Nowadays, safety at work is an important issue for all of us, but for those whose jobs require them to visit remote locations unaccompanied, or to deal alone with members of the public on the customer’s own premises, it can be absolutely vital.

These sort of lone workers are at danger from accidental injury and, sadly, from violent attacks. Tragically there are incidents every year of workers being assaulted, injured and, in extreme circumstances, even killed.

Workers who are placed in these sort of situations range from engineers working alone in remote locations, perhaps on electrical or communications infrastructure, to delivery workers, on-site technicians, homecare workers and even medical workers who often have to go alone into people’s homes and face what may be challenging issues.

It is certainly true to say that specialist lone worker safety advice and training from companies who provide this can greatly help in minimising these types of risks by ensuring that those employees who are put into such environments are well equipped to deal with potentially hazardous situations and can also avoid potential confrontations, which may leave them vulnerable or at physical risk. Increasingly though, employers are also turning to technological solutions to help ensure the safety of workers and to provide them with means of quickly summoning assistance if they find themselves in a dangerous situation which they cannot deal with on their own.

Of course, workers may be equipped with standard mobile phones, but these can only give so much protection, whilst specialist personal safety devices can be carried discreetly by workers and do not appear to be anything out of the ordinary and yet they can be absolutely packed with hi-tech features that enable remote and lone workers to be protected in all kinds of situations.

For example, lone worker safety devices that are now available include one product which is a mobile communications device deliberately designed to look like a standard identity card holder. This extremely clever design is both easy to wear and completely discreet whilst still allowing operation by the user should they feel their safety could potentially be compromised. It is able to record or transmit video and audio discreetly to those monitoring the situation remotely and even allow them to talk to the wearer whilst the user can also trigger various levels of alarm without anyone except them being aware that this has been done.

The more advanced models of these type of personal safety alarms also include features such as GPS tracking as well, which means that even if a lone worker is in a very remote location and unable to speak they can be located quickly and assistance directed to them. Intelligent ‘man down’ features also cover workers in the eventuality of a fall or accident where the worker is left incapacitated in some way, with the safety device automatically summoning assistance and transmitting the location of the worker when it detects that they have suffered an accident.

There have also been cases where these type of personal safety alarms have been used in preventing domestic violence too, with them effectively being used as a personal emergency duress device that is monitored 24 hours a day and can summon assistance quickly if required.

It is for those workers who may face dangerous situations at work that they have seen the largest growth in use though. Their adoption probably also being accelerated by legislation now in force that legally requires employers to demonstrate a Duty of Care for their lone, isolated, remote and high risk workers.

Whilst those working alone will always have to accept certain potential risks that are inherent in the type of job that that they carry out, thanks to some of the personal safety devices that are now being produced by the leading companies in this area there is at least some peace of mind for such workers, knowing that help is on hand should they require it and that although the may be working on their own, they are never truly alone when faced with a hazardous or dangerous situation.