GUIDE TO LONE WORKER SAFETY Which lone worker alarm devices are right for your environment and how to distribute alarm messages
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction - 4 Where should you start from? - 5 Different ways to protect staff working alone - 8 Different types of lone worker alarm systems - 11 Distributing alarm messages - 22 Conclusion - 27
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INTRODUCTION Lone Workers Alarms 4 There are an estimated 6.8 million lone workers in the UK. It s never been more important for employers to check how many of their workers operate in remote locations and isolated environments, as they have a duty to ensure that all of lone workers are supported with appropriate processes, procedures and technologies to mitigate risk and assure their safety. What exactly is a lone worker? By definition a lone worker is one who regularly works alone, without contact from another employee or supervision. As a result, these individuals are exposed to greater risk than employees who work side-by-side with others. There are many different types of lone workers, and some examples could include: Contractors whose work makes them travel a lot and/or takes them to remote locations. Employees who work different shifts than others, staying late or arriving early in order to complete their tasks. Forestry and agricultural workers who regularly work far from other people. Maintenance workers who come in to take care of problems, especially those that other employees aren t used to seeing on a regular basis. Managers who frequently walk around a plant or other dangerous areas alone, particularly if they do so out of routine or without checking in with others. Employees who work in the same team, but whose tasks routinely take them to separate areas of the workplace where they will no longer be in sight of one another Working alone can be extremely hazardous, when an accident occurs, you want everyone in the company to respond quickly. Not only do you want to be sure the employee is taken care of, you want to know that your company isn t liable for any damages that occur due to negligence. In this document you will learn what the best alarm systems are for your company in order to protect your lone workers, what the pros and cons are of the different devices and how to set up a good procedure for responding to an alarm.
WHERE SHOULD YOU START FROM? You want to protect staff that work alone but you are not too sure how? In this section you ll read about how to implement a lone worker alarm solution suitable for your business.
Lone Workers Alarms 6 When starting to look at the best way to protect your staff, you need to first evaluate your colleagues and the environment they work in to understand which alarm would be a best fit. There are three questions you should ask yourself first: Who are your lone workers and what are the potential hazards they face? Do they all work in the same department / team. Do they work in different environments, are they on or off site? If you know the risks they face it will be easier for you to identify the right solution to protect your lone workers. Additionally, each lone workers circumstances is different, so they should be addressed differently. How do they currently keep in touch with colleagues? For example, do they use mobile phones or radios for instance. If they don t carry any mobile comms device, are there any plans for them to do so? How would a mobile comms device help them in their current role? Could they become more efficient or productive if they were given one? Where do you want the alarm to go? There are several possibilities, like lone worker manager, lone worker colleagues or security if you have them. What you must realise is that people can be busy and there will be times that they simple cannot respond. Design the process to ensure that the alarm information goes to a group of people that can directly help the lone worker.
Lone Workers Alarms 7 CASE STUDY O-I, an international glass manufacturer, with a mid-sized plant that generally has mobile reception on site with many employees relying on mobile phones to fulfil their daily tasks (excluding the basement areas) A static lone worker system was available in a specific area of the Holzminden site, however, this relied on employees pressing a button every 15 minutes to confirm safety. Coming up with a solution, a key action was to identify the right technology platform and infrastructure for OI and a balance between the technological and financial aspects needed to be found. The company had good site-wide mobile GSM coverage so it made sense for ANT Telecom to enhance the existing solution. ANT Telecom provided lone workers with a smartphone that was fitted with a panic button and an application that could trigger automatic alarms (e.g. when detecting that the worker has fallen down). ANT s solution has lead to significant efficiency gains as machine issues can be detected as they happen. The issue can also be analysed immediately by the responsible engineer as alarm details are automatically sent. Overall this has meant faster resolution of issues and improved productivity. Plant manager Mr. Reiner Zinnecker made the following comments Together with the health and safety team we identified the issues we had and we wanted to provide better protection for all our employees. Prior to the consultancy provided by ANT, we felt unable to identify and agree on a suitable solution. Importantly, ANT came onto our Holzminden plant and carried out a thorough investigation and took me times to speak with our employees and management to get a full understanding of our lone worker challenges. By undertaking this exercise with all relevant stakeholders, they were not only able to identify the key issues but were also able to detect other areas of improvement. Our employees, especially lone workers, are now far better protected, but in addition the resolution of any machine issues has been greatly improved, leading to higher productivity. O-I and ANT worked together in the implementation and also consulted employees throughout the process, who themselves suggested the most suitable mobile device, which ANT consequently tested and installed. Employees have adapted well to the new lone worker solution, which works reliably 24/7. Our partnership with ANT was truly that; it was a fully collaborative process which engaged everyone within the organisation. We believe that this has been key to the project s success, concludes Reiner.
DIFFERENT WAYS TO PROTECT STAFF WORKING ALONE 3 different systems you can adopt to protect your lone workers and the pros and cons of each.
Lone Workers Alarms 9 1. DOUBLE MAN / BUDDY-BUDDY Always ensure each member of staff is accompanied by another. Pros: If one has an accident his/her colleague can call for help. Cons: It can be expensive especially if the job doesn t require two people. It can make scheduling work harder and delays can occur when a 2-man team isn t available. Staff still need a communication solution to call for help and in an emergency it is better to have a robust procedure in place to ensure help comes. 2. MANUAL CHECK CALLS This is a manual process that can be implemented. Calls are regularly made to each lone worker throughout the day to ensure that they are safe. Each call is recorded and if a lone worker isn t contactable on the 3rd attempt, an alarm is raised. Pros: It can be implemented straight away. Cons Not very robust or reliable. There s always a long gap in between each call when the lone worker isn t protected. Difficult and time consuming to check if calls are made each day. Calling people regularly isn t an effective use of anyone s time and system-based solutions are more cost effective and reliable in the long term.
Lone Workers Alarms 10 LONE WORKER ALARM SYSTEMS Generally, there are two elements of a lone worker alarm solution: firstly the device that the user carries to trigger an alarm message, and secondly an app or system that distributes that alarm to a person or team that are then responsible for finding and helping the lone worker. Pros: It s highly reliable and efficient. It s a robust solution. You can find the right solution for every situation, such as explosive environments or in areas with poor signal. Cons It requires some strategic planning and assessment before implementing it. If you don t choose the right one for your environment and team, it can end up not working quite as well and it could turn out to be a costly mistake. We ll introduce some more aspects of lone worker alarm systems in the following section, together with some more information on the different solutions and systems you could adopt.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF LONE WORKER ALARM SYSTEMS In the following pages we highlight the various different systems available on the market and when they should ideally be used.
Lone Workers Alarms 12 KEY FUNCTIONS OF LONE WORKER DEVICES Panic alarm should a lone worker have an accident it is important that they can press a button that will trigger an alert. Man down alarm if the user is rendered unconscious the device should be capable of triggering an automatic alarm. The tilt sensor works when the device remains in a horizontal position for a certain period of time. A no-motion sensor works if the device remains still. Pre-Alarm before the man down alarm is triggered, a local alarm is activated on the handset warning the user that if they must act to prevent the alarm from being activated. This helps prevent false alarms. Voice lone worker devices should be capable of two-way voice communication. In the event of any emergency, communication is always key. Location in many cases the whereabouts of the lone worker is unknown when an incident takes place. Some devices will provide information within the alarm message to help locate where the user is. This can be based on GPS co-ordinates or beacons. Not all lone worker devices work in the same way and there are different reasons why a business would adopt one device over another, which we ll explore in the following pages.
Lone Workers Alarms 13 DIFFERENT TYPES OF LONE WORKER DEVICES SMARTPHONES WITH LONE WORKER APPS There are many lone worker apps on the market that can work with a variety of Smartphones. WHAT DO THESE APPS DO? These apps will turn the smartphone into a lone worker device by equipping it with a panic button and tilt / no-motion sensor that can trigger an alert automatically if the user is rendered unconscious. Some, but not all, apps will enable a button on the phone itself to act as the panic button, otherwise the user will have to first enable the APP to trigger the alert, which might not always be practical in an emergency. Some companies provide a separate key fob that works in conjunction with their APP and acts as the panic button to overcome this issue. When an alert is triggered, the APP will forward a text message to pre-determined emergency numbers. Some apps will also initiate a telephone call too so that the lone worker can speak to one of their emergency contacts. Most, but not all apps, will also detail the user s location that can be viewed on a map like Google or Bing. WHAT TYPE OF LONE WORKER IS THIS IDEAL FOR? Providing that there is mobile coverage where the lone worker is working, this is ideal for most lone workers that already have a Smartphone. Therefore, it can be a very good fit regardless of the number of lone workers and their role in the business as it is suitable for a variety of different staff ranging from; council workers, surveyors, environmental health inspectors, traffic wardens, on-site maintenance staff, engineers.
Lone Workers Alarms 14 MOBILE LONE WORKER DEVICES (GSM) These types of devices require a mobile SIM card from a network provider like EE or Vodafone and will work anywhere where there is mobile coverage. There are many lone worker devices like these on the market providing different features and functionality. WHAT DO THESE DEVICES DO? Panic button user can trigger an alert. Man-down sensor alert is triggered automatically when user is rendered unconscious. Location Can provide details of where the lone worker is within the alarm message. Invariable this is achieved using location beacons (indoors) or GPS. Pre-alarm warns the lone worker before an alarm is triggered. Send alarm messages the device itself can send alarm messages either SMS or initiate telephone calls to pre-determined users. Two-way voice - is capable of conversing with another party in an emergency. HOW DO LONE WORKER DEVICES DIFFER FROM ONE AND OTHER? Mostly, these types of devices differ in size, design and effectiveness. Though small devices do have their appeal as they can be held or worn discreetly, they can lose some basic features such as a display screen and therefore the user is relying on LED displays to assess whether the device is on and in an area where there is mobile coverage. A man-down feature is an important function, however, some users prefer not to have it on all the time and when convenient to turn this feature off. A display can indicate whether the man-down feature is activated than not. Though it is possible without a display to show these types of things, it is not always as clear to a user. Some lone worker devices only support one-way voice or are fitted with very poor quality microphones or receivers resulting in a poor audible sound on the line.
Lone Workers Alarms 15 GPS technology has improved significantly in recent years. Getting a GPS location fix is much quicker from turning on the device and waking it up in sleep mode. Combined with better batteries it means the GPS module can poll more frequently without draining the devices battery quickly, however, this does vary massively from device to device. From time to time updating the devices configuration might be necessary. Some devices can be changed remotely over the air whereas others must be returned either in house or back to the manufacturer for configuration changes. Lastly, these devices can vary hugely in price and quality. WHEN ARE THE DEVICES BEST USED? Lone worker devices can be used anywhere there is mobile reception and therefore can be used by staff that work either on or off site or a mixture of both. Such devices are commonly used by staff that have no reason to be provided with a mobile or smartphone as their need to speak with suppliers, customers or colleagues is low. Some companies adopt a rotation policy whereby a user will pick up a lone worker device when they are performing an activity alone. Lone worker devices tend to be easy or simple to use. They require little training, which is important in an emergency when all you want to do is press a panic button. In industrial use, staff may use gloves and activating alarms on a smartphone might not always be practical. Some lone worker devices are more suitable to an industrial environment and are robust and ATEX approved though it is possible to source robust ATEX smartphones too. SYSTEM-BASED LONE WORKER DEVICES In some situations, mobile or smartphone technology isn t suitable and the need for a system based lone worker devices are more practical. What we mean by system-based technology is a private network consisting of a system, base stations or transceivers that provide the necessary coverage for the end user devices. Therefore, system-based solutions tend to cover on-site scenarios only.
Lone Workers Alarms 16 There are several different types of technology that businesses could consider that include: Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) IP Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephony (IP DECT) Private Mobile Network (PMN) WiFi Companies adopt system-based technology over mobile GSM for a variety of reasons including: Poor mobile coverage around site and within office and plant buildings. Reduce ongoing costs of mobile contracts (less significant in recent years). Preferable to the users on site. It is possible to purchase lone worker devices for each of these system types, but not all manufacturers of IP DECT systems, for example, produce lone worker devices. Therefore, prior to installing such a system it is worth considering whether a lone worker solution is or will be required in the future and then choose your supplier accordingly. It is much better to purchase a DMR system, for example, from a manufacturer that also supplies lone worker radios but never need them than the other way around.
Lone Workers Alarms 17 DIGITAL MOBILE RADIO (DMR) To understand why you d adopt one of these platforms over the other, we have briefly explained how each of the systems work. As you can see from the diagram above there is only one repeater, which is common even across large sites. More than one repeater is required when the landscape or buildings block the signal. This makes radio a cost-effective solution and fast to deploy as there are less components to cable to and install. Radio is perfect to broadcast short announcements to colleagues over an open channel. Groups can be configured so that different teams do not hear chatter or instructions from other teams. Therefore, for instance, an engineering team might be set up on Group 1, production on Group 2, maintenance on Group 3 and so. Analogue systems only provided one speech channel (unless a trunked system is deployed). Therefore, using the example above, if the engineering team on group 1 was broadcasting a message, the production team on group 2 would have to wait to make their announcement.
Lone Workers Alarms 18 Digital radio systems (DMR) provide two speech paths, which means it s possible to set up different teams on each speech path or keep one of the two speech paths dedicated for emergency messages such as lone worker alarms. Again, using the example above it would mean that if production was broadcasting a message and a member of the maintenance team had an accident, the alarm message would still be sent immediately. Furthermore, speech channels can be added by installing more repeaters. Radio predominately uses push-to-talk (PTT) technology, also referred to as half duplex. This means a button must be pressed on the radio to transmit and released to receive communication (though one manufacturer has launched a new full duplex radio, which means a button will not need to be pressed, like on desktop or mobile phones.) Digital radios also support text messages. Digital Radios provide the full functionality of lone worker functions as highlighted on page 12. If the location of the lone worker needs to be provided within the alarm message, small modules can be inserted onto the radio. In many industries radio is commonly used as it is a fantastic method to distribute tasks to team members and colleagues. It is possible to integrate Digital Radio and telephone systems (PBX). Generally, this is done via an industry standard protocol e.g. SIP. Integrating radio and PBX is beneficial so that people in the office on a desktop phone can speak with people on the radio. It also means that radio users can get an external line and converse with people outside of the organisation. This could be important if a respondent to a lone worker alarm needs to make a call to the emergency services. However, as already highlighted, radio is perfect for short broadcast messages. Long, detailed conversations aren t preferable using radio as they block important and limited speech channels, which is why many radio users also carry mobile phones.
Lone Workers Alarms 19 IP DECT SYSTEM As you can see in this diagram, IP radio base stations (RBS) are required to provide radio coverage for the DECT handsets. A good rule of thumb is, one RBS will provide outdoors up to 250 metres direct line coverage and 50 metres indoors. IP DECT fully integrates with the telephone system and unlike radio, isn t limited by the number of speech channels available. DECT phones have full duplex capability and users can make and receive calls anywhere on site. Users aren t limited to only speak with other DECT users and can converse with colleagues on their desktop phones as well as to people outside the organisation. DECT handsets also support text messages. Lone worker DECT phones can provide all the lone worker functionality as highlighted in page 12. The location of the lone worker is detailed within the alarm message and can provide an approximate area based on which RBS the alarm was transmitted through. More accurate location is possible with the use of on-site beacons.
Lone Workers Alarms 20 PRIVATE MOBILE NETWORKS As you can see from the diagram, the setup of a private mobile network is similar to an IP DECT network. Indeed, the functionality of these two solutions are very similar also, whereby mobile users can contact and receive calls from desktop phone users. Mobile users can also make and receive calls from external parties, just like a DECT solution. The two solutions differ also. Base Transceivers (BTS) or Pico Cells are more powerful and provide a greater coverage area than RBS, however they are more expensive. Pico Cells operate off a low powered GSM protocol, which means that standard mobile phone or smartphone technology can be used. This makes this solution quite attractive for some companies as there is a far greater choice of handsets on the market offering more features than DECT phones. Regarding lone worker solutions, many GSM lone worker devices or Smartphone apps would work using this technology providing the functionality as highlighted (pages 13-15) earlier in this document.
Lone Workers Alarms 21 VOWIFI As you can see in the diagram above this solution is also similar to IP DECT and PMN. A lone worker solution using WiFi is worth considering if the network is already in place or is being planned in the not too distance future. IP Lone worker handsets are available on the market that are fitted with a panic button and tilt sensor to trigger lone worker alarms as highlighted in page 12. Lone worker alarm messages can detail an accurate location of the user s position based on triangulation and signal strength of the access points. However, additional software is required to deliver this solution. Furthermore, it also possible to use smartphones too by connecting them to the WiFi network. The Smartphones would be configured as SIP end points off the existing telephone system. And as highlighted in the document (Page 12) by purchasing a suitable App for the Smartphone it would be possible for the user to trigger a lone worker alarm.
DISTRIBUTING ALARM MESSAGES How you respond to a lone worker alarm can mean the difference between life and death. In this section we highlight the different ways that alarms can be distributed to staff to make them aware of an incident.
Lone Workers Alarms 23 ALARM MANAGEMENT SYSTEM An Alarm Management System is a PC based application that can receive alarm information from the lone worker devices and distribute those alarms to colleagues based on a pre-determined set of rules. Below we highlight how the basis of an Alarm Management System should work. 1. An alarm is triggered either by the panic button or the tilt sensor as indicated. 2. The alarm information is fed into the Alarm Management System which in turn will alert a specific responder group. 3. The first person that responds to the alarm message is then responsible for finding the lone worker and providing them with the necessary medical attention as quickly as possible. 4. If no one responds to the alarm it is escalated to the second responder group.
Lone Workers Alarms 24 HOW DOES THE RESPONDER GROUP RECEIVE THE ALARM INFORMATION? The responder group can receive the alarms in a number of different ways including on their mobile or smartphone, radios, IP DECT handset, IP phone and/or computer. When the alarm is accepted the rest of the group is updated. IS IT POSSIBLE TO REVIEW WHAT HAPPENED TO EACH ALARM? Each alarm is logged within the alarm management system. Reviewing the reports will show time and date of when the alarm was triggered; who it went to, who managed it and when it was closed down. These reports are not only beneficial in the event that the incident is investigated by the HSE but also for ongoing improvement purposes. By analysing how the alarms where handled will indicate where the issues are (if any) and where improvements to the process can be made. Top tip: A fifth of businesses claim it would take over 30 minutes before anyone realised a lone worker had an accident or was rendered unconscious. Speeding up the time it takes for staff to respond to an alert can reduce the impact on your business.
Lone Workers Alarms 25 ALARM RECEIVING CENTRE (ARC) Alarm receiving centres are manned 24 hours per day, seven days per week. An ARC can receive an alarm from a lone worker device too and the operator must follow a set procedure to ensure that help can get to the lone worker as quickly as possible. HOW DOES THE OPERATOR ASSESS WHAT THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION IS? The operator in the control centre will first receive a lone worker alarm message on their operator console. The alarm will highlight the name of the person and potentially the location of where the lone worker is. Shortly after receiving the alarm message, the operator will receive a telephone call, which will enable them to eaves drop on the lone worker or have an open conversation. Based on the information, that the operator receives from the telephone call will determine the next course action. If the lone worker is clearly under threat, then the operator can contact the emergency services and get the police to support the lone worker. If the lone worker doesn t sound like they are in immediate danger or can t confirm because the lone worker is unconscious, the operator will contact the lone worker s colleagues that they have on their system to make them aware of the incident. IS IT POSSIBLE TO REVIEW WHAT HAPPENED TO EACH ALARM? All alarms to the ARC are logged and can be reviewed. Reviewing the reports will show the time and date of when the alarm was triggered; the operator who received it and who the alarm was passed to e.g. police or lone worker s colleagues. The report will not complete the loop and indicate when the lone worker was found and the alarm is closed. FLASHING LIGHT OR AUDIBLE SOUND It is possible for a lone worker alarm to trigger a flashing light or an audible sound in the warehouse or plant in order to alert colleagues nearby to an incident. When the light flashes or the siren goes off, nearby colleagues go to the lone worker s aid. Unfortunately, there is no audit trial for this solution.
Lone Workers Alarms 26 CASE STUDY Nottingham City Council have over 500 members of staff visiting tenants homes for various reasons such as carrying our routine maintenance, listening to complaints, investigating noise pollution to property surveying. Often staff would leave the office one afternoon and not be back until the next day, which was too long a gap to ensure staff safety. Manual procedures to monitor and ensure people were accounted for regularly, was not effective and too time consuming. The Housing dept needed a solution to protect staff when visiting tenants homes by themselves. They needed a device to discreetly trigger an alert in the event they needed assistance. ANT provided a lone worker app on the users smartphone, with a separate keyfob and button. If the user needs assistance they can press the button residing on their keyring which triggers the app and pushes out the alarm. The alarms go to their CCTV department that is constantly manned. The app raises an alarm by 1st sending an SMS text message. This details important information regarding the user s name and their GPS co-ordinates. Secondly, it will then initiate a phone call and open the microphone on the smartphone so that the operator back at the CCTV department can listen in and assess the situation. Nottingham can also use any CCTV that they have in the area to see what s happening too. If the situation warrants it the CCTV operator can liaise with local police and get them involved to provide support to the council worker.
Lone Workers Alarms 27 CONCLUSION Hopefully, now that you ve finished reading, you agree with us when we say, never been more important for employers to check how many of their workers operate in remote locations and isolated environments. We have a duty to ensure that all of lone workers have support and go to work feeling confident about their safety. For many people working alone is extremely hazardous especially without a means of triggering an alarm to alert colleagues and a robust procedure to ensure they can arrive quickly! The question is: do you have the right system in place to protect your employees and business? Do you believe your lone workers feel safe when coming to work every day? Ensure your communication solution is adequate for your environment and your team. Click here now > to sign up for a free, no obligation consultation where you can talk to one of your experts about your current solution and how to improve it.
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