The entire team at Vatix has been hard at work all summer and we now have an exciting announcement – our new lone working app Protector Mobile is live on iOS and Android and can be downloaded from the Google Play or App Store today!
Protector Mobile is just the latest way you can use our industry-leading Protector™ platform to manage your workforce and keep your lone workers safe from harm, combining all of the best features of the platform that you’re used to with some brand new elements that’ll make your health and safety strategy even more seamless and easy to manage than before.
As with your current lone worker alarms and Protector™ by Vatix, you can use the lone worker app to send out an SOS alert and log incidents, categorising them as follows:
- Hazard
- Near Miss
- Maintenance
- Injury
- Property Damage
- Theft
Once these incidents have been logged, other users can view details such as location, who the report has come from, and any additional notes that have been left. Very soon, you will be able to upload files and images to these incident reports.
Voice and text messages can also be logged with the app, allowing workers to tell coworkers or supervisors where they will be at a specific time, or that they are performing a particular job. This ensures that if a worker is injured and unable to let anyone know, their movements will have been recorded.
One of the most exciting additions is the introduction of the Timed Alerts feature, which allows users to set a timer that must be switched off manually. This ensures that an operator will be alerted should the user fail to turn off the alert within the chosen time period.
Lone Worker Alarms vs Lone Working Apps – What’s the Difference?
As you may know, lone worker alarms are personal safety devices that can be worn by the user and that have the singular function of keeping lone workers and others who may be operating in risky conditions safe from harm while they perform their duties. Lone working apps, on the other hand, are digital tools that can be downloaded onto your personal smartphone to fulfil the same purpose.
Lone worker devices come in various shapes and sizes, with some built to specific standards to be effective in areas at risk from hazardous materials and atmospheres. They include a prominent SOS button that can be pushed when a dangerous situation arises for the user, and many also include a Man Down sensor that can tell when the wearer has fallen down.
At Vatix, both options connect users with a dedicated alarm monitoring system, whether that’s self-monitoring with a person of the company’s choice on the other end, or with the monitoring service provided. This way, if an incident does occur, the user is able to connect via two-way audio to someone as quickly as possible.
The option you choose depends on the particular business needs of your company and its workers, and Vatix can help you to decide whether a lone working app or lone worker alarm is the best fit for your requirements.
What Features Does the App Include?
While lone worker alarms and devices are fantastic ways to keep employees safe from hazards inherent to their work, the lone working app could potentially be a good fit for many companies. If you are just starting to build your lone worker policy, for example, then it may be useful to begin using the Protector™ service in combination with Protector Mobile before investing in devices for your team.
With the app, users can log voice and text messages that inform supervisors and co-workers of where they will be or what they are doing during a certain period of time, as well as Timed Alerts that send a notification to the chosen contact or operator at a particular time should the user not switch it off manually.
Vatix’s lone worker alarms and the app provide businesses with access to the comprehensive lone worker protection of Protector™ such as incident reporting, workforce management, the automatic recording of incidents and more. All of this is then stored as part of your account and can be used for future audits and risk assessments.
The Activity Map that comes with Protector™ is another fantastic tool for keeping track of lone workers’ whereabouts in real-time so that, if an incident should occur, help can be sent quickly and efficiently to their location, with identifying information previously inputted into the platform also helping to locate them.
Protector Mobile – The Next Step
Enlisting lone worker protection devices in your efforts to keep employees safe and shielded from dangers both personal or environmental, is one of the best things you can do for your business overall. Not only does it prevent your organisation from violating health and safety regulations, but it also improves staff morale and ensures that everyone feels looked after.
We’re incredibly excited about this next step in our mission to support businesses across a vast range of industries in taking care of their employees and look forward to hearing from our customers about how our lone working app has helped them achieve this. We’d also love to hear about features you’d like to see in the future.
We’re continually developing our lone worker solutions and services to fit the requirements of our customers, whether that’s simplifying the process of creating risk assessments and logging incidents, or having peace of mind that their lone workers are just a call away from help should they need it.
As ever, we think that people should be at the heart of any workplace health and safety strategy, and we hope Protector™ Mobile is another way to achieve this for even more people.
If you are already a Vatix customer and want to find out more about the lone working app, or want to discover how our wider lone worker solutions could help your business, get in touch here or on 020 3991 5555
