No One Left Behind: Safeguarding Your Mobile Workforce
Enterprise mobility is essential for those who are rarely tied down to a desk and work alone. Without an advanced telecoms system, employees, such as retail staff, healthcare professionals, and those working in education, manufacturing, or leisure, would not be able to keep each other updated and easily communicate on the job, nor would they be able to keep themselves safe or request help when working alone or in isolated areas.
Here are a few reasons why it is essential for lone workers to have the latest in mobile technology to reduce their risks in the workplace.
What are the safety challenges of employees working alone?
Several industries are more likely to experience workplace accidents. For instance, the International Labour Office (ILO) reported that around 340 million occupational accidents occur worldwide every year. In addition, there are, on average, 160 million victims of work-related illnesses per annum.
Of this, 2.3 million workers die as a result of their accident or illness, which amounts to over 6,000 fatalities every day.
Slips and trips, carrying or lifting heavy equipment, falls from heights, and being hit by a moving object are among the most frequent causes of work-related injuries and account for over $4.01 billion in costs. 75% of workplace assaults occurred in a healthcare setting, with 46% of nurses reporting some form of workplace violence during their 5 most recent shifts, and $121 billion of annual losses are attributed to workplace assaults.
Wherever they are in the world, someone working alone faces a greater risk of injury as they do not have someone to help them if they get into trouble.
This is particularly a problem in medical, retail, and manufacturing sectors, as workplace injuries are more likely to occur in these industries. For instance, employees may work with hazardous substances, dangerous machinery, and large and heavy objects or have to confront more incidences of violence doing their jobs.
Additionally, if lone workers experience an accident, injury, or even a cardiac incident while working alone or in an isolated area and they do not have the means to call for help, they could be left waiting a long time until someone finds them and they can receive care, which could worsen their outcome and may even lead to a fatality.
A person’s chances of survival drop up to 10% each minute they are left unattended after cardiac arrest, demonstrating the importance of immediate medical attention.
Lone workers’ protection
Consequently, due to this heightened risk, protecting lone workers is paramount. Different countries around the world have varying policies and legislation to keep employees who work by themselves as safe as possible.
For example, it is estimated that one in five employees work alone in Germany, amounting to approximately 8.5 million people. There are also around 875,000 occupational accidents in the country every year, leading to as many as 450 fatalities. Because of this, Germany now has legislation in place to keep lone workers as safe as possible, including the Lone Workers’ Law, which is now part of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This law obliges employers to implement necessary health and safety measures following an adequate risk assessment. They also have to provide first aid, firefighting, and employee evacuation where necessary, as well as ensure connections to external agencies.
It is not just Germany that strives to protect its lone workers, though, as Canada, Australia and the UK all have regulations in place to maintain utmost safety for their staff who are regularly on their own.
Canada, for instance, requires employers to implement precautions to reduce the risk of harm to their workers. Failure to do this means the company will be criminally liable for any accident.
Australia is similar, with the law legislating that employers are obligated to protect their lone workers and have to have a means of communicating with them at all times to keep them safe.
While lone workers are not specifically mentioned in the UK’s Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers must ensure preventative measures are taken when staff are at risk.
A lone worker needs personal protection measures, particularly if they are exposed to greater risk than other employees. This may include a personal emergency signal system, which alerts others when there is an emergency and help is required.
How do telecom systems protect lone workers?
According to GSMA’s State Of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report, 54% of the world’s population owns a smartphone, or around 4.3 billion people.
It also reported that nearly four billion people who use the internet do so on their smartphone, as they have made it significantly easier to access mobile internet services.
An advanced telecoms system provided to all lone workers could be even more useful than a personal smartphone. 83%. External Link. Opens in new window. of senior management and operations personnel witnessed a noticeable rise in productivity levels following the implementation of a safety program
Enterprise solutions, like Spectralink Versity Smartphones or Spectralink Enterprise DECT, can help keep staff physically safe anywhere in the world thanks to their different functions that are purposefully built for work environments. Here are a few:
- Panic button
Trying to dial an emergency number on a regular mobile phone would take too long, and the employee might not be able to talk to the responder on the other end of the line to explain the emergency.
However, modern workforce phones are set up with a panic button, so the user must press the alert, and help will be on the way.
This means that in the event of a natural disaster, a fire, a fall, or a health emergency, they can reach out for assistance as quickly and easily as possible.
Pressing the panic button triggers an automatic alarm and sends a notification.
- Motion detector
A built-in motion detector is also a useful tool, as it alerts when the handset remains stationary for a certain period of time. This could indicate that the user is not moving and that an emergency situation has occurred.
- Running notification
At the same time, the motion detector can work out when the user is running while carrying the handheld device. This could be due to a threatening situation they are trying to escape, and, therefore, an alarm is triggered when the smartphone detects running at speed.
- Tilting in an unusual position
The devices can be programmed to set off an alarm when they are tilted in a weird position. As this is not a normal occurrence, it could indicate an incident has happened.
- Silent alarm
Having a silent alarm also has its benefits, as it can be sounded without the assailant being aware. As the potential threat is not known to have been detected, it prevents the staff member from getting into danger.
What are the benefits of having a lone worker solution?
There are multiple advantages of having a technological solution to keep lone workers protected.
For one thing, it shows workers that the company cares and wants to maintain their safety, encouraging employee loyalty and reducing staff turnover.
It also improves staff morale and increases retention, as workers are likelier to stay in a business that protects them. Therefore, companies do not have to spend as much money on recruitment.
Work-related accidents and illnesses also cost the global economy as much as $1.25 trillion (£1.01 billion) a year, as well as the lives of two million people, the ILO reported.
In the European Union alone, 150 million workdays are lost annually due to work accidents; the US spends nearly $171 billion on occupational injuries and illnesses; and a huge 270 million around the world suffer from work accidents every year.
This is why keeping staff safe not only protects their lives but also increases business productivity and saves companies considerable amounts of money.