App provides safety net for lone workers

In an emergency, identifying exactly where help is needed is critical. If lone workers suffer injuries or face aggression whilst at work, their employees may be unaware and therefore unable to help. Workplace safety solutions provider StaySafe equips companies with a low-cost, easy-to-use solution to manage the safety of their lone workers. Employees are able to start a timed session in the app before they begin a period of lone work or travel. The StaySafe app gives employers visibility of the location and safety status of lone workers and allows them to check in safely once they have finished this session. If an employee fails to check in safely during a session or raises a panic alert in the app, monitoring agents, either within the organisation or at an external monitoring service, will be immediately alerted. They will then verify the alert and dispatch the appropriate assistance to the employee.

StaySafe has now partnered with location technology company what3words to help companies respond to incidents more effectively. The new what3words integration helps employers communicate the precise location of their lone workers to emergency responders easily, using just three words. what3words had divided the world into a grid of 3 x 3 m squares and given each one a unique what2words address — made up of three words from the dictionary. With the new what3words integration, monitors can give the exact what3words address to emergency responders to send help to that precise square.

Ambulance Tasmania was the first to use what3words to rescue an injured hiker in April 2020. Since then, it has served as a valuable tool for emergency services, particularly when locating casualties in rural or remote areas. Australia’s emergency services have built what3words into their official life-saving app, Emergency+, which helps people to call the right emergency number and confirm their location. With what3words now available in the app, people can tell Triple Zero (000) exactly where they need help with three words. Officers on the ground and first responders can use the free what3words app to get directions straight to their precise location.

Don Cameron, CEO of StaySafe, said adding the what3words functionality to the StaySafe app simplifies getting responders to the exact location of an incident quickly. “The StaySafe app is the easiest to use lone worker solution available today. With 16% more coverage than any other lone worker app via our low signal mode, employers can be confident that their staff are protected wherever they are,” said Cameron.

“Growing up on a farm, the fact that we had no way to describe an exact location troubles me to this day. What if a fire had broken out in a barn or if someone was caught in running machinery? With what3words now available in the StaySafe app, it’s extremely reassuring to know that people working alone or in remote locations can tell emergency services exactly where help is needed fast enough to prevent extensive damage or avoidable injury,” said Chris Sheldrick, CEO of what3words.

Image credit: StaySafe.