Safety is paramount for Loughborough researchers

LookOut call is pleased to announce that the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) based at Loughborough University, has recently taken the decision to deploy the LookOut call system to protect its lone workers. This is the first research centre of its kind to benefit from this service which is now being used to help protect its various researchers who carry out face-to-face interviews directly in people’s own homes.

CRSP conducts research on various subjects such as social exclusion, poverty and unemployment issues, the majority of the information used in its research is obtained by speaking to the people directly affected by these issues, which has posed some specific security issues in the past.

When the Centre’s research staff make their own interview arrangements, more often than not, they know little more than a name and telephone number and some brief background details about their prospective interviewees. Their work also requires them to travel to different regions in the UK, often spending significant periods of time away from home. The lack of advanced information about interviewees, combined with working alone in people’s homes can make the researchers feel vulnerable and for example, was a particular concern for one study where interviews were conducted with ex-prisoners. 

Prior to LookOut call CRSP employed an in-house lone worker safety procedure, which required the researchers to call their administration office before and after each interview. After carrying out a full risk assessment which identified several problems, it was felt that something more secure needed to be put in place. Several technology organisations and lone worker systems were assessed, but LookOut call was eventually selected primarily due to its flexibility and ease of use, as CRSP’s Yvette Hartfree explains.

 “We use pool phones for our research teams and LookOut call developers were able to modify the system to accommodate this set-up. When researchers are updating LookOut call with their location details, they include their name and the car hire details in the message, along with other relevant information, so that if an alarm is raised we can identify and locate the researcher immediately and provide the necessary help and assistance. Setting up appropriate response procedures was also very challenging but we thought them through very carefully because the safety of our staff is paramount. As a result we have purchased two mobile phones for our responders and they are carried by them at all times, so if, responders are away from their desk, for example, attending a meeting or due to a fire drill and the alarm is raised, we can still provide the relevant help and assistance, as documented in the response procedures”.
 
Researchers however find it difficult to be precise with the time needed to conduct an interview and interviews as a result can often over run, but as LookOut call’s Sue Hunt explains, this is now no longer an issue at CRSP. “LookOut call allows the CRSP researchers to update the amount of time needed to finish the interview simply by pressing a dedicated button on the phone, which means the interviewee is not disturbed or made to feel uncomfortable. Their researchers also no longer have to worry about forgetting to update colleagues of their whereabouts, because LookOut call will automatically call them if they forget to update the system. The Centre also has strict procedures that must be adhered to should an alarm be raised and they are now documented along with the deployment of LookOut call in its health and safety and lone working policies.

Hopefully other organisations facing similar issues relating to their lone workers will take a leaf out of CRSP’s book and introduce systems such as LookOut call to improve employee safety and security”.