It is a winter’s morning on the reservoir. A worker stands on the embankment, the wind cutting through layers of thermal clothing. He is there to inspect the outflow valves – an unglamorous but vital task that keeps millions of litres of water in check. He is, however, alone – with no colleagues to help him if he slips, and none to hear him call for help should a gust of wind send him tumbling below.
Sadly, this scenario is not a flight of fancy, but a daily reality in the waterways sector, where vast expanses of remote infrastructure demand boots on the ground. From maintenance engineers assessing the structural integrity of sluice gates to technicians clearing debris from spillways, lone working has long been the norm in the industry. Yet, as the moral, legal, reputational and financial ramifications of inadequate safety measures move even further into the spotlight, leaders must ask, ‘are we doing enough to protect our workers?’.
Accountability
In the United Kingdom, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 establishes a bedrock principle: employers, including dam and water utility operators, must do whatever is ‘reasonably practicable’ to safeguard their workforce. This duty of care applies equally to the lone employee trudging up a saturated embankment as it does to an entire shift team based at headquarters. And if your organisation is found wanting, the penalties under the Act can be severe, ranging from fines that run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds to criminal charges for senior managers.
Compounding that, legal and moral risks sow a reputational minefield that follows any serious workplace incident. In an age when environmental and social governance (ESG) metrics are increasingly under the spotlight, a lone-worker tragedy could tarnish your credentials in the eyes of investors, local authorities, and the broader community. One tragic accident can undo years, if not decades, of carefully nurtured goodwill, let alone damage investor relations and the balance sheet. The public does not soon forget an employer that places cost savings or expedience above the well-being of its people, particularly in sectors where safety is paramount.
When no news is bad news
For years, the industry’s approach to lone working was often limited to rudimentary methods: a phone call at the start or end of a shift, or a radio check-in at lunch. The assumption, one that was potentially lethal, was that silence meant everything was proceeding smoothly. If the technician atop the reservoir dam didn’t phone to report trouble, it was assumed there was none. But what if the phone was dropped in the reservoir basin, or the nearest signal mast was miles away?
As tasks grew more specialised and budgets tighter, the reliance on individual roving engineers or inspectors increased. Simultaneously, the potential scale of disaster loomed larger. A single slip near a raging sluice gate could become a fatal accident if nobody is there to witness it. A mere two hours might be enough for a treatable injury to become life-threatening. Waiting anxiously for a missed check-in could mean the window for rescue closes before it is even discovered that rescue is needed.
If moral duty and reputational risk are insufficient, the law leaves little room for doubt. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (Regulation 3) makes it crystal clear: each organisation must formally assess the risk to staff health and safety, including when they work alone. This is particularly acute in the water and dam sectors, where hazards multiply in remote settings: powerful water currents, heavy machinery, sudden changes in weather and ground conditions.
A question you might ask yourself: ‘If a worker faces a hazard in a certain area, does being alone amplify that hazard?’ If the answer is yes, and, in most dam environments, it often is, then additional controls are mandatory. This might mean bundling tasks in pairs or, more practically, providing high-grade safety gear and advanced communication technology to mitigate the absence of another pair of eyes.
Technology to the fore
Thankfully, the days of holding your breath until a lone worker ‘checks in’ are behind us. Advances in satellite communications, the Internet of Things (IoT) and ruggedised devices have revolutionised lone worker tracking. Indeed, technology now offers something closer to an active safety net, rather than the reactive approach seen in days past.
Now, many rugged satellite trackers are designed with water-resistant shells, extended battery life and an SOS function that operates in dead zones where your mobile won’t. An engineer cleaning debris from a dam outflow can carry a device that transmits location data and remains operational, irrespective of how hot or cold it is. If they require immediate attention, they can alert your control room with the click of a single button.
Furthermore, compact satellite units with two-way messaging are the Swiss-army knives of lone worker safety – portable, easy to use and able to handle remote communications where terrestrial signals are scarce. A technician inspecting a suspicious crack along the bank can not only send a distress signal, but can also receive instructions on how to proceed – turning a potentially frantic rescue operation into a coordinated response.
IoT plays a vital role with sensors fixed to gates or turbine housings that can relay real-time data about equipment health, water levels, or structural integrity. If a sensor flags an anomaly, your lone worker is immediately alerted and can investigate with caution rather than walking into a hidden danger. Meanwhile, control room operators remain in the loop, ready to intervene or send backup if the situation escalates.
All these measures do more than shield an individual from harm, they create a culture of safety that ripples through the entire workforce. Employees who know their employers have invested in modern safeguards often feel empowered to take initiative, raise concerns sooner, and adhere to best practice.
Weighing the cost
One might argue that outfitting every lone worker with advanced wearable tech and adopting new safety protocols seems costly. But consider the financial and human cost of a single major incident: lost time injuries, potential lawsuits, regulatory fines, project shutdowns, and a blow to your brand that can outlast a generation. For an industry as visible and critical as water management, where the public’s confidence is paramount, that is a gamble few can afford.
Moreover, robust lone-worker systems can dovetail seamlessly into broader operational improvements. Real-time data doesn’t just inform you about a worker’s whereabouts; it can reveal maintenance issues before they become breakdowns or highlight emerging structural concerns that might otherwise be overlooked. Efficient scheduling and resource allocation can follow, in turn potentially offsetting the initial investment.
The message couldn’t be clearer – when it comes to dams and waterways, ‘off grid’ must never mean ‘off the radar’. When the waters rise, the winds howl or the unforeseen arrives, a well-equipped team can respond. Preparedness, in this line of work, will forever remain the most valuable asset of all.
Ground Control
Established in 2002, Ground Control uses satellite and cellular technology to connect people and things, particularly within hard to reach, remote areas – from wind farms to fishing fleets and first responders to forestry workers. It designs and builds its own hardware covering the entire spectrum of connectivity requirements, with manufacturing facilities in the UK and the US.
The company’s long-term partnerships with airtime providers such as Inmarsat and Iridium mean that it has access to the most competitive and comprehensive airtime plans, taking full advantage of their service evolutions in ways that make Ground Control’s customers’ challenges easier to solve.
Ground Control was launched when three leading brands – US-based Ground Control, and UK-based Wireless Innovation and Rock Seven – united to create a leading-edge technology and service provider in satellite and IoT.
