LONE WORKER PROTECTION
the landscape is often changing. Many of these threats can be moving, as well as the workers, so correlation needs to happen in real-time with the ability to look into the future. An example is a protest that is planned at a particular location in the city two days from now, and an executive who is planning to travel to that city at that same time. Today, there is no threat, or correlation, between the two. But fast forward two days from now, and we have a potential for a threat to that executive. Another example is a severe weather event that is moving into an area where you have workers in the field. At that moment in time there may not be a threat, but two hours from now those workers could be in harm’s way. The ability to anticipate future threats before they become actual threats helps the organisation be proactive in dealing with them and potentially avoid them altogether.
TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION Two-way, or bidirectional, communication allows
companies to seamlessly check if lone workers are safe even if it’s by asking them to simply respond to a text message. This means employees can be alerted and informed and organisations can be updated if an employee’s health or safety is at risk. This communication needs to be multi-modal, or leverage multiple ways of reaching that employee. Examples may include email, SMS, phone call, push notification on a mobile app, or a desktop alert. This is important because employees are not always looking at a particular mode, email for example. Also, sometimes during an event some communication lines may not be working due to infrastructure failures or too much traffic that is causing the message not to go through right away.
SAFE CORRIDORS AND PANIC BUTTONS This innovation allows lone workers with jobs that could
be unsafe to proactively call for help when no one is around them. By setting up a ‘safe corridor’ with a mobile device, if they fail to check in with their organisation at regular intervals, it will trigger a panic message and generate an alert which prompts the organisation to
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check on them or send help. Some devices can also capture audio and video, allowing companies to see and hear their people in an emergency.
Besides a smartphone or smart watch, organisations can provide lone workers with a physical panic button that can be worn around the neck or clipped to a belt or pocket. If the lone worker feels unsafe, the panic button will initiate an alert and trigger a response from the organisation.
GEOFENCES AND PRIVACY In an emergency, the security team can ‘geofence’
specific locations that could pose threats to worker safety. If lone workers enter a geofence they will automatically be notified if there’s a critical event and will be required to do a safety check or leave the area. Privacy is protected because the alert only informs and asks for their safety status, not their location. Only specific responses — such as check-ins triggered by the employee — will expose their location. An employee’s location is only visible to the organisation when it is proactively shared, so companies know where their lone workers are when it’s most important.
“A GROWING DISTRIBUTED WORKFORCE HAS PUT AN ADDITIONAL BURDEN ON SECURITY AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY TEAMS.”
The key to keeping lone workers safe is awareness of where potential threats are relative to where your workers are and providing those workers with tools to reach out quickly when they feel threatened. This not only helps ensure worker safety but also helps ensure that employees can still perform their duties. A win/win for everyone.
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