Why Lone Workers Need a Man Down Device
Lone workers need the protection of a man down device to ensure they can get near-immediate assistance if they are injured or incapacitated in any way while working alone. This can be especially important if their work involves hazardous environments, or they may not be able to call for help from a mobile phone signal. Known by many different names, such as down detector alarms or movement alarms, the best man down device solutions are robust, easy to use and offer low false-alarm rates and a rapid response time.
Often, a man down alarm can be the difference between life and death. Depending on the industry, employees can face an array of dangerous situations while working in isolation. Whether it’s an accident or a natural disaster, if they can’t reach their team to ask for help they could become fatally injured. These types of situations cannot always be prevented, but the right lone worker man down device can provide them with the security they need to feel confident they will be found and helped if they need it.
Lone worker safety experts can advise you on the most appropriate solution for your business. The ideal man down alarm system will be easy to set up, with a battery that lasts for up to four days in between charges. It should also be simple to use in an emergency, with the option to press a button for help. It should also be compatible with your current lone worker software platform and offer a GPS tracking feature to allow for pinpoint locations in case of an incident.
A lone worker man down alarm will be especially useful for those who frequently travel between sites, such as maintenance contractors and painters/decorators who regularly enter client homes or construction zones to carry out their work. They will be exposed to a variety of hazards that they cannot always control, such as slips and trips, or uncontrolled fall hazards from ladders or other equipment.
lone worker safety devices While training can be offered to reduce the likelihood of these hazards occurring, they are not completely preventable. A lone worker man down alarm system will be able to notify their monitoring team immediately in the event of an incident. The team can follow the escalation procedure in place to dispatch rescue services and give the worker the help they need.
If a lone worker is unable to move, their man down alarm will trigger. This alert will be sent to the monitoring centre in real-time, with their GPS coordinates so that they can locate them and send assistance as soon as possible. If the lone worker isn’t able to respond to the alert, the monitoring company can also contact their emergency contacts directly to inform them of the situation.
If the lone worker feels that they are not down, or would prefer to avoid sending a Man Down alert at all, they can cancel the notification from the app by pressing the Cancel button on the pop-up window for 10 seconds. The lone worker must confirm this in order to stop the Man Down alert from being sent.
