Major housebuilder Crest Nicholson shortlisted for prestigious national safety award
Success highlights importance of partnership with lone worker expert Peoplesafe
Award winning housebuilder Crest Nicholson has been shortlisted for the Safer Workplace category as part of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust’s National Personal Safety Awards. The trust was set up in the memory of an estate agent who went missing while working alone and the awards celebrate the work being done across the UK to keep people safe from violence and aggression.
Peoplesafe has provided the Crest Nicholson sales teams with 78 Identicom i757s identity badges, which feature discreet personal panic alarms and have a unique ‘listening-in’ facility.
Martyn Price, head of health and safety for Crest Nicholson, said: “At Crest Nicholson we place a huge amount of emphasis on looking after our staff, and in a people-oriented business such as ours, the sales teams are one of our greatest assets. Guaranteeing their safety in the workplace is a massive priority and it is therefore a great honour for us to be in the finals of this award.
“One of the benefits of working with a company such as Peoplesafe is that it has not only provided us with a highly respected lone worker solution for our particular needs, but has also carried out face-to-face training with all of our staff. They keep in regular contact with the Identicom users, to remind them of simple, but important things, like remembering to recharge the device, and this has been particularly helpful in terms of ensuring that essential safety measures always stay front of mind.”
Crest Nicholson is one of the leading regeneration developers in the UK. With nearly 70 sites around the country, the company is renowned not just for building new homes, but for creating vibrant sustainable communities. The company places an emphasis on delivering well-designed, quality and affordable homes and, with a dedicated sales team committed to supporting this objective, guaranteeing the safety and security of employees is of paramount importance.
Users of the Identicom can raise the alarm if they are at risk or feel uneasy in any given situation. Pressing a dedicated panic button will alert Peoplesafe’s 24/7 monitoring station, allowing staff to listen in, locate the user and arrange the appropriate action to assist them. There is also a “safe and well” check, where lone workers can contact the monitoring station, leaving a message and location, which will “time out” after a specified time, prompting the user to be contacted to check they are alright. If they do not respond, this will escalate to red alert mode.
The i757 Identicom issued to Crest Nicholson’s employees is a GPS version of the Identicom, allowing for a more accurate location in the event of the alarm being raised.
Ian Johannessen, managing director of Peoplesafe, said: “By issuing lone workers with these devices Crest Nicholson has shown that they take the safety of their employees very seriously.
“Having 24/7 monitoring can take a lot of the worry out of having lone workers out in the field and it means businesses can get on with the job more efficiently and safely – and workers know that they are being looked after. It makes sense on all sides.”
It is estimated that 6.8 million people spend all or part of their working day alone. Peoplesafe is one of the UK’s leading providers of simple and lightweight equipment and monitoring to keep employees as safe as possible.
Unlike many of its competitors, it operates independently of any device manufacturer, offering services based on the needs of individual lone workers.
As well as the Identicom, Peoplesafe supplies its clients with specially adapted PDAs and Blackberrys, and the Sonim XP3 mobile phone, said to be the most rugged in the world. All the equipment is backed up by the 24/7 monitoring station and the knowledge that all Peoplesafe’s products fully comply with the British Standard 8484 code of practice for the provision of lone worker device services.
Peoplesafe’s other clients include housebuilders Persimmon and TaylorWimpey, retailers like Argos, Halfords and Carphone Warehouse, and leading car parking company Q Park.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust was set up in memory of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh who went missing after going to meet a man, called Mr Kipper, who wanted to view a house in Fulham, west London nearly a quarter of a century ago. Suzy’s body has not been found. However, she has been presumed murdered and legally declared dead. Her parents Paul and Diana founded the trust to highlight the risks people on their own face and to offer advice, action and support to minimise those risks.
Jo Walker, campaigns and communications officer at the trust, said: “All employees who come into contact with the general public can potentially be at risk of violence and aggression. However, anyone on their own – without the support and back up of colleagues – is more vulnerable than most. Lone workers need systems and procedures that protect their safety.”
The winner of the award will be announced at a ceremony in London on November 20.
Dont leave lone workers in the dark
Lone workers are particularly vulnerable to attack or accidents at night, although the level of risk varies depending on the location and surroundings. With the clocks going back this weekend, employees may feel worried about working or travelling home when it is dark as visibility is restricted and can be hard to judge surrounding environments
Lone working systems are the best course of action if an incident does occur, however common sense and training may help to prevent potentially harmful situations arising.
Personal Safety Tips for your employees working in the dark
- Plan ahead. Make sure you know where you are going and how to get there. If you are catching a bus or train, find out the times to avoid waiting for long periods at bus stops or stations.
- When walking, stick to busy well-lit streets whenever possible. Avoid danger spots like quiet or badly lit alleyways, subways or isolated car parks.
- If you do have to pass danger spots, think about what you would do if you felt threatened. The best idea is to head for a public place where you know there will be other people, for example a garage or pub.
- Avoid passing stationary cars with their engines running and people sitting in them and whenever practical walk facing on coming traffic to avoid curb crawlers.
- Stay alert and keep your mind on your surroundings – remember if you are wearing headphones or chatting on a mobile phone, you will not hear trouble approaching.
- If you think you are being followed, trust your instincts and take action. As confidently as you can, cross the road turning and look to see who is behind you. If you are still being followed, keep moving. Make for a busy area and tell people what is happening.
- Try not to keep all your valuables in one place. Instead place valuables such as wallets in an inside pocket or use a money belt.
- Try to keep both hands free and don’t walk with your hands in your pockets.
- Consider carrying a personal safety alarm, which can be used to get help immediately and discreetly.
(Suzy Lamplugh Trust Website 2010)
Spending review to affect lone working?
Industry demands better communication between the mobile sector and businesses in the aftermath of Government Spending Review
The mobile industry must do more to promote the efficiency and productivity benefits it can offer both public and private sector organisations, according to leading industry figures.
Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the Government’s Spending Review (October 20), in which chancellor George Osborne outlined spending cuts totalling over £80 billion and public sector job losses of more than 490,000, industry voices said workforce management will be a hot topic going forward and mobile technology offers a viable solution.
Lone worker technology provider Rocksure Systems managing director Ian Johannessen (pictured, bottom right) said organisations will make cuts from back-end operations and look for efficiencies as they aim to protect front-line services, and said: “There are many ways businesses can be more efficient in the use of smart technologies, such as smartphones, to manage workers, allocate them jobs and track their working day.
“Workforce management is a huge huge opportunity for businesses to save money without compromising on quality of services.”
But, said Johannessen, the mobile industry must better promote the services it can offer. “The mobile sector is probably not doing enough. There has been basic PDA applications around for a long time, but they have been clunky and expensive.
“We are now talking about workforce management for the masses through smartphones, and the mobile industry is doing a good job but needs to get the success stories covered better. We need to talk about examples more than features.”
Iain Sinnott, former Timico head of indirect sales and now director of his own company SMECO, (pictured, bottom left) agreed in principal with Johannessen, but said business must do more to help themselves.
Sinnott said: “From the mobile and communications side we have to find a better way of expressing to businesses that a way to pay people 10 per cent less is to get them doing 10 per cent more.
“But likewise business have to wake up and learn that lesson. Businesses should listen to us more carefully about which products can deliver what they’re looking for in cost savings.”
Sinnott added that business bodies such as the Federation of Small Businesses and the CBI should be doing their bit to drive interest in mobile technology.
Sinnott, who is in the first throws of acquiring customers for SMECO, which launched on September 1, said: “I’m in the midst of cold calling people, and frankly they’re not listening enough this early in our relationship to hear what I’m saying. Bodies with influence on the business community have to get employers to open their eyes and look at the tools available.
“The danger is businesses get scared and start believing that the only thing to do in a cost cutting environment is to cut costs and not do anything else, when quite the opposite is true in fact.”
Quocirca principal analyst for service provision and mobility Rob Bamforth (pictured, top right) said there will be opportunities arising as a result of the spending cuts, although they will vary from business to business. Larger existing telecoms suppliers may even find themselves frozen out, he said.
He said: “Larger, incumbent suppliers will find themselves not quick enough to respond and not nimble enough to deal with these opportunities. Smaller, more nimble organisations will be better placed.
“And if you’re an existing supplier, you’re likely to be squeezed harder as companies and government departments look beyond you to save money as you’re already in place.”
Bamforth said outsourcing will be the main way businesses look to cut costs going forward, although, again, there will be winners and losers.
“The two ends of the value chain will become increasingly important. Those close to customers, and those close to the core technology, such as networks, will benefit. Those in the middle, consultants, integrators and the like, will struggle more as they are only adding value and running a margin-on-margin business model.”
This, Bamforth said, suits the network model well as they have a connection to customers supported by the underlying network technology. However, their success will depend on if they recognise these strengths. “They have strong assets in their customer base and the network itself, but will they be able to deliver?,” Bamforth asked.
Unified communications provider Outsourcery chief executive officer Piers Linney (pictured, top left) said outsourcing will be evidenced through the increasing use of cloud-based technologies.
“Companies are looking to new technologies to empower them to be more competitive and agile in tough market conditions, which will enable them to do more with less,” he said.
“This is fundamentally changing the way in which companies are working as they take advantage of the cuts to drive change within the business which has included adoption of practices such as remote working and outsourcing.”
Linney continued: “The fastest adoption is from companies on a fast growth curve but we are finding that all organisations are looking to benefit from the savings and efficiencies that are possible from cloud technologies.
“It now makes absolutely no sense for a small or medium-sized business, and even many smaller corporates, to invest in and maintain IT and communications infrastructure.”
Full article: http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/2010/10/industry-must-talk-more-with-business/
New lone worker solution for explosive areas
Peoplesafe Launches New Intrinsically
Safe Lone Worker Solution for Explosive
Areas
Thursday, Oct 14, 2010
Peoplesafe, experts in lone worker safety, has added a new product to its portfolio, which is specific to the oil and gas industry.
The Sonim XP3 Sentinel EX2 is the only intrinsically safe mobile phone with a “man-down” facility. Using the phone or pressing the red alert button is safe in an Atex Zone 2.
Its launch comes as the offshore oil and gas industry is being warned about its safety record by the Health and Safety Executive.
The new phone has been designed to withstand extreme temperatures and water and has a highly durable shell to meet the demands of harsh working environments. The “man-down” motion-sensor within the phone is triggered if the phone falls, tilts or is stationary for a prolonged period of time, which will raise an alarm if the employee is unable to do so themselves.
The phone can be used in an Atex Zone 2, which is “an atmosphere where a mixture of air and flammable substances in the form of gas, vapour or mist is not likely to occur in normal operation but, if it does occur, will persist for only a short period.”
It can also be used in an Atex Zone 22, in which an explosion could be triggered by combustible dust.
Ian Johannessen, managing director of Peoplesafe, said the phone was the only product on the market with all these capabilities, making it ideal for use in the oil and gas industry.
“Worker safety is vital to any employer and when you are operating in such extreme environments you need to be able to rely on your equipment.
“Combining the Sonim with Peoplesafe’s 24/7 monitoring centre will give peace of mind to employers that their staff are being protected.”
The phone also has an online GPS tracking facility, which can typically locate a lone worker to within a few metres. Peoplesafe can also supply employers with real time tracking allowing them to see on a map where their employees have been, and where they are, at all times.
It is the only system on the market that meets the exacting British Standard 8484 code of practice with intrinsically safe Atex Zone 2.
The product takes its place in Peoplesafe’s growing line-up of simple and lightweight lone worker safety devices that fully comply with the standard.
Other devices include the award-winning Identicom, a discreet alarm disguised as an identity card holder that can locate and listen in during an emergency, and the Sonim XP3 Sentinel, the world’s most rugged mobile phone.
Although no workers were killed offshore in 2009/10 there were 50 major injuries reported, up 20 on 2008/09 and higher than the average of 42 over the previous five years. These statistics are probably only the tip of the iceberg in regard to injuries that occur in the industry.
The figures prompted the HSE’s head of offshore division Steve Walker to fire off a warning to the oil and gas industry.
He said: “This year’s overall health and safety picture is simply not good enough. The industry has shown it can do better and it must do in future.”
NOTE TO NEWS EDITORS:
For further information, contact Lucy Tointon at Peoplesafe on (01909) 560912 or at lucy.tointon@peoplesafe.co.uk
Sales telephone number: 0845 5432087 or at sales@peoplesafe.co.uk
About Peoplesafe:
Peoplesafe is the brand for lone worker safety solutions offered by Rocksure Systems Ltd, based at Church Lane, Dinnington, South Yorkshire. Visit the website at http://www.peoplesafe.co.uk
Peoplesafe’s clients include major names like retailers Argos, Halfords and Carphone Warehouse, house builders Persimmon and TaylorWimpey and leading car parking company Q Park.
Lone Worker Open Day – 1st October 2010
We are showcasing Peoplesafe, our lone worker safety solution at our monitoring station in Selby on 1st October and we’d love you to come along!
- See how we protect your lone workers
- Tour of the lone worker monitoring station
- Demo of Peoplesafe Devices
- Lone worker advice and presentation
- Win free lone worker protection
- Refreshments provided throughout the day
Event details
Date: Friday 1st October 2010
Time: 10am to 2pm
Venue: The Franklin Centre, Adelaide House, Vivars Way, Selby, North Yorkshire YO8 8BE
During the day we will be showcasing our innovative lone worker safety devices such as the award winning Identicom, the Sonim XP3 Sentinel and our phone based lone worker applications. This will be a perfect opportunity to find out exactly how Peoplesafe works with the monitoring station and gain advice from our lone worker safety experts.
We will provide refreshments throughout the day, please invite any colleagues that may also be interested. If you have any questions in the meantime, please email sales@peoplesafe.co.uk or call on 0845 543 2087.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Sonim XP3 Sentinel goes coast to coast!
The Sonim XP3 Sentinel, the world’s most rugged lone worker phone recently went on an bike ride courtersey of Peoplesafe Director, Martin Rodgers. With the Sonim’s GPS tracking functionality and Photo evidence, we were able to follow Martin on his epic adventure giving us a few laughs (and of course ensuring his safety!)
The Sonim XP3 Sentinel – The Worlds most rugged lone worker phone
Start: Whitehaven
Finish: The other side
Sonim ready for the rough terrain and hazardous conditions!
Martin on the end, putting the sonim into ‘at work mode’ enabling him to use all the lone worker features – Red alert, amber alert, Man Down and GPS tracking.
Group pose, ready for the off….
Ok Martin, we believe you went on a massive bike ride!
MANDOWN! MANDOWN! Phew….good job the Sonim detected martins fall!
Finish line, quick waterproof check….yes definately still works. Brilliant.
Keep tuned for more Sentinel outings…..
Orange announce Peoplesafe as strategic lone worker partners
Orange research reveals employees want to feel safer when working away from the office
London, 15 June 2010: Orange today announced the findings of its recent research into lone working in the UK, which found that only half of respondents (53%) currently believe their employers do all they can to keep them safe while working out of the office. Orange is entering into new strategic partnerships to support its lone worker solution and help organisations support their employees when off site, with private sector experts Peoplesafe. The solution and partnerships have been designed to offer organisations the tools to give employers and employees alike the peace of mind that emergency help for people working alone can be summoned if needed.
Tailored solutions to assist employer obligations
The research found more than three quarters (79%) of the lone workers surveyed spend over 50% of their time away from an office or employer property, while 23% spend their entire working time in this way. With legislative rulings such as the Corporate Manslaughter Act of 2008, employers have a legal responsibility for ensuring the safety of their employees. Orange has chosen Peoplesafe as private sector partners to help employers meet these responsibilities. Peoplesafe has excellent credentials and is committed to providing businesses with tailored solutions focused on employee safety, using the Orange network which provides coverage to over 99% of the population.
One-touch access to emergency help
The lone worker solution from Orange includes providing easy, discreet mechanisms such as a button that can be attached to clothing or a simple phone application, which will allow employees to summon emergency help at one touch if needed. With research findings indicating that 44% of the respondents would prefer to contact the emergency services as a first line of defence if they found themselves in a threatening situation, these tools can provide a simple way to summon the appropriate level of help by directly alerting a response centre – managed by their specialist partners – who will deal with the situation effectively.
With mobile working tools becoming more and more common in business, it is perhaps unsurprising that 75% of lone workers are currently provided with mobile phones, and 41% are given laptops or netbooks with mobile internet access. However, just 12% of the survey respondents indicated that they currently have access to the type of tool that could send an alert to their colleagues or the emergency services if needed.
Keeping colleagues back at base up to date
GPS tracking can be enabled as part of the solution, which allows for an alarm to be raised in the office if, for example, an employee’s activity does not match their submitted schedules and plans for the day. The Orange research revealed that 38% of respondents would feel positive about their employer having the ability to be alerted quickly if they were to miss or be significantly delayed at an appointment, without explanation.
Additional services
Peoplesafe can additionally offer businesses extra help in maintaining their employees’ safety and wellbeing. Peoplesafe can offer those in the private sector individual lone worker risk assessments and legal guidance to help offer them the best security solutions.
“At Orange, we believe that employees deserve to have the very best of help to stay safe and secure when at work. We also believe that the ability to call for help at the touch of a button can be an immense confidence booster for employers and employees alike – something that has been confirmed by our research findings. We’ve partnered with Peoplesafe and Guardian 24 to deliver our lone worker solution, because, like us, they recognise the growing need to provide businesses with easy to use, reliable tools that can help them take care of their employees’ wellbeing in the way that suits them best,” said Michael Lawrence, Head of Corporate Propositions, Orange UK
