Employers have the same responsibilities towards staff who work alone as they have to all workers. Lone workers may be subject to additional risks, especially if they work outside normal hours or visit people in their homes.
The new Personal Tracking solution from VeriLocation works automatically in the background on BlackBerry and pocket PC devices with built-in GPS chip sets. Example models include; BlackBerry 8800, Blackberry Bold, 8820, 8310 or XDA Orbit. So your team can work efficiently and effectively out of the office, safe in the knowledge that they can raise the alarm or be traced if a problem arises. Whichever device you choose, it is compact, discreet, easy to use and combined into a normal mobile phone and e-mail device.
Click here to view the press release (blackberry.com).
Additional benefits:
- Up to 36 hour battery power
- Normal accuracy of 10 metres anywhere in the world
- Panic alarm option which, when activated, transfers through to a manned 24 hour monitoring station (additional charge)
- Geofence alerts – to notify colleagues when a worker has arrived or departed from a specific location
- User can choose 5, 2 or 1 minute tracking
- Based on VeriLocation’s proven web-based GPS tracking software
Just £20 per month (minimum 12 months) software available for download to your device.
More about lone workers
Based on VeriLocation’s proven web-based GPS tracking software
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) describes loan workers as "those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision." This doesn't necessarily mean that they work by themselves all the time, but spend a large proportion of their time without close interaction with colleagues. Lone workers may be at greater risk of violence or accidents.
Lone workers include people who:
- Work away from their base, e.g. sales people, service engineers
- Visit other people in their homes, e.g. health care workers, social services
- Work outside in the community, e.g. environmental officers, probation officers
- Work outside normal hours or are the only person on the premises, e.g. shift or flexi-time workers, security workers Improving communication helps to reduce risks and may reduce the feeling of vulnerability.
VeriLocation's Personal Tracking Solution provides:
- A system for communicating back to base - using telephone, text or email
- A panic alarm to be used in case of emergency
- The facility to notify others when the worker has reached a specific location or returned home
The GPS tracking software runs in the background of a single, small and compact PDA providing a discreet and convenient solution.
Unison is Britain's biggest trade union with more than 1.3 million members. Click here to view its Health and Safety Guide on Lone Working.
The GMB describes itself as Britain's general union and has almost 600,000 members. Click here for the GMB Guide to Working Alone.