Safety and personal responsibility go hand in hand. True, a company director has overall responsibility for health and safety but each person in an organisation has a duty to protect themselves. Given the right tools and education, this is easy to do. If you already own a First2HelpYou lone worker device or your employees use them, we have listed some ways below that you can help you maximise the use you get from your device.
Making the Most of Your Lone Worker Device
Here are some ways you can ensure that you are getting the most out of your First2HelpYou KIT device.
Keep it charged and switched on – let’s start with the most obvious tip. Ensure that your device is always fully charged and switched on when you are working. Get into the habit of charging your device and picking it up before you leave your house in the morning – just like you would with your mobile phone. Get into good habits early and it will become second nature to always have your lone worker device with you.
Utilise Man Down – the Man Down functionality on our KIT device is a very handy feature for workers who do their jobs at height or are at risk of falling. If the device detects sudden movement followed by inactivity it will go into red alert mode, alerting us that you need help. The feature isn’t activated on all devices unless requested. If you think you could benefit from the feature or it would make you feel safer – speak to your employer about having Man Down activated.
Amber Alerts – amber alerts are a key feature of our devices but only if they are used correctly. Remember, if GPS is sketchy in your location then you will not be trackable in an emergency. Setting an amber alert means that you can record a voice note, giving your precise location and how long you expect to be. When entering an address, for example. If for some reason you don’t disarm your device before the amber alert timer runs out, the device will automatically go into red alert.
Find me – again, if you are in an area where GPS signal isn’t great, one simple button press is all it takes to manually send your location. You can also record a short message giving your exact location. This is ideal for those who work in rural areas.
Out of work – we strongly encourage our device users to make the most of their devices and our service by using their KIT devices out of work too. When you are travelling to and from work, or if you get into a situation where you feel threatened. Safety is paramount to us and your employer and using your device out of hours doesn’t have any additional costs.
Don’t fear getting it wrong – a common fear amongst users of lone worker devices is that if they press the SOS button and go into a red alert that the police will immediately be called. All red alerts are assessed very quickly by our trained operators who can make a fast decision on your situation. Don’t worry if you feel silly pressing the button – even if you only feel threatened or scared, the operator will ask you if you are ok. You can choose to end the alert by telling them it was a mistake, or that the alert isn’t necessary. Alternately, the operator can silently listen in whilst audio is recorded – ideal if you feel that someone may become threatening. There is no wrong way to set a red alert – if you feel intimated or threatened, that’s what we are here for.
Don’t Have a Lone Worker Device?
If you don’t already have a lone worker solution in place and are interested in finding out how you and your employees could make the most of our devices, then please contact us.
