Lone Worker Man Down Devices

Lone worker man down devices offer a range of safety features. Some include man-down (no-movement) detection and peer-to-peer wireless communication.





Imagine that a lone worker is incapacitated by a fall or is pinned down in a remote location. Without a Man Down alarm system, they may not be noticed until someone happens upon them or they call for help.

Safety Features

Even though lone workers put every effort into minimising their risk of injury, the fact is that accidents do happen. If an employee is unable to alert someone for help, they could be left unconscious and without access to medical attention.

Fortunately, many different safety devices exist to enable lone workers to call for assistance. These are typically worn as part of a uniform or stored away in a bag or pocket, and have the ability to send an alarm to an emergency response centre when activated. Some lone worker man down devices feature GPS technology, which is ideal for those who work outdoors or in remote locations. Some lone worker devices have a fall detection feature, which is ideal for those who may be at risk of falling on the job.

Duress alarm Other safety features found in lone worker man down devices include automatic check-ins, which can be set to occur at regular intervals. This means that if an employee does not check in within a given timeframe, the device will send a duress or man down alert to management and automatically notify first responders of the lone worker’s location. A number of these lone worker devices, including the Blackline Safety G7 range of lone worker man down devices, are fitted with gas detectors, which is perfect for those who deal with potentially dangerous substances.

Detection

Whether it’s through a smartphone app, wearable panic button or other devices, the goal of lone worker man down devices is to enable at-risk employees to signal for assistance. These devices often come with built-in emergency alarms that can be triggered by an employee in the event of a dangerous situation such as an aggressive customer or a workplace accident. Some higher end lone worker devices also require employees to check in regularly throughout the day and any missed checks will trigger an emergency response.

Typically, the device will use a combination of impact detection and non-movement to establish whether a lone worker is incapacitated. This will usually involve a pre-alert phase where the device will begin to vibrate and beep to try and gain the lone worker’s attention. If the lone worker does not cancel this alert they will be automatically logged as man down by the device.

Once the device has determined that the lone worker is incapacitated, an alert will be sent to a monitor. This could be a colleague of the lone worker, or, as with some devices, it may be a specially designed Alarm Receiving Centre (or ARC). The ARC will be manned by experts who can listen in to the alert and try and contact the lone worker to see what the problem is and if they need assistance.

Alerts

Lone worker alarm systems, including man down devices, allow employees to call for help manually by pressing a button or automatically using a fall detector. They are especially beneficial for lone workers whose jobs have them at high risk of falling. This includes emergency workers such as firefighting or police, as well as painters and decorators who use ladders to perform their jobs.

While a lone worker alarm system is a great way to monitor the safety of employees who work alone, it’s important to remember that they are not a replacement for other types of employee safety technology. For example, traditional methods of monitoring lone working employees, such as buddy systems or call checks, do not have the ability to detect if someone is incapacitated by an impact or in a non-movement position.

Luckily, many lone working devices now come with an inbuilt Man Down function that helps to safeguard the safety of vulnerable workers. When a device with this feature is pressed, it will start to vibrate and beep to gain the attention of the lone worker. If there’s no response after a short timer, the device will then raise a Man Down alert (or, as we like to call it at SoloProtect, an Incapacitation Alert). This means that the monitoring team can quickly take action to get help to the affected employee.

Communication

When a lone worker is injured or in a critical situation, such as being unconscious, they may not have the ability to sound an alarm or call for help. Man down devices help to prevent these types of incidents by automatically notifying a responder that the operator has stopped moving.

These lone worker safety devices can also be used to alert emergency responders of a gas leak, power outage or other type of incident where an employee is trapped. They can also be used by workers who work in areas where a cell signal isn’t strong enough to make phone calls, such as healthcare and hospitality employees.

Depending on the manufacturer, these devices can either operate over a cellular network or through the internet. When purchasing a man down device, be sure to look for one that has a backup or self-healing network to avoid dead spots and ensure that an employee’s signal will always reach a responder.

Some of the more advanced lone worker man down devices are able to track an employee’s movements using sensors and other equipment, while others have a check in/out feature that reminds users to press the radio’s push-to-talk button to “check in” at least once every five minutes. This helps employers meet their duty of care and ensures that if they don’t receive a response from the user in this timeframe, an emergency call will be sent to a monitoring station.