enitial use LookOut call to keep remote workers safe

enitial a company that specialises in providing environmental and waste management services to many different public and private sector organisations has recently taken the decision to deploy LookOut call, to help protect its team of lone workers. In doing so enitial is the second such company in the environmental sector to benefit from the service following Anglian Water, who have now been successfully using the system for 10 years.

enitial is responsible for the safety of approximately 35 lone workers who spend most of their working days in very remote and isolated places, such as old quarries, reservoirs or disused land fill sites. If something goes wrong and they have an accident on site, it is crucial that that they are found quickly so that the relevant medical help and assistance can be provided and it is in these situations that the LookOut call system can literally prove to be a lifesaver.

Additionally the duties of enitial’s lone workers  can also involve monitoring gas, water, noise or dust levels in many different locations and when they go to visit a site they are required to take a great deal of heavy, specialist equipment with them. When enitial decided to review its health and safety procedures and implement an automated lone worker safety system, to replace an existing manual system, it was imperative therefore that the lone workers were not burdened with any additional equipment.

All enitial’s lone workers, however, carry a mobile phone so they can keep in contact with their colleagues and the office. LookOut call was selected because it integrated easily with existing working procedures and no specialist equipment was needed, as Hannah Palacio, Process Manager of enitial explains:

“Our lone workers spend many hours at a time in very lonely locations and our primary concern is their safety. LookOut call works perfectly on our existing mobile phones. Our staff log onto the system the start of the day and keep us updated of their movements, which path they have taken, where they have parked their car and so forth, simply  by pressing a specific button on their phone, so if something happens to them, we can find them very quickly.”

Staff safety is paramount at enitial and LookOut call has been incorporated into the organisation’s overall health and safety procedures. All lone workers are obliged to use the system when they go to site, as part of their terms of employment, and if they do not, they could face disciplinary action because they are putting themselves and possibly others at risk.

The enitial management team is able to ensure that lone workers are using the system by examining usage reports stored on LookOut call’s website. These are accessible via a secure interface that is password protected. This helps them ensure that LookOut call is being used to its full potential, help and assistance can then be given to those who are not using the system as often as they should.

The company has also thought very carefully about its responder procedures because it is essential that lone workers are found quickly if the alarm is raised. The system has therefore been configured to call a dedicated responder mobile phone during office hours in case all the regular phone lines are engaged.  For out of hours coverage, the system has been configured to call normal land lines. These numbers change regularly, depending who is on duty, but administration staff can easily update responder rotas via the website.

 “Some of our projects may involve staff going to site in the middle of the night” continues Hannah, “By deploying LookOut call, we do not have to man our office 24/7. Lone workers simply log onto the system and tell it where they are going and how long they will be by setting a timed activity. This means our responders are only woken up if an alarm is raised”.

C3’s Sue Hunt believes that enitial’s decision to deploy the LookOut call system could open the door for other similar organisation’s to follow suit. “We are delighted that enitial has selected LookOut call to provide this service and hope that it will be adopted throughout the environmental industry to help safeguard all remote lone workers who perform a difficult job often in dangerous circumstances”.