Arden Biotechnology is a Lincolnshire-based company specialising in innovative biological applications designed for modern agriculture. Their scientists conduct cutting-edge research and drive technological innovation to meet the growing demand for quality livestock produce.
About Company
Arden Biotechnology began in 2017 with the mission to help farmers around the world meet the growing demand for quality livestock produce without relying on traditional antimicrobials for profitability.
To achieve this mission, Arden Biotechnology set out to discover and introduce economical and environmentally-friendly biological controls that help undercut the negative impacts of removing antibiotics from meat production.
With scientific integrity as their core value, this forward-thinking company would employ scientists to work in shifts, seven days a week, in their research laboratories.
Sometimes, this means their employees would work alone in the lab with hazardous materials. At first, Arden Biotechnology would make arrangements for someone in-house to monitor their lone workers. However, this hampered their productivity as it was a challenge to schedule the necessary monitoring.
The company wanted a lone working monitoring solution that would liberate them from having their research progress tied to the availability of an in-house manager to monitor their lone workers.
What were their goals?
Arden Biotechnology needed a solution on three fronts.
First, they needed to be able to monitor their lone workers when they were out on the field collecting samples. For this, they needed a solution that could also provide accurate geolocation tracking, so that they would know exactly where their lone workers are should an incident occur.
Secondly, they work on night shift. This can increase dangers in a few ways. Low light can make them more vulnerable to slips, trips, and falls. The risk of acts of violence also increases under low light, since those with bad intentions are more likely to attempt a crime or attack under the cover of the night.
Finally, the worksite is located in a remote location. This means help is further away. It also makes it exceedingly unlikely for bystanders to be around who can help or call for help if the guards had an accident or face an onsite altercation.
Arden Biotechnology began exploring a few different solutions that could help fulfill both needs. One of the solutions they considered was managing things on their own by using a combination of current phone apps or communication technologies.
They soon came to realise that the ideas they were coming up with were relatively primitive and wouldn’t have worked if there was a serious issue that requires immediate escalation.
That’s when they decided to look at off-the-shelf lone working safety solutions. Some of the solutions they looked at were overcomplicated for what they needed. This led them to choose the solutions offered by Vatix due to our first-class safety solutions and our 24/7 alarm monitoring centre, without the excessive bells and whistles that they didn’t need.
What did they do?
Arden Biotechnology opted for Protector, our lone working app with 24/7 alarm monitoring.
Vatix’s Protector app is accredited with BS8484: 2016, the lone worker and vulnerable people protection standard of quality and safety. The app has a SOS feature that activates an alarm and initiates a two-way voice call with Vatix 24/7 monitoring. It also has automated timed check-ins and location updates.
These features fulfil their need to monitor their employees when they’re out on the field. Being able to monitor their whereabouts on the web platform gave both the managers and employees that they can get help in an emergency.
Arden Biotechnology also liked how our ‘Monitored by Vatix’ approach suits their needs to monitor their lone workers without needing to rely on in-house staff availability. With this service, they could forward all alerts from their lone working devices directly to a 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC).
Results
The combined solution of Vatix’s Protector™ app, and Vatix Monitoring Services gave Arden Biotechnology the exact solution that fit their needs.
Joe Edwards, the Senior Research Associate of Arden Biotechnology, reported that the uptake of the solution was seamless. Employees found the training useful and it was easy to learn how to use the app since there are no complicated buttons or complex UI.
Overall, Arden Biotechnology was very happy with how the lone working solutions by Vatix met their needs and were easy to adopt, so they can focus on pursuing their mission without worry.
“The people that use it the most really find it easy to use. Nothing complicated. And you know lone workers feel safer. They know that if anything were to happen, that someone will try and get hold of them or escalate the situation if necessary.”
Joe Edwards
Senior Research Associate
