Purpose
The purpose of the Working Alone or in Isolation Program is to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (OHSR) (Section 4.21-4.23), provide a documented record for checking the well-being of a worker, and ensure the safety of the worker assigned to work alone or in isolation. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to confirm that workers understand and follow this procedure.
Scope
This program applies to all KPU employees working alone or in isolation at KPU campuses. Refer to the ‘Working Remotely’ for workers who are remote or off-site campus.
Definitions
Emergency Contact: Refers to the person responsible for checking in on a worker working alone or in isolation. In most cases, this is should be the worker’s supervisor.
Risk Assessment: The process where hazards are identified, their risk evaluated, and controls for the risk are determined to eliminate the hazard or minimize the risk
Supervisor: Refers to the person directly responsible for overseeing the tasks of the worker and often is the one who has assigned the worker to work alone or in isolation
Worker: Refers to all employees of KPU including faculty, staff, and paid students
Working Alone or in Isolation: Means to work in circumstances where assistance would not be readily available to the worker
- in case of an emergency, or
- in case the worker is injured or in ill health
General Requirements
What does it mean to work alone? Examples of working alone on campus are:
You are required to come into work (as directed by your supervisor), prior to others, or stay late, or work on evenings/weekends. This does not include Faculty who are actively instructing a class OR those who are normally scheduled for extended hours (unless they are supposed to be all alone in a building or far enough from others that they could not be reasonably alerted).
Working by yourself (e.g., no one else in the building with you) in a building, even during “work hours,” and no one could reasonably provide assistance.
What is not considered working alone? Examples of what is NOT considered working alone:
When you are working, during regular hours, and there may not be other people in the immediate vicinity. (e.g., when working in a lab, or office space and there is not someone in the room with you, but there are people in other locations within the building/office/department within a reasonable distance or there is frequent access/movement through the area). Working in by yourself on a task, but others are in the area, (e.g., completing maintenance work, but others are in the building).
Responsibilities
Supervisor
- Complete a Risk Assessment as required by WorkSafeBC before a worker is assigned work alone or in isolation.
- Ensure employees are fully trained in all aspects of the working alone protocol
- Determine Frequency of check-in intervals based on the level of risk for work alone or isolation situation
Employees
- Ensure you have prior approval from your supervisor to work alone.
- Employees must ensure they understand and follow the working alone protocols.
- Set up their working alone contact through KPUSafe App – as per the program requirements.
- Do not work alone when prohibited to do so.
- Report concerns their supervisor.
Occupational Health and Safety Team
- Develop and maintain the Working Alone Program.
- Provide oversite and support for the program.
- Provide support as required to Supervisors in completing their Risk Assessment.
Working Alone Protocol Using the KPU SAFE App
In most cases working alone requirements will not apply to many employees on campus since assistance is readily available through the presence of others and the work is considered low hazard.
Every effort must be made to ensure employees are not working alone or in isolation.
When working alone on campus KPU has implemented working alone protocols through the KPU Safe App to enhance the personal safety of faculty and staff when they are working alone or in isolations.
Please note it is important that you notify your supervisor first if you intend to work outside of regular work hours and will be working alone on campus.
If you are required to work alone or in isolation for all or parts of your shift, you must notify your supervisor to coordinate a working alone plan.
The working alone plan on the KPU Safe App would include:
- establishing a regular time interval between "check ins",
- identifying a duration of working alone period, and
- Knowing follow-up procedure in case the employee cannot be contacted.
The Working Alone feature on the KPU Safe app will allow you to start a session for the duration of your work alone period. Your emergency contact and Surrey Security Office is notified of your current location and contact information when you begin your work alone session.
Important: If you fail to check-in within a 5-minute period, the app will make an outbound call to your emergency contact. Afterwards, the app will also contact Surrey Security Office letting them know you’ve failed to check in.
In the event the worker does not check in the following occurs.
Emergency Contact will contact the worker directly to verify they are safe:
- If contact is made, and the worker is okay no furthers steps have to be taken
- If contact is made, and the worker is in distress or unwell, the emergency contact will call 9-1-1 if it is an emergency and then Campus Security. The emergency contact can contact Campus security if it is not an emergency.
- If the emergency contact cannot contact the worker, they will contact Campus Security.
- If emergency contact misses the alert notifying them the worker has not checked in. Surrey Campus Security will be notified. They will attempt to contact the employee and if unsuccessful they will request the local Campus Security to check-in at designated working alone location as identified through the App.
If you have any questions, concerns or feedback regarding this service, please contact Kevin Biln, Manager, Campus Security Ops @ 604-599-3485 (email: kevin.biln@kpu.ca) or OHS at ohs@kpu.ca.
Always advise Security when you’re working alone on campus!!
Resources