Integration of Lone Worker Panic Buttons With Other Safety Measures
Whether they're realtors showing homes or health nurses visiting patients, lone workers need a way to call for help quickly. NZ Lone Worker Alarms That's why many employers provide them with portable panic buttons.
A personal alarm panic button is a safety tool for lone workers like healthcare and social service employees, hotel employees, and care providers who face an increased risk of violence in their workplace.
Safety Policy
Lone working is a risky endeavour and it’s an employer’s responsibility to keep their employees safe. This could involve implementing health and safety policies, providing personal protective equipment and running training courses. However, a policy alone isn’t enough; it must be followed by a robust lone worker safety solution that includes personal alarms or mobile apps.
A lone worker alarm allows employees to manually signal for help at the push of a button or when sensors detect falls, lack of movement or an unusually long position. This information is sent to a set of emergency contacts or the alarm receiving centre.
Some lone workers can also choose to check in with their device or app, which will send an alert to the emergency contacts if they are not heard from for a period of time that is specified by the user. This is useful for lone workers who may have areas with poor phone signals or WIFI connections.
Talk to Your Employees
Many states and cities have laws requiring lone workers, such as hotel staff, healthcare and social worker employees, child welfare workers, care providers and others to be provided with personal safety devices or panic buttons. These devices range from a small pendant button to mobile phone apps with GPS technology that automatically signal a call for help.
The best lone worker devices feature a built-in alarm and duress system that alerts your employee’s emergency contacts and/or the monitoring center of an issue like being attacked or being trapped in a hazardous location. They also provide a check-in function that can be triggered when an employee forgets to manually activate their device, which can alert other coworkers and management if a lone worker is not active for a certain period of time.
Creating a robust lone worker policy and providing employees with panic buttons or other safety devices will go a long way in making them feel safe on the job. It is also important to ensure the devices are easy to operate in order to encourage their use in the event of an emergency.
Risk Assessment
Lone worker safety devices provide a way for employees operating alone to signal for help quickly if they are threatening by a member of the public, witness inappropriate behaviour or experience an accident or medical emergency. They can also use them to check in with their employer if they are feeling vulnerable.
The ability to call for assistance is a powerful tool for healthcare and social workers, childcare workers, hotel staff and other employees who may find themselves a victim of a crime or in an unforeseen circumstance. However, employers are unsure as to whether or not they must provide their lone workers with these devices.
A risk assessment should be carried out before introducing these devices. It is important to ask your employees if they would feel safer using a device and to discuss what kind of assistance they would want to receive in an emergency. With a discreet button on the device, or the option to push a mobile phone power button 4 times, a lone worker can alert the control room in seconds.
Easy to Operate
Lone worker alarm systems are personal safety devices designed to provide a powerful deterrent against workplace violence. They can take the form of mobile apps on smartphones (like SHEQSY by SafetyCulture), portable Bluetooth buttons or handheld satellite devices that are worn or carried by lone workers and that offer features like two-way voice communication, GPS location tracking and automated well-being check-ins.
Having a lone worker panic button is one of the best ways to prevent assaults against healthcare workers, social service employees and hotel staff who can’t reach out for help from coworkers. It’s important for employers to think beyond a hazard assessment and implement proactive measures, such as a dedicated lone worker panic button.
Some states and cities have considered or passed laws requiring hotels, healthcare facilities and social service agencies to provide their employees with a lone worker panic button. While there is no definitive answer on whether or not companies are required to do so, it’s a great way to ensure that your lone workers have access to emergency assistance when they need it.
