A security guard is doing his rounds at a university, a mechanic is carrying out checks on a remote site and a hotel employee is preparing rooms for new guests. These are employees from three completely different professional groups. Yet they have one thing in common: they often work alone. This group of employees is therefore vulnerable, which brings challenges and additional responsibilities for employers and HR managers. Because how do you check whether your employees are safe when there is no one around? How do you warn them in the event of a potential calamity?
Real-time information and communication
The term lone workers is used for anyone who works out of sight and hearing distance of others. If you work alone, you cannot rely on colleagues in the event of a disaster. In the past, lone workers visited at regular intervals to check that everything is in order. These kinds of standards are no longer tenable today. Employers are responsible for a safe and healthy workplace for employees in single-person stations. The safety guidelines are becoming increasingly strict and that is a good thing.
Integrated communication system
To work safely alone, good communication is crucial, in two directions. Employees must therefore not only receive information, but also be able to transmit it. In addition, the right information at the right time is important. Whether an employee is working 'in the field', in a control room or in a special alarm room (ARC). This requires real-time communication: a communication system must be able to automatically transmit real-time risks and threats, so that the employee can act quickly in a threatening situation. Ideally, a communication system links various communication sources, such as DECT/WiFi handsets that combine telephony and messages with man down detection, personal push-button alarms and GPS location options. But also consider security systems with access control, fire detection systems or other critical sensors and process monitoring systems. By linking various security systems, a single integrated communication system is created that provides a total overview of all current information in and around a work area.
Team communication
Ideally, a communication system also enables communication between teams. This type of live communication ensures that all employees are aware of everything that could affect their safety. At the same time, it prevents duplication of work and unnecessary returns to the office for new instructions. In addition, if the situation gets out of hand, the communication system can evacuate personnel and automatically close off rooms by integrating access control. Furthermore, in the event of a false alarm, a 'situation clear message' can be sent immediately, so that there is no unnecessary loss of production and peace can return to the emergency response organization.
Connectivity and open integration
The two key factors for a successful integrated communication system are connectivity and open integration. In practice, you see that departments increasingly make less use of their own, closed (communication) systems, because this often leads to operational silos because systems cannot be linked to each other. And it is precisely the openness of software that makes real-time sharing of information possible, in two directions. By having the right information at the right time, unsafe situations can be dealt with more effectively. Ultimately, as cliché as it may sound, employees are an organization's most valuable asset. By investing in a safe working environment, you put them first.
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