The Benefits of Using Lone Worker Panic Buttons
Employees who work alone face a number of unique risks. Whether they are realtors showing homes, health nurses visiting patients, hotel staff members or other lone workers, they must be protected from potentially dangerous situations.
For this to occur, employees must make wearing devices and completing safety plans an everyday part of their routine. In addition, they must trust that their employer’s lone worker solutions will be effective in an emergency.
Safety
The safety of lone workers is paramount, and the use of a lone worker panic button helps ensure that employees are able to request assistance quickly and effectively. It removes one of the most significant risks associated with working alone and can make a significant difference in how quickly help is deployed if an emergency does occur.
Panic buttons can be as simple as a pendant button that is worn around the neck or kept in the pocket, or as sophisticated as a lone worker app. When activated, these systems send a duress alarm to designated contacts or a monitoring center and can include features such as real-time location tracking and two-way communication.
Some cities and states have passed staff safety laws requiring employers to provide their lone workers with panic buttons. This shows that they recognize the unique dangers that lone workers face and their obligation to protect them. Providing these tools also helps demonstrate to your employees that you have their best interests at heart. It can also help mitigate the risk of a workplace incident and reduce turnover.
Security
Lone workers face unique risks in the workplace, including threats from unauthorized intruders and hostile customers. A lone worker panic button gives employees a silent way to summon help in these situations.
The device will then send a panic alert to designated monitors (either a monitoring center or a group of managers), who can follow a pre-programmed escalation plan to assist the employee. The alert also includes the device’s GPS location, meaning help can be sent directly to the employee.
In addition, some lone worker devices can include man-down/fall detection, which is especially useful for healthcare and social care workers or hotel employees who may be injured on the job. This feature detects a period of no motion and triggers an alarm to immediately alert contacts. lone worker safety monitoring The device will then be able to notify the contact that the user needs assistance, and they can dispatch law enforcement using the device’s GPS location. Ultimately, the use of panic buttons removes one of the biggest obstacles that lone workers face when trying to seek emergency assistance: the need to unlock and dial their phone.
Confidence
A panic button is a small device that allows people to call for help quickly and discreetly. They are a popular security tool for workers that work alone, such as realtors showing homes, utilities workers operating in dangerous or remote areas, and health nurses visiting patients in their own homes.
Personal panic buttons are available as wearables and standalone devices that can be worn as a pendant or in a pocket, as well as smartphone apps that offer lone worker safety features including real-time GPS tracking. They can be programmed to send a duress alarm to a designated person(s) or monitoring center and also provide two-way communication so that employees can ask for help in an emergency.
A leading lone worker app like SHEQSY can be downloaded onto smartphones (iOS and Android), and also integrates with bluetooth wearables and handheld satellite devices to offer a comprehensive safety solution for businesses that require their staff to work alone. Employees are prompted to check in at regular intervals and can be automatically sent overtime alerts or a panic alarm when required.
Time
Many people find that their work requires them to travel or operate outside of the office on a regular basis. These individuals are called lone workers, and their safety can be a major concern for employers.
Providing a lone worker panic button is one way to ensure that employees can quickly call for help if an incident occurs. This type of personal alarm typically works via Bluetooth or wi-fi, making it easy for staff to use. These devices are also small enough to fit in the pocket of a uniform or on a lanyard.
A lone worker panic button can also help employees save time by allowing them to quickly and easily signal for help without having to stop their work or check-in with a colleague. Instead, an employee can simply hit a button or activate a timed monitoring session in the app to get immediate help. This is especially beneficial if an emergency situation arises while working alone or in remote environments. If you're interested in learning more about how a lone worker panic button can help keep your team safe, contact us for a no-pressure, 60-minute discussion.
Money
A panic button removes one of the most dangerous aspects of lone working, the inability to contact other workers for help. It allows lone workers to ask for assistance immediately, and it is especially important for health and social care workers, child welfare staff, hotel employees, and others who work in isolated areas.
It is also helpful for retail workers and mall security, backroom stockers, after-hours store employees, and lone workers who open and close the building. Zello, a push-to-talk voice "walkie talkie" messaging app that counts Restoration Hardware and Uniqlo among its clients, announced in March that it is adding a panic button feature to its service.
It provides a convenient, discreet way to trigger an emergency call for assistance, with two-way audio and GPS location information being standard features. The system can be integrated with an existing emergency response app, or it can include a dedicated panic button device or wearable alarm that will be activated by the user when pushed. The app can also offer a number of other useful features, such as a timer that signals to an employer when it's time to check in or to alert the worker to a motion sensor that has detected a fall.