The Story
Thomson Environmental Consultants specialises in providing ecological surveys and advice to facilitate planning needs across all business sectors. Field workers travel to different locations to carry out surveys for clients and often work alone in areas that are rural, such as woodland or farmland.
Staff also have to carry out work during the night or in areas which may be dangerous, such as near water or from height. Managers began looking into lone worker solutions after recognising the risks that their staff were exposed to whilst at work. They were concerned that if an incident were to happen whilst working alone, staff may not have enough signal to make a phone call to ask for help.
Before trying EcoOnline's lone worker software (powered by StaySafe), the company had implemented a safety call-in system which involved employees calling a number and leaving a message with an automated service to confirm their safety. However, this method relied on staff remembering to call in and it also didn’t provide staff with a quick way to get help in an emergency. Managers at Thomson Environmental Consultants wanted a solution that was easy to use, had a 24-hour monitoring system and a detailed escalation procedure. After a successful trial period, the company decided that the lone worker app was the best option for them.
Field workers are now confident that if they have an accident at work, monitors will be notified and can send assistance to them. Staff can start a timed session before a period of lone work or travel and check-in at any time to confirm their safety. If an employee fails to end their session safely, a session expiry alert will be sent to the monitor.
If a worker has an accident or injures themselves at work, they can send a panic alert through the app which will notify a monitor that they need assistance. If workers are ever in an area with minimal coverage, the app will automatically switch to low-signal mode and session alerts will continue to be sent to the Hub via SMS. The app also provides man down alerts so that managers can detect if an employee has not moved for a prolonged period of time. This feature is particularly useful for staff who have to work from height or in dangerous environments.
Tom Offin, Resourcing and Office Manager at Thomson Environmental Consultants comments, “the lone worker solution fits easily into Health & Safety procedures. We have had consistent support from our account manager who is always on hand to answer any questions we have. We are impressed at how flexible the solution is and we have easily been able to tailor the app to make sure it meets all of our needs. The app is easy to use and the set up was seamless. Our staff feel much safer working on different sites knowing they have the app available to them.”
Don Cameron, former CEO at StaySafe adds, “providing the highest level of protection to lone working staff is of the utmost importance to us. It is great for fieldworkers who spend a lot of time out in rural locations where environments can be unpredictable. The app’s low signal mode is a great feature as it allows employees to continue to communicate with managers even in areas of low coverage.”
