There are lone worker solutions available for every industry and budget. But there’s no point having them at all if your workers aren’t using them. Here are some thoughts about why some workers still have their doubts about lone worker protection and why it’s vital to get them on board. If you want to know what most people are doing out of working hours, just look on Facebook or the other social media platforms. People are doing the same stuff they always did but are now sharing it with the world. Thanks to the power of social media, nothing’s really sacred any more. This is why it can sometimes be baffling when the reaction to workplaces implementing lone worker protection devices from some members of staff is a cry of "Big Brother". Despite living in a time where CCTV and GPS is a way of life and people are generally happy to share every aspect of their lives on social media, there still remains a fear among some workers that lone working devices, designed to ensure their safety, are being introduced to keep them in check by monitoring their every move. The fact is that they are not. They are there so workers can go about their jobs secure in the knowledge that, should the worst happen, help can be sent to them immediately - wherever they are. As an employer ask yourself this: How easily could one of your workers be located if they injured themselves or got attacked whilst out on their rounds? Your worker said they’d be in a particular street but have not checked in for over three hours and you’re worried - so which one of the dozens of properties in that road do you go to? Where would you start looking if a member of your team failed to return from a day out on the road when their patch covers 100 square miles? If you are an employee whose job sees you working in remote, vast or varied locations then ask yourself this: If something happens to me, how is anyone going to know where to find me and send help? Having lone worker protection is vital. It is there to protect workers and to protect businesses. It is a sign that employers take their responsibilities of Duty of Care to their staff extremely seriously whilst reassuring workers and their families that should an incident occur, they can raise the alarm and get help. But simply having lone worker protection in place is completely pointless if the workers it has been introduced to protect are failing to utilise it because they have not bought into the reasons for introducing it. Choosing the right lone worker protection for any workforce is imperative. A ‘Man Down’ device designed to detect falls would be perfect for the engineer who spends his days up telegraph poles but ineffective for the social worker visiting strangers’ homes, for example. This is why extensive trialling of different solutions, devices and responses may be required initially to ensure that the lone worker protection perfectly meets the needs, demands and expectations of the business and its workers. In many cases, one organisation chooses to introduce a mixture of devices, solutions and response escalation procedures for different workers to best suit their roles, whilst some will choose to stagger the roll-out among departments to ensure any teething issues are properly dealt in small sections rather than an entire work-force in one go, some solutions can be as simple as checking in on a smartphone app. Having the workforce involved from the very beginning is imperative for the long-term success of any lone worker protection system. It is, after all, them that will be making use of the devices and solutions being introduced. As well as fears of ‘Big Brother’, other common causes for concern among employees when lone worker protection is introduced include those with technophobia over complex systems or even worries that they will be penalised for accidentally raising false alarms. But by empowering the workforce to be part of the decision-making process from the onset, they are much more likely to buy in to the system, whilst being reassured that the introduction of such devices are meant as a safety aid, not a burden, and indeed not as a spying tool. Continuing this engagement with staff, urging them to provide feedback and listening to their concerns, queries and suggestions, whilst rewarding those who make the most use of the system, is vital to ensure the lone worker protection is being fully and properly utilised. Despite using complex behind the scenes technology, many lone worker devices are very simple to use, including those that use smartphones which the majority of the workplace will already use. Regardless of this, whilst implementing any lone worker protection, it is vital that thorough training is given to all workers who will be using the system to ensure they know exactly how to use the devices and give confidence to those with techno fears. Training sessions should continue after initial implementation so staff are up-to-date with any developments to the software or system, and ensure new starters are fully briefed on how to properly use it. Implementing lone worker protection can initially be a big deal for any workforce, and fears of highly complex devices or cries of ‘Big Brother’ are all too common at first. But it is important they know that lone worker protection exists to keep them safe at work, return home in the same condition as they arrived, and make sure help can be sent straight away should it ever be needed, not to spy on where they spent their lunch. That information’s probably plastered all over social media anyway. Chat to us for more information and to start your pilot. +44 (0)1780 723 425

What factors should you consider when choosing lone worker protection? You’re aware there are members of your workforce spending increasing time working alone or remotely, and you know it’s your responsibility to keep them safe. You’ve decided to introduce a lone worker protection system, but what factors do you need to consider? Worker buy in: fear of ‘Big Brother’ A common concern among workers when lone worker protection is raised is ‘Big Brother’. Some staff fear the tracking capabilities of GPS-based protection systems will be used to ‘spy’ on them, rather than for their actual purpose of providing accurate locations in times of need to potentially save their life. If they continue with that line of thought, it’s unlikely you’ll have their support when any system is introduced, making it's deployment very difficult. By empowering the workforce to be part of the decision-making process from the onset, whilst reassuring them that the introduction of such devices are meant as a safety aid, not a spying tool, they are much more likely to buy in to the system. You can reassure them that the system will only track them "on-demand" and the system’s settings can be tailored with strict permissions and parameters in place to ensure it is only used for what is intended, before continuing this engagement by urging them to provide feedback and actually reacting to their concerns, queries and suggestions - and rewarding those who make the most use of the system. Workforce demographic and risk variation There’s no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ lone worker protection system. Different job roles, carried out by people of various ages and technological capabilities, present different risks - and therefore require different solutions to ensure their safety. This vast range of variables can put some people off from even getting the process started. Allowing companies to mix and match a range of solutions means they can create an entirely tailor-made lone worker safety system that works for everyone. You can mix and match from our entire range of devices and platforms Ongoing support and training Introducing a lone worker protection system is only half of the story. Your company culture must fully understand and embrace the need to protect lone workers, by training and educating staff about its importance, as well as its use and management, for your solution to work effectively. Find out what training, support and guidance your supplier is offering in the long run - and not just on initial hand over. Response management Getting the right response when a lone worker raises an alarm is vital. But, the correct response process for one lone worker may not be correct for another. Just as employers choose to mix and match devices to suit individual needs, flexibility is also key when it comes to considering the right escalation and response process for your organisation at various levels - whether that be for specific teams, job roles, or even the time of day. Whilst a dedicated Alarm Receiving Centre may be the best response option to cover the skeleton night shift, a system utilising on-site colleagues may be the most effective option during the day. Read more about Activus Tracking's range of lone worker systems, all designed to provide the most effective assistance in any circumstance, and which can be mixed and matched to provide the quickest and most efficient 24/7 responses for every business. https://activustracking.com/sosvolaris | call +44 (0)1780 723 425 | sales@activustracking.com

SAFE WORKING ALONE AND PRIVACY Man down systems contribute to lone worker safety. BUT it can raise questions when it comes to privacy. In this blog we will tell you exactly how that works with safe working alone and privacy. GATHER INFORMATION TO PROVIDE PROMPT AND ADEQUATE ASSISTANCE The purpose of a man down system is to provide quick assistance in the event of an accident. For this it is important to know where the alarm comes from, it's location. The system must also alarm automatically when the employee can no longer do this themselves. Finally, in some cases it is important to know what kind of work someone performs in order to estimate the urgency. In short, a lot of information is needed to act quickly and adequately. To ensure privacy, it is important that no unnecessary information is collected and that the information is stored securely . COLLECTION OF LOCATION DATA With man down devices you can continuously collect the location of an employee. However, in many cases this is not necessary. It is better to only send the location in case of an alarm. This is called 'tracking on demand'. Locating is done using GPS / GNSS or beacons. The man down device periodically checks the location. In the event of an alarm, the current or last known location is sent. This way you have reliable location determination without tracing. ALARM TO THE NEAREST COLLEAGUE In some cases, the closest colleagues receive an alarm message on their own device. To do this, you also need to know the location of all colleagues. Again, it is not necessary to trace all colleagues. The SOSvolaris platform requests the locations of all colleagues involved immediately after receiving the alarm. This only results in a minimal delay in the alarm response, but privacy is guaranteed. ATTENDANCE REGISTRATION BASED ON GEOFENCING For certain applications it is important to know whether an employee is present or not. For example, when you want to know how many emergency response officers (EROs) are present in a building. For this application it is not necessary to know exactly where someone is. The only information that matters is whether someone is present or not. You can compare this with the well-known presentation boards. This is the only information that the SOSvolaris platform shows. Applications are emergency response call systems, hospital care or only work security on large complexes. COLLECTING MOVEMENT INFORMATION Automatic man down alert is important. In some cases you are no longer able to alarm yourself. For this it is necessary to register the movements of an employee. It is important that you only use this registration to determine whether there is an accident. Not to check how long someone is on the toilet, for example. MOVEMENTS ARE INTERPRETED BY THE DEVICE ITSELF The alarm device itself determines whether there is a man down or not. Data regarding the employee's movement is not forwarded to the SOSvolaris platform. From the platform you can easily set which movements trigger the man down alarm. The device stores these settings locally. The device determines whether there is an accident on the basis of the angle in which it is located, the acceleration of the fall, impact or inactivity. Thanks to the pre-alarm, the employee can choose to cancel a man-down alarm. As a result, safe working alone and privacy go hand in hand.

Your material handling fleet is one of the most critical assets within a warehouse because they move and position products and valuables all over. More and more companies are going deeper into the industrial digitalization transforming their forklifts into „smart forklifts“ and making them digitalized gives them an improvement in the business while reducing or even eliminating the costs caused by failure or downtime. We identified 7 main problems below which are the most critical to manage for companies. Real time tracking of your internal fleet of forklifts Battery lifetime monitoring Alerts and system reporting Performance managing and control Work hours monitoring Predictive maintenance Impact detection To control these 7 main problems while improving productivity, increasing accuracy, reducing operational costs and improving safety and security we have managed to create a TFT100. A solution allowing to get the required data from the forklift (including CAN data) and transfer that into the powerful management application. Add the hidden worker protection solution and keep your employees safe and your machines productive. Hidden worker protection solution page