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What can Technology do to Help ?
There are two sides to all lone worker / personal safety systems. The person generating the alarm and the person or persons (responders) receiving the alarms.
Which SOS device do I need?
To determine which SOS device is best suited to you or your employee will depend on the environment it will be used in and the risk level associated. It could be something as simple as a mobile (cell) phone or for increased functionality a dedicated device such as BlueProtect, GeoAssist2 or ID Protect would be used. There are many other devices available with different features for different environments such as EX/ATEX areas and very wet areas which might need a device which is water resistant. Choosing which device best suits you or your employee is the first in a two step process. Similar results are obtained from different devices but they all have their unique advantages.
BlueProtect has a dedicated SOS panic button, Man Down sensor, GPS receiver and Bluetooth for pairing with a workers standard mobile phone. The biggest advantage of using BlueProtect is that it utilises your employees or your mobile phone which eliminates the need for additional SIM cards which in-turn reduces ongoing operating costs. It also allows you to replace aging, faulty or lost mobile phones without needing to replace the device.
GeoAssist has a dedicated SOS panic button, Man Down sensor, GPS receiver and integrated mobile phone technology. We see greatest use of these devices where there is a team of say 20 people who are lone workers some of the time but only 2 or 3 of them are lone workers at the same time. Purchasing 2 or 3 of these devices to share between these occasional lone workers can provide all of the facilities for lone working but also keep the costs down. For more information on these and other devices please see the products section.
How will I get help?
The second step in the process is to determine who will respond to an alarm. There two main methods of delivering alarms to responders.
Basic : Program the lone worker device (BlueProtect, GeoAssist2, etc..) to deliver a text
message directly to a colleague or family member and possibly make a phone call to another
contact. This method would be mostly chosen by users such as Farmers with their family or
friends as responders, Shop assistants with the owner/manager as a responder, Hill walkers
with their family or friends as responders, Warehouse person with reception and/or manager
as their responders, etc.. This method maybe basic but can often provide enough facilities for
obtaining help.
Comprehensive : Implement an alarm management and relay system such as the PPS (Personnel Protection System). Using the PPS provides many advantages over the “Basic” method of alerting but is not always necessary. In organisations where there are 5+ lone workers and/or responders and these people change from time to time it could become cumbersome to reconfigure the lone worker devices so the alarms are delivered to the correct people. Other advantages of using a comprehensive system such as the PPS is the advanced mapping capabilities, audit trails, simplified management, and delivery of alarms to large groups of responders insuring that an informed and efficient response is provided to a person in need of help.
Basic Alarm Method |
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Comprehensive Alarm Method |
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Choosing the best method for you or your organisation could be in extreme cases the difference between life and death. Not implementing either method leaves you, your colleagues or employees at much higher risk.
Why choose the PPS over a manned alarm monitoring centre(AMC)?
Lower Cost
Alarm monitoring centres generally charge a daily, monthly or annual fee for providing alarm
services. With the PPS this is not the case. The PPS is a standalone software and computer system
which automates all of the tasks that an alarm monitoring centre would normally provide.
Depending on the model of PPS chosen, you can have up to 9998 users setup at one fixed cost.
This cost is a system cost and not primarily a user cost. For example, the operating cost of PPS can
be as little as 30 euro per lone worker per year for 100 lone workers or 15 euro per lone worker
per year for 200 lone workers. In short, the more lone workers added to the system the less each
lone worker costs.
Speed
Speed of alarm delivery to responders is always going to be faster using the PPS than an alarm
monitoring centre. This is because the PPS does not require a middleman to pass on information
to responders. Delivery of all alarm information including access to voice recordings, live audio
streams from the alarm location and mapping is sent directly to the responders. Automation is key
to an efficient response. In any environment where automation is not used, processes are slowed
down and key information is often misinterpreted or lost.
In an alarm monitoring centre the number of controllers (personnel) is normally based on the number of clients the AMC has. It will never be one for one. This means that alarms can only be processed when a controller is available. For example, in an AMC with 5 controllers they can only process 5 alarms at the same time. As AMC’s are normally handling alarms from intruder alarms, car alarms, fire alarms and lone workers, should you be the 6th alarm to arrive could mean a delay in processing by a controller. If you are the 10th or 20th alarm to arrive in then the delays could be many minutes or in extreme cases, hours. Because the PPS is an automated system, as each alarm is received it is automatically processed and delivered to the nominated responders. This insures that the responders are notified in a matter of seconds.
Flexibility
When using an AMC you are often limited to a very small selection of lone worker devices and
which are often proprietary to the AMC. This means that you may have to adapt your business
practice to fit within the constraints of the AMC. With the PPS you can use any device available,
such as a Mobile (Cell) phone, BlueProtect, GeoAssist2, ID Protect, X.com, EX GSMs and even
devices provided by other companies. This insures that you use the best device for the
environment you are working in and can change to a different device should the need arise. This
flexibility protects your investment for the years to come.
Alarm monitoring centres mostly use systems and software designed for receiving alarms from static devices such as intruder, car and fire alarms. People (Lone Workers) do not operate in a manner that easily fit within these systems. Provision of lone workers systems is often wrapped up in a tracking system which were initially intended for vehicle tracking. Apart from problems associated with “People Tracking” this technology requires a good GSM or radio signal and a costly contract with a network provider. It‘s akin to trying to fit a square peg in a round hole! The PPS is different. The PPS was designed and developed around people and their requirements when working alone. And as technology advances and peoples’ work practices change, the PPS adapts to these changes, seamlessly.
Mapping Capabilities
Most alarm monitoring centres use off the shelf mapping facilities which only provide street
mapping. It also requires that a controller interprets the mapping information correctly and passes
this information on to a responder. This method is prone to information getting lost in translation.
Also, if a lone worker is not on a road i.e. in a manufacturing plant, the street information is
useless. Apart from being able to use any internet street mapping service the PPS can also import
CAD drawings, aerial photographs or any other images that are to scale and use them to produce
additional maps showing the location of the alert. Accessible on PC’s these additional maps are
also accessible by responders directly on any mobile (cell) phone or satellite phone with a colour
screen and internet access. Points of interest (POI) can also be added to the PPS mapping system.
This facility enables delivery or textual information about a person’s location to responders. For
example, text such as “POI : Storage area 8. Gate Access code 1234” could be sent automatically to
responders should an alert be generated within this POI’s range.
When using an alarm monitoring centre you are sharing a system with many 1000’s of other users. A first come, first served approach is normally adhered to in these operations. The PPS is a dedicated piece of hardware and software for your lone workers only. It is normally installed on your premises and is only used by your personnel. This insures the highest availability to your employees.
Who is in control?
You are in full control of who uses the system, who receives alarms and all audited data produced
during an alarm activation. You don’t have to pay extra to get audio recordings, alarm audit lists or
make changes to your lone workers and responders. This fixes the cost enabling you to accurately
budget.
In short the PPS is the lowest cost, fastest operating, most flexible, most technologically advanced
system with the highest availability for lone workers available today.
PPS Advantages |
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