Every organisation is different. Each has its own nuances and special requirements and this is true for every division or department too. It’s unlikely given the variation across different areas of an organisation that every employee risk profile will be the same, as employees working in different areas will also face different types and levels of risk. So how can an organisation ensure they provide the right lone working system for every employee, without breaking the bank?
Firstly it’s important to segment the risk levels for each employee (or group) into Low, Medium and High Risk categories.
There are different monitoring options available for employee and lone worker protection solutions – some more expensive than others – so these options can be matched to the appropriate risk rating. When we talk about monitoring options we mean where the SOS alarms are routed to, and how they will be dealt with. These are our recommendations for matching risk level to monitoring:
High risk employee
Recommended lone working system: 24/7/365 Monitoring by a BS8484 accredited alarm receiving centre.
This monitoring option guarantees the alarm will be dealt with rapidly by highly trained professionals who have the capability to facilitate a priority Police response to the employee’s location, putting them above the 999 queue.
Medium risk employee
Recommended lone working system: Internal company resource.
Dependent on your organisation you may have a security operations centre, control room, call handling centre etc. – people who monitor screens and have the capability to react to an SOS alarm. They can facilitate a company-based response or direct the emergency services to attend the employee’s GPS location.
Low risk employee
Recommended lone working system: 3 emergency contacts.
Employees can use lone worker smartphone applications to register their own choice of emergency contacts that would be alerted in the event of an activation.
It’s also important to acknowledge the type of risks most common to a group e.g. risks of violence and aggression, environmental related risks, medical related risks etc.
Different risks require different types of lone working systems. Here are some of our top tips for the most common risks:
Violence and aggression – Ensure the employee has access to an SOS alarm they can trigger in the event of an emergency. This should be something that can be activated easily and discreetly, and it should be something the employee will remember to carry and that will always be ready to use. We recommend pairing a lone working app with a Bluetooth SOS trigger device. A Bluetooth device should last at least 12 months without being charged and should be attached to something the employee will always carry with them e.g. clipped to lanyard or keys.
Medical – If an employee has any medical concerns or existing conditions, as well as an SOS trigger the user should make use of fall detection capability; for example a lone working app can sense the motion and impact of a person falling or collapsing, and automatically raise an alarm.
Environmental – If an employee is working alone they may face a range of risks based on the different environments they are working in. To ensure safety, a timed period should be set for either a specific high risk task or for regular safety confirmations during a shift. If the employee should have confirmed safety by a specific point in time and fails to do this, then an escalation process will be triggered to ensure the safety of that individual.
For more information on protecting employees across your organisation get in touch with Pick Protection today.