Posts

Country and Outback Health Community Workers using StaySafe even in low signal and remote areas

/0 Comments/in , /by

Country and Outback Health protect lone workers with smartphone app even in isolated areas with poor signal

CoBH-Logo-transRegional primary health care organisation, Country and Outback Health (COBH) use the StaySafe app and cloud-based monitoring hub to ensure their employees, including their community nurses and other community workers, are safe when visiting clients alone.

COBH was set up by the Australian Government to better organise and manage local front-line health services. They run Partners in Recovery (PIR) which offers personalised mental health support to individuals across a vast geographical footprint and over isolated Outback areas.

Working alone in roles that include closed-door situations and periods of travel, means that PIR staff are more vulnerable to certain safety risks. These risks include aggressive behaviour, hostage situations and road accidents, all of which are unpredictable and sometimes difficult to control. Read more

Risk management: Knowledge is power

/0 Comments/in /by

Encouraging incident reporting in the workplace is a great tool for managing risk and creating a safer, healthier, work environment. Whether an incident that resulted in injury or a near miss, employees should be encouraged to report on all workplace incidents so that the risks they face every day can be understood and managed by the business.

The importance of reporting an incident, no matter how small, should not be underestimated. Apart from personal harm, accidents can also have a detrimental effect on a business in reputational damage, compensation, fines and other penalties.

Read more

Learn key tips on improving safety for those working and living on farms

/0 Comments/in /by

The following farm safety information was published recently on the StaySafe UK website and is reproduced here for our local farm-based users.

Read more

Inside Housing: Violence, fear and underreporting

/0 Comments/in /by

28% of housing employees feel less safe on the job then they did last year.

This statistic comes as part of an Inside Housing Survey of 346 frontline housing workers in the UK. The survey revealed a frightening culture within the industry where many feel unsafe and unprotected.

Aggression and violence has been an issue in the housing industry for a long time. Housing staff tend to work closely with their clients, often in closed-door situations. Their roles may include delivering bad news to tenants, such as eviction, or working with at risk members of the public. Lone working is also common, leaving staff particularly vulnerable to violence and aggression.

Read more

Protecting lone working employees 2016 style: Top tips from London’s Safety and Health Expo

/0 Comments/in /by

Implementing a lone worker solution is an important step to take as a business, but it does not have to be a difficult one.

The Safety and Health Expo took place in London last week and saw experts come together to offer the latest lone worker advice and guidance. From health and safety experts to users of lone worker devices, everyone had useful tips to offer.

We’ve collated the best advice from the three days, along with our own expertise, to offer a guide on implementing your lone worker safety solution. Some of the speakers over the three days included Health and Safety Managers in the housing industry, Lee-Ann Reading, Denise Williams and Rachel Peters, and Serco Business Support and IT Manager, Lee Horne. Read more

Introduction to the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

/0 Comments/in /by

The new Health and Safety at Work Act came into effect in New Zealand on April 4th 2016.

This new Act has been the subject of much speculation and confusion around what it means for workers and employers. This includes all workers within an organisation, including lone workers.

Read more

The rise of GPS tracking apps to monitor employee safety – walking the line between safety and privacy

/0 Comments/in /by

Whether we use it to navigate to meetings or to check-in at our favourite restaurant, GPS has become a big part of our everyday lives. 10 years ago carrying around a GPS receiver in your pocket would be unimaginable, however today many of us use GPS daily via our smartphones.

But it’s one thing choosing to share your location with your social network, or finding directions on a map – but what about sharing your exact off-site location with your employer? Read more

The human element of disaster management – protecting lone workers

/0 Comments/in /by

While we can plan and prepare for the practical side of disaster recovery, the ‘What if…?’ scenarios around our team members’ safety in the event of a terror attack or natural disaster are somewhat harder to address and, of course, highly emotive.

Following last November’s terror attacks in Paris and other equally upsetting incidents around the world, we are all on high alert with regards to personal safety. While it remains statistically unlikely that you or your staff will be affected by terrorism – statistics put the chances of being killed in a terror attack at around one in 20 million – the perceived risk by individuals in the current climate is high. The fall-out of a full-scale emergency, however unlikely one might be, could turn the situation into a catastrophe.

As an employer, it’s important to plan how to manage your employees’ safety in the event of a disaster. You also need to be seen to be doing so by your employees in order to help lessen their fears.

What can you do, then, when it comes to planning and communicating an effective human disaster management plan for your members of staff? Read more

Is Your Lone Worker Policy ‘Fit for Purpose’ in 2016?

/0 Comments/in /by

Right now, I’m lone working. Granted, the security of my home office probably isn’t causing my employer sleepless nights, but I’m lone working nonetheless. Lone workers come in many different guises, and with new Sentencing Council guidelines for breaches of Duty of Care coming into force on Monday 1 February, it has arguably never been more pertinent for employers to widen their definition of ‘lone worker’ and understand the risks such employees confront on a daily basis, writes Helen Down.

Being a lone worker doesn’t necessarily mean working in complete isolation. While the term is commonly associated with anyone working away from other colleagues, lone workers may very well operate in highly populated areas or alongside clients and customers. Read more