areas where there is a potential risk of asphyxiation may be the presence of oxygen depletion or toxic gas monitoring systems/alarms which do not fail safe automatically isolating the source of the hazard see STFC SHE Code 11: Work in confined spaces and STFC SHE Code 3: Safe use of cryogenic materials.

Working on or near exposed live LV and HV electrical conductors, see STFC SHE Code 34: Electrical safety.

Live culture microbiology involving pathogens above Hazard Group 2, see STFC SHE Code 16: Biological Safety - unless contained within suitably assessed Microbiological Safety Cabinet (BioCoSHH required)​.
Live culture microbiology involving pathogens above Hazard Group 2, see STFC SHE Code 16: Biological Safety - unless contained within suitably assessed Microbiological Safety Cabinet (BioCoSHH required).

Work at height, see STFC SHE Code 9: Working at height.

Working involving certain classes of work equipment to be determined by risk assessment, see STFC SHE Code 4: Safety and safe use of work equipment on the provision and use of work equipment, including but not limited to:

  • the use of ladders which cannot be secured and require footing (this does not include step ladders below 1.5m in height);
  • Working at height utilising fall arrest equipment;
  • the erection of scaffolding;
  • workshop machining equipment  e.g. lathes or other similar;
  • Workshop machinery unless subject to Senior Line Manager reviewed Risk Assessment (SC06);
  • Work in labs or workshops by apprentices or work experience students; or
  • Persons where lone working may increase risk to health or safety through underlying health conditions.

Complex lifting operations, see STFC SHE Code 26: Safe use of lifting equipment and lifting accessories;

Unfamiliar/non routine work with class 3b or 4 lasers, see STFC SHE Code 22: Working with lasers;

or Work in laboratories or workshops by apprentices or work experience students.

It is not possible to detail all chemicals and their toxicity levels for which lone working would be a significant hazard. Such chemicals widely exist at non-toxic levels in their pure form, as complex materials, compounds, mixtures and in chemical processes/reactions, and are subject to the controls detailed in STFC SHE Code 37: COSHH.

The following conditions for chemical lone working are necessarily a pragmatic compromise:

Lone working is prohibited with the following chemicals and their functional derivatives, where they are or could be encountered at levels where they can cause harm, unless the COSHH risk assessments for working with these chemicals has been subject to review by an independent competent person approved by SHE Group.

Specific chemicals:

  • Carbon Monoxide (CO);
  • Cyanide (CN);
  • Arsenic (As);
  • Fluorine gas (F);
  • Hydrofluoric Acid (HF); and
  • Chromium Cr(VI);

Chemicals whose Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) include the following GHS hazard and precautionary statements:

  • H200: Unstable explosive;
  • H201: Explosive; mass explosion hazard;
  • H202: Explosive: severe projection hazard;
  • H203: Explosive: fire, blast or projection hazard;
  • H204: Fire or projection hazard;
  • H240: Heating may cause explosion;
  • H241: Heating may cause a fire or explosion;
  • H300: Fatal if swallowed;
  • H304: May be fatal if swallowed;
  • H310: Fatal in contact with skin;
  • H314: Causes severe skin burns and eye damage;
  • H318: Causes serious eye damage;
  • H330: Fatal if inhaled.
  • P310: Immediately call a POISON CENTRE/Doctor;
  • P311: Call a POISON CENTRE/Doctor;
  • P312: Call a POISON CENTRE/Doctor;
  • P315: Get immediate medical advice/attention;
  • P340: Remove person to fresh air and keep comfortable breathing; and
  • P361: Take off immediately all contaminated clothing.

 

Contact: SHE Web Administrator

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