INSTANT COMMUNICATIONS /

Instant Talk / Locate / Alert

Duty of Care: Are your employees safe?

Maria PouneyGeneral Manager - Instant Communications

WHAT IS A ‘LONE’ WORKER?

LONE WORKERS

Anyone who operates outside of a dedicated place of work is a lone worker.

• Engineers (Plumbers, SKY installers)

• Couriers and Delivery (City Link, TESCO’s delivery)

• Local Council Workers (Traffic Warden, Waste Collection)

• Motorway Maintenance

• Security

• Cleaners

IF HAVE LONE OR MOBILE WORKERS

Here are some scary FACTS…

THE LAW AND YOUR DUTY OF CARE

• Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 became law on 6th April 2008.

• Companies and organisations will be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter or homicide as a result of serious management failures.

• The court can impose unlimited fines; a Publicity Order and up to two years imprisonment.

• Combined with existing legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSW). Organisations must comply with their 'Duty of Care' responsibilities for the protection of Lone Workers.

WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES?

• Assess the risks your loan workers face within the organisation

• Take steps to avoid and control risk where possible

• Provide a safe working environment for all your staff even those who work alone or remotely

• Implement steps that fulfil the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSW).

• You have a duty of care to ensure your Lone Workers are adequately protected in carrying our their duties – FACT.

TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF STAFF ‘AT RISK’

• 90% suffered some form of violent incident at work during the previous 12 months.

• Up to 20% were attacked or threatened on at least a weekly basis.

• One-third of respondents had been the victim of an attack involving a vehicle

• Over 10% had been attacked or threatened with an offensive weapon

• 7% required medical treatment

TRAFFIC WARDENS / PARKING ATTENDANTS

Source: UNISON’s Health & Safety for Traffic Wardens & Parking Attendants

• GMB Website has been launched where security guards can log details of attacks they have suffered at work.

• In the past 2 years 1,550 security staff working for just 35 companies out of 600+ companies have been injured on duty by violent attacks - some very seriously.

• GMB is calling on employers and stakeholders within the security industry to work together to reduce violent attacks against security

officers undertaking their duty in public places.

SECURITY

Source: www.gmb-security.org.uk

• Community Care magazine surveyed 1,000 social care staff, finding over 20% needed medical attention for injuries

• 50% of social workers are subjected to over 6 acts of violence

• The most common place of attack was in residential homes or at a client's home

• 21% of people who had been attacked wanted to leave the profession

• 14% had been prescribed medication for depression

• 11% had been stalked or persistently harassed

SOCIAL WORKERS

Source: Community Care magazine

IS THE LAW ENFORCED?

A recent court case against an employer

A company director is facing prison under the Corporate Manslaughter Act; the case has been heard in Crown Court .

The director, has been accused of corporate manslaughter over the death of geologist in a mudslide. The company faces an unlimited fine if found guilty under the 2007 legislation.

The deceased, was taking soil samples from inside a pit which had been excavated as part of a site survey, when the sides collapsed, crushing him.

The maximum sentence for gross negligence under the Corporate Manslaughter Act is life. Even if the director escapes conviction for the most serious offence, he could still face imprisonment for the offence under section 37 of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work.

CROWN COURT vs. EMPLOYER

WHAT IS INSTANT COMMUNICATIONS?

• The Instant Communications product suite from InTechnology is an simple and effective way to protect your lone workers.

• Our solution reduces communications costs as well as personal risk, while boosting your productivity and providing you with a workforce management tool .

• Our exclusive BB3G gives you a robust handset ideal for all your workers .

INSTANT COMMUNICATIONS

• Communicating is instantaneous because there is always an open voice channel and there is no need to dial a number.

• To communicate you just push a button and talk; this could be one to one or one to many

• There is almost unlimited coverage as it uses the global GSM mobile phone network and as it utilises the data channel you will still be able to make calls when the voice channel is congested.

INSTANT TALK

• You can view staff locations via a secure web based client (ICMC)

• Quickly monitor the location of individual users or the whole team

• Monitor movements of staff members over a specified period

• Historical information of an employee's movement so see if a delivery person was at the correct address at the correct time, or which route that the employee took.

INSTANT LOCATE

• Using standard mobile phones users can raise an Instant Alert in the event of an incident, which can be directed to any fixed or mobile location

• The service is always connected to an open data channel on the mobile network – giving users the fastest possible route to raising the alarm in the event of an incident

• Default recording of all Talk sessions during Alert status

• Stealth listening capability from Management Console – the ability to monitor the situation without letting the attacker know your recording and listening.

INSTANT ALERT

The ICMC

• Provides the ability to manage communications with an organisation

• View mobile devices’ live and historic locations, and handle alerts

• Subscribers using an Instant Locate enabled mobile device will update their geographic location to the server, so their movements can be monitored

• During an active alert their position is constantly polling, to ensure all focus is on that employee

HOW CAN INSTANT COMMUNICATIONS HELP YOUR ORGANISATION?

HOW CAN IT HELP?

The disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh more than 22 years ago was front page news. In this deployment the agency staff are issued BB3G handsets and can instantly talk to, or instantly alert to, a centralised control point – either the main agency office or an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC).

PROTECT YOUR LONE WORKERS NOW /

Instant Talk / Locate / Alert

Any questions, contact us on:Tel: 0800 983 2522Email: enquiries@instant-communications.co.ukWeb: www.instant-communications.co.uk