Page 13 - OHS, June 2023

The potential impact of any incident or injury that happens to a lone employee working in a remote area is magnified due to a delay in getting help for that employee. This makes remote workers a particularly vulnerable part of your workforce. noomcpk/Shutterstock.com Consider a lineman getting called to a site in a densely populated downtown area; if he or she suffers an injury, no more than a couple of minutes would pass before someone would notice, and help would be on the way. Now consider the same lineman getting called to fix the trouble in a rural area with nobody around for miles. Nobody to see a fall, and nobody to hear a call for help. An injured, unconscious or incapacitated employee could go unseen for hours or even days. Lucky for us, there is new technology available that enables 24/7 worker connectivity and significantly reduces risk to this vulnerable group. Today, we have technology options that connect even the most isolated employees to a real-time response plan in the event of an incident or emergency. In this article, we’ll review the technology options available, and which scenarios they are best suited to. Tech Overview There are three main categories of technology for remote or lone workers: smartphone apps, satellite devices and wearables. Smartphone apps tend to be a more cost-effective option and are best implemented across organizations that offer company-provided smartphones to employees. Otherwise, adoption may be difficult if employers are trying to force employees to download apps on their personal phones. End users tend to like smartphone apps because it means they don’t have to carry an additional piece of equipment, and over the past few years, the user interfaces of these apps have become much more user-friendly. Satellite devices are generally more robust and durable than smartphone apps but come at a premium price point. For employees that work in remote areas with no cell service, a satellite device is required. Organizations can, however, save money by purchasing satellite devices that have gas detection capabilities, meaning they can get two core functionalities in one device. Lastly, we have wearable devices. Wearables like watches or wrist straps are popular for tracking employee temperature and fatigue management. Wearables are also commonly utilized for discreet SOS notifications. These devices are meant to extend and complement a safety solution or software. All three options have one thing in common: they need to be supported by effective 24/7 monitoring to give the desired result. Connected worker technology enables an effective response to incidents or emergencies. Technology is the first part of the equation—giving the employee the ability to communicate distress no matter where they are. The second (and most important) part is to actually respond to the emergency in a timely manner. Organizations can choose to have supervisors and managers monitor alerts or they can outsource to a dedicated third-party monitoring service to handle alerts and quarterback escalation procedures. Apps The most used function on any lone worker app is the check-in timer. You’ll find this on just about every app, and the duration of the timer can be adjusted based on the risk level of the employee’s environment. For example, an employee in a remote but familiar location may set a two-hour check-in timer, whereas an employee heading to a new location in a harsh environment may set 30- or 15-minute timers. Most lone worker apps will also have www.ohsonline.com JUNE 2023 | Occupational Health & Safety 11