As a manager of lone workers, you may wonder whether personal safety devices are the most effective way to safeguard your organisation’s employees.
After all, there are many different lone worker safety solutions available and it is important to choose one that best protects your employees and keeps your organisation compliant with workplace health and safety requirements.
In this article, we will discuss why using personal safety devices in Australia may not always be the best solution. We will also examine another safety solution that is scalable, comprehensive and ensures organisations meet their lone worker safety legislation under Australian law.
The disadvantages of standalone personal safety devices in Australia
There are a large number of personal security devices and panic alarms available, however, they all have similar disadvantages.
The main downsides of personal safety devices and personal panic alarms in Australia include
- Significant upfront and ongoing costs
- Long-term contracts
- Inability to gather operational data required for audits
- Risk of hardware breakage and associated costs
- Lack of integration with other organisational platforms
- Hardware becomes obsolete over time
- Lack of innovation to suit your ever-changing requirements
Cost of personal safety alarms in Australia
As mentioned above, one of the main disadvantages of utilising personal safety devices is the high cost.
Whether you decide to use lone worker pendants or duress alarm buttons to protect your lone workers, you will be faced with the significant upfront costs of renting or purchasing the hardware. As a result, organisations that do not have the capital necessary to provide a device for every employee may be jeopardising lone worker safety.
In addition, the use of these devices is generally accompanied by a long-term contract. Ongoing costs with this type of solution include rental fees, and fixing, replacing or upgrading hardware.
Deploying a lone worker app eliminates these obstacles completely. With SHEQSY, employees download the app onto their existing smartphones, removing upfront costs and delays caused by supply and delivery. Because of the ease with which you can deploy SHEQSY, long-term contracts are not necessary, presenting a cost-effective lone worker solution.
Unlike many other solutions, SHEQSY offers a free trial to ensure that the solution and its management dashboard suits your organisation prior to you making a financial commitment.
Learn more about SHEQSY’s all-in-one lone worker solution here.
Inefficiencies of personal security devices
Typically, personal safety devices are also known as panic alarms or panic buttons. It is important for all lone workers to have the capability to activate their duress alarm and receive help. However, a typical panic button or alarm may not be the most effective choice when considering safety and operational efficiency.
A panic button serves only one purpose – activating the duress to call for help. With advancements in safety technology, there is an opportunity to deploy a lone worker safety app that delivers on this outcome while offering additional functionality.
Panic alarms do not have the ability to record all lone worker activities, locations or incident data, which can be crucial in an emergency response. This data is provided by the SHEQSY solution, ensuring your organisation meets the duty of care requirements under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (1). SHEQSY delivers organisations with auditable historical records, adding value to businesses and providing greater protection to lone workers.
Because SHEQSY is a digital solution, it offers innovative safety features such as simple and discreet duress activation, activity countdown timers, and real-time location sharing.
The solution also includes data recording and reporting to seamlessly pair lone worker safety with operational efficiency. In addition, SHEQSY integrates with the tools you already use – such as G Suite, Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Exchange calendars – to ensure that you can simply manage your lone workers in one user-friendly solution.
The 3G network and personal panic alarms in Australia
Over time, and as other technologies progress, panic alarms and personal safety devices become obsolete.
With the advancement of the 5G network, Australia will soon terminate the 3G network on which a large number of personal safety alarms in Australia operate (2). Because of this shift, it is important that organisations review the long term viability of their personal safety alarms as it could present an opportunity to transition to a digital, cloud-based solution such as SHEQSY.
The SHEQSY app can be downloaded onto any iOS or Android smartphone and is regularly updated with new and innovative features to ensure the most comprehensive lone worker safety and management capabilities. Because smartphones have the ability to operate across all 3G, 4G and 5G network bands, utilising an app is the most accessible and functional lone worker solution.
Using SHEQSY to safeguard your mobile workforce
For many organisations, a lone worker app is the most appropriate safety solution because of its suite of innovative safety features and increased efficiency in the management of lone workers.
However, where your organisation requires lone worker devices and hardware, please don’t hesitate to contact us and discuss integrated hardware options that SHEQSY supports.
SHEQSY’s product roadmap is dictated by client feedback and suggestions. If an idea for a product or feature will generate value for SHEQSY users, then rest assured, SHEQSY will begin scoping its feasibility for inclusion in a future release.
If your organisation requires a specific lone worker safety or management feature, contact SHEQSY to discuss or explore SHEQSY’s features.
The SHEQSY team is available via web meeting to discuss your requirements, answer questions, provide product overviews, and assist with the free implementation of the SHEQSY lone worker solution. To request a demo of SHEQSY, click here.
References:
- Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) s 19. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2018C00293
- Telstra 3G Service Closure. https://www.telstra.com.au/business-enterprise/news-research/networks/announcements/3g-service-closure
