Lone workers are often working alone in remote places, making them vulnerable to various safety and security issues. Wearables are now making it possible for lone workers to be less alone even in the most secluded locations.
When it comes to safety and security, the most notable wearable is body worn cameras, commonly used in law enforcement. Companies focused on lone worker solutions, though, are developing different types of wearables to help employers keep lone workers safe.
Wearable technology usually conjures up images of fitness trackers and smartwatches, but nowadays with their enormous popularity they are being used for safety and security as well. Wearables have become so popular that research firm Gartner forecasts that 310.4 million wearable devices will be sold in 2017, generating US$30.5 billion. This is a 16.7-percent increase from 2016. The vast majority of sales will come from smartwatches and wristbands; however, sales of body worn cameras (BWC) are expected to increase rapidly over the next five years — from just over 1 million in 2017 to over 5.6 million in 2021.
Smaller, Lighter and More Discreet
There are many things to consider when choosing a lone worker device. “The size of the device, cost overrun protection, return on investment (ROI), coverage, ease of use, performance, reliability and availability of training are all concerns our customers have when choosing a device to keep their workers safe,” said Ron Wright, Regional Sales Manager at
Globalstar.
The general consensus is that employers and lone workers want smaller, lighter and more discreet devices. At the same time, they also want devices with more features and functionality.
“Many companies are working to have an affordable product that can be assigned to one employee to be used over an extended period of time rather than a check-out process. Additionally, it is becoming increasingly important to businesses to have a way for their employees to communicate when outside of cellular range or have a source of backup communications when primary networks are overwhelmed or interrupted as part of their safety protocol,” Wright said.
Will Murray, Marketing Director for
Guardian24, pointed to the need for more personalization of the service down to each staff member’s individual circumstances, driven by backend functionality, as well as new form factors for devices (e.g., can be worn as watches, or Bluetooth buttons which communicate with your smartphone to raise the alarm). He also pointed to greater proliferation of smartphone apps as they become more powerful and widespread in organizations.
Additional user requirements include the need for discreet devices, for public facing roles where an aggressor is becoming abusive/violent; man-down or fall-down alarm functionality, which automatically raises the alarm if someone slips or is knocked unconscious; a greater degree of management and usage reports, and the ability to configure devices and update user profiles via online client administration portal; and devices which can be used easily with little or no training, according to Murray.
Globalstar developed the SPOT Gen3 personal GPS and S.O.S. satellite messenger to meet such user requirements. “Our lightweight and compact device is simple to use and is responsible for initiating over 5,400 rescues worldwide,” Wright said. Furthermore, “Due to the built-in motion sensor in the device, the battery life is near 10 days at a 10-minute tracking interval.”
The MySOS devices from SkyGuard, a sister company of Guardian24, is one of the smallest devices on the market and certified to the highest industry standards, according to Murray. The device can be worn in a variety of ways to suit the end user, which includes on a belt using the holster, as a pendant using the lanyard, as an ID badge holder using the accessory it clips onto the back of, or affixed to a bunch of keys on a keyring.
Additionally, Murray added, “Our device allows the users to leave a voice memo message providing additional details such as who they are meeting, for how long and their address. This info can be listened to by controllers at our incident management center giving them vital information to pass onto the emergency services during an alarm.”
Ron Wright,
Regional Sales Manager,
Globalstar
Better Technology, Smarter Devices
Smart technology has penetrated even the most basic of devices. In lone worker wearables where it could have life and death implications, using smarter, more advanced technology is needed. “Technology is moving more quickly now as the industry matures. Smartphones are incredibly powerful and lone worker apps can tap into this functionality. Dedicated personal safety devices are also becoming more sophisticated too, but all these types of products need to connect into the lone worker protection provider’s backend systems and it is the client portal that can bring more hidden benefits to the organization,” Murray explained. “For example, by having tracking enabled, managers can see where all of their staff are and use the system as a workforce management tool.”
Built-in motion sensors, according to Wright, are allowing businesses to track their workers with no actions necessary except to power on the device. “The battery is conserved when the device is not moving allowing for longer battery life. There are also a number of companies that are working to integrate our satellite technology into wearable devices when outside of cellular range.”
Richie McBride, MD of
Edesix, highlighted how recent advancements in body worn camera technology means that Wi-Fi enabled cameras can now stream directly to a central unit. It also allows them to seamlessly connect with existing video surveillance cameras.
Edesix’s new camera streaming gateway software OnStream, opens up new avenues to protect lone workers operating within a network of Wi-Fi connected sites. “Wi-Fi-enabled BWCs can be configured to live stream direct to a central instance of VideoManager or an ONVIF-compliant video management system. For lone workers this creates new possibilities for their safety and effective incident response,” McBride explained.
“ONStream also enables body worn cameras to integrate seamlessly with fixed IP cameras. This enables organizations to unify a site’s security and monitoring system, and create mobile and first-person viewpoints and add contextual detail to footage. Cameras integrate seamlessly with VideoManager and leading video surveillance VMS, meaning captured footage can be instantly shared and viewed by security staff,” McBride added.