Corps Security, the London-based provider of specialist security services, has announced that its Corps Monitoring Centre (CMC) near Glasgow has achieved BS 8484 certification, the British Standard for lone worker protection management.
As the code of practice for the provision of lone worker device services, BS 8484 outlines the principles and operational procedures for a remote monitoring centre, so that controllers can verify activation messages received from lone workers and assist response services when reacting to requests for assistance.
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), there are between three to four million lone workers employed in the UK. Corps points out that employers have a legal responsibility for the health, safety and welfare at work of all of their employees and it is their duty to assess risks to lone workers and, where necessary, equip them with alarm devices and access to services.
Speed of response can be critical in potentially life-threatening situations and precious time can be saved when providing the appropriate response, the security company adds. The CMC provides a range of lone worker monitoring services. As well as monitoring third party devices, it also acts as the control hub for Corps’s recently introduced CorpsGuard smartphone app.
CorpsGuard can be used on Apple iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices and is activated by shaking or tapping the smartphone. This sends SMS, email, Facebook and Twitter messages, with an alert page, to the CMC detailing GPS location. Once the CMC receives the alert, its operators will review the data to verify it and attempt to contact the user to establish their situation. If there is no answer, or the evidence suggests a threat to life, local police will be informed. All activations, responses and alerts are logged with time, date and content for health and safety management, auditing and compliance.
The security firm adds that BS 8484 complements the CMC’s BS 5979 and ISO 9001 certifications, as well as its National Security Inspectorate (NSI) Gold accreditation. To maintain its NSI Gold status Corps Security has to adhere to all relevant British and European standards for technical performance, operate formal internal procedures and audit processes to give greater customer assurance, demonstrate a record of performance, and provide evidence of reliability and stability.
Nick Gilroy, Corps Security’s quality and compliance manager, said: ‘It provides users with a certified safety system for protecting and monitoring lone workers, and our ability to access police control rooms generates a guaranteed response to any emergency situation. BS 8484, alongside our other certifications and accreditations, reinforces the CMC’s position as the leading facility of its kind in the UK.’
Visit: www.corpssecurity.co.uk.
