Man Down Devices Save Lives
When workers are at risk of becoming incapacitated, they need to be able to alert others so that help can be quickly provided. A man down device is a useful tool to have in these situations, helping people to stay safe by sending an alarm to emergency contacts if they don’t move or respond to notifications. This feature can be built into a lone worker safety solution or included as part of an app on mobile devices used by lone workers.
Workplace fatalities are caused by a variety of issues, but many people working alone don’t have the ability to sound an alarm or call for help themselves. This can be problematic when they become lost, have a medical event or are trapped by equipment collapsing/overturning. Man down technology can be used to address this by providing an extra level of security for at-risk workers.
A key feature of some lone worker man down systems is that the device can be activated by pressing a button on the unit. This helps to reduce false alarms and can be particularly useful for workers in environments that require a more sensitive response such as those using heavy machinery or in an industrial setting.
The man down technology found in Blackline lone worker safety solutions, for example, also allows the device to be triggered by soft falls (such as slumping into a chair from standing) that may not trigger standard fall detection technology. In such cases, the device’s no-motion / man down detection will sense that it hasn’t been moved for a programmed period of time and will prompt the employee to check in by pressing inward on the red emergency latch. This cancels the pending alert before it is communicated to monitoring personnel, eliminating the possibility of a miscommunication and ensuring the device’s emergency contacts are notified.
gps personal tracker Most importantly, a man down device can be programmed to send an alert if it hasn’t been moved for varying periods of time depending on the work environment and risks. In some industries, such as those working at height, a man down alarm could save lives by ensuring that someone is always on hand to help when a fall or impact is detected.
Some lone worker safety devices allow employees to select the amount of time between movements that will trigger a man down status, for example 5 minutes. This means that if the worker doesn’t move for this length of time, the man down functionality will be activated. This helps to give the lone worker peace of mind, knowing that if they lose consciousness or aren’t able to respond to notifications their monitor will be informed. Some systems can even be connected to an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) - a purpose built service that will receive and process the alerts before they are sent on to a trusted contact or the emergency services. In some instances, the ARC will be responsible for dispatching an ambulance directly to the location of the lone worker.
