Working Alone
Working alone or in isolation means to work in situations where assistance would not be readily available to you in case of an emergency or in the event that you are injured or in ill health.
At TRU, most employees and students are not in a situation where they are working alone or in isolation.
What you need to work alone or in isolation
TRU’s responsibility
WorkSafe BC requires that employers develop a written procedure and implement controls to minimize the risk of injury when employees are required to work alone or in isolation.
Although this these procedures are required for employees, it is highly recommended that any students working alone on campus follow them as well.
» Download TRU’s Working Alone Program
Supervisor/manager responsibilities
Prior to allowing employees to work alone or in isolation:
- Determine if the work situation meets the definition of working alone or in isolation. If the employees work alone or in isolation as per the above definition, review the work alone program to verify applicability and reference the general risk assessment to determine if they can work alone.
- If yes, in consultation with the worker(s), complete a risk assessment. The risk assessment identifies the hazards and outlines the mitigation controls.
- Create a procedure for checking in on the worker(s) while they work alone or in isolation. In this procedure, outline the check-in intervals as per the risk assessment and outline the steps that need to be taken if a worker cannot be reached.
Employee/worker responsibility
All employees who are required to work alone/in isolation are required to review TRU's Working Alone Program, discuss/coordinate with their supervisor, and follow check in procedures.
Understanding general risk levels at TRU
Some jobs and roles cannot work alone or in isolation, due the increased risk of injury. Additionally, some departments have prohibited their employees from working alone and this eliminates the need to complete a risk assessment and procedure.
The Office of Safety and Emergency Management has competed a high-level general risk assessment, which outlines the general risk levels (low to high) of TRU work activities/environments. Use this document, along with the working alone program to determine if your work environment/department or task requires working alone protocols.
Please note, exceptions may exist and these need to have further evaluation and discussion, please contact osem@tru.ca if you require further evaluation.
Check-in tools
OSEM recommends the TRUSafe WorkAlone module in the TRUSafe app. This module provides employees and supervisors with an easy, effective tool to ensure worker wellbeing during their time working alone.
If you don’t see the WorkAlone button on the main TRUSafe page, please update your TRUSafe app.
» Download the TRUSafe WorkAlone Module Guide
If the module is not being used, then the process outlined in option 2 in the completed check-in procedure is to be followed, as outlined in the Working Alone Program.
Additional methods for checking the wellbeing of the worker, is through two-way communication. These methods can include:
- MS Teams
- Text messages
- Zoom
- Phone calls
Contact osem@tru.ca for more details or if you require assistance in implementing the working alone requirements.
