Case Studies

Lone worker service

by Mark Rowe

VINCI Facilities, part of the construction firm VINCI, has adopted a personal safety service to mitigate potential risk to their lone workers.Using Skyguard’s MySOS personal alarm, VINCI’s lone working staff can call for help at the touch of a button. VINCI Facilities provide services to such sectors as housing, education and healthcare. Their lone workers for example, as Resident Liaison Officers work alone and visit domestic properties. Josephine O’Connor, Business and Community Investment Manager for VINCI Facilities set about sourcing a British Standard BS 8484-approved lone worker personal safety service to back up and protect their lone working staff. Josephine says: “Our officers encounter persons from all walks of life and may find themselves alone and in awkward situations such as in known areas of high-risk.”

After research and deliberation, Skyguard were awarded the contract to provide 24 hour emergency backup via their accredited MySOS personal safety device. The MySOS, which can fit onto a set of keys or carried on a belt holster, allows users to raise an alarm at the press of a button should they feel threatened or their safety is compromised.
The alarm goes to Skyguard’s own purpose-built Incident Management Centre (IMC) where controllers will listen, locate the user, assess and take action, including escalating to the emergency services.

When tracking options are enabled, the device will also automatically record and transmit its GPS locations at set intervals, or manually by the press of a button on the device. These positions can be viewed on a map with grid references, in real time, via Skyguard’s Customer Service Centre (CSC) online portal.

Josephine said: “The real-time link to the emergency services and the fact that the controllers can hear what is happening is a real comforter. In a genuine emergency situation they’ll despatch the appropriate services to your aid. This is the assurance we wanted and exactly why we chose Skyguard. The offering of two-way communication, GPS location and emergency despatch all in one device, ensures the complete safety of our staff in areas of risk. And the fact that Skyguard links directly to the emergency services and recordings are admissible in court were deal-makers!

“On top of that, the security of knowing that we control all the parameters via Skyguard’s customer service centre and that we can tailor the response for every scenario from mild risks to emergencies, really set Skyguard apart from all others. Skyguard’s CSC portal allows client administrators or end-users to create and update their account details in real-time, 24/7. Clients can input their own emergency procedures, tailored to their organisation and department, or personalised to each employee.

Josephine adds: “The CSC portal gives me the management data I need to be able to keep my staff safe and it also offers the geography of my teams. This has the added benefit of enabling me to better manage their time to serve our clients. Although we have set procedures to follow for the health and safety of all our employees and customers, we did have one incident where a staff member felt vulnerable. By using the MySOS, it gave them added confidence to better handle the situation knowing they were not alone.”

Skyguard’s Marketing Director, Will Murray says: “Skyguard is the preferred lone worker solution provider for leading organisations in every market sector, so we are delighted VINCI Facilities have chosen us to protect their most vulnerable employees.”

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