I work the night shift at a brewery with two owners and myself as a paid employee. Is my solo night work in violation of any safety standards?

While we know of no OSHA general industry standards on the topic, solo work is inherently more dangerous and something you should try to avoid.

The Safety Exchange Says: Hopefully your brewery will join the ranks of craft breweries that prohibit solo work. Until then, first identify higher risk tasks and schedule these to be done when a coworker capable of helping in an emergency is present. If you still need to be alone in the brewery, consider one or more of these helpful ideas:

• Limit the length of the shift or the time someone might be alone.
• Develop a check in procedure – several times throughout the shift the solo worker must call someone and “check in”, ensuring they are ok.
• Require the lone worker to have a fully charged cell phone on their person at all times.
• Wear a “man down” motion sensor that can alarm locally or call out to central alarm station.
• Install a panic button (think of a senior who has “fallen and can’t get up”).
• Install a watchman system that if not tripped every so often will call for help.