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Lone worker devices help protect employees operating alone who may need to call for assistance if they are threatened, witness an inappropriate behaviour or suffer a medical emergency. These safety solutions provide an easy way for workers to summon help - helping them to comply with their employer's duty of care and making them feel safer in their role.
Choosing the right device for your team starts with carrying out a risk assessment to establish the hazards faced by your lone workers. It's also important to talk to your lone workers about their feelings and concerns – they are much more likely to use the device if they feel comfortable using it.
There are several types of lone worker devices available to suit different needs. These include standalone panic buttons that can be worn as a wristwatch or lanyard, personal alarms and man down alerts (which also double up as portable gas detectors) and bluetooth safety devices which can be integrated with a smartphone to offer comprehensive coverage. Man Down New Zealand personal safety devices Standalone devices usually have an extra cost for the device, a SIM and charges to the lone worker service provider but can be very discreet and are a good option for low-risk roles.
A more advanced lone worker solution is Blackline Safety's Loner G7. This work-anywhere device provides real-time monitoring, text messaging, two-way wireless voice communication and evacuation management. The device is configured and customised to suit your specific needs and the integrated lone worker safety app, Blackline Live, is able to automatically and reliably detect person-down events, such as when an employee falls or is motionless, sending alerts for help to the right people at the right time.
GPS tracking is a key feature offered by many lone worker devices and can help to locate workers quickly in the event of an incident. The G7 is also designed to be used outdoors and in indoor spaces, with the optional Loner Beacon location beacon ensuring accurate positioning even in areas where GPS signals are unreliable or unavailable. The device also offers true fall detection and a silent emergency alarm that can be triggered by pressing the key or a button.
Other features to look out for are:
Considering that slips and trips account for some of the most common workplace accidents, a device that can monitor and report these is important. This is one of the key advantages offered by lone worker safety devices and it's a feature that can often make the difference between an accident that is deemed minor and one that is a serious incident. The G7 is the first lone worker safety device to offer this functionality. It also detects if an employee hasn’t moved for a predetermined period of time and will send an alert to the emergency response centre, as well as the worker's designated contacts. personal trackers gps This is a valuable and essential feature that can greatly improve an employee's chances of surviving an injury at work.
