Maintenance and Upkeep of Lone Worker Panic Buttons

Equipping lone workers with devices that allow them to instantly and discreetly call for help is an important step every employer must take in order to fulfil their legal duty of care. Whether they are realtors showing homes, health nurses visiting patients in their own homes or utility maintenance staff working in remote locations.

1. Clean the Button

A panic button is a great way to ensure that employees who work alone are never left without access to emergency assistance. It removes one of the most significant risks associated with lone working by giving healthcare and social workers, hotel employees and child welfare workers the ability to instantly summon help when they witness inappropriate behavior or experience an accident or medical incident in their workplace.

Man Down Alert A Red Alert “Panic Button” triggers a 1-way voice call from the lone worker’s personal safety device or mobile phone app to the SoloProtect Monitoring Center. This is immediately relayed to a dedicated Emergency Response Operator who listens to the incident, verifies its nature and then responds accordingly in accordance with OSHA guidelines.

If your employees have a wearable panic button or other personal safety device, it’s essential to make sure that these devices are always functioning properly. To do this, employees must make wearing their lone worker device or checking in and out of safety software platforms an everyday part of their lives. This can be done through extended training, as well as making the use of these tools a formal part of your company’s safety policy.

2. Check the Battery

A lone worker panic button is a device that allows employees who work alone to send a duress alarm to their manager, colleague or monitoring center. They can range from simple pendant buttons that can be worn or carried on a keychain to more sophisticated lone worker safety smartphone apps.

When a lone worker panic button is triggered, it immediately sends an alert via SMS, email or phone call to designated monitors. The monitors can then follow a pre-planned response plan, ensuring that help is sent to the employee right away.

Whether you choose to use a wearable device or a smartphone app, it’s important to ensure that your staff has a clear understanding of how to use their safety devices. To make sure they remember to press the panic button, it’s a good idea to include extended training in their safety program. This will allow them to incorporate the lone worker safety solution into their routine so that it becomes a natural part of their job.

3. Replace the Battery

Many lone worker devices have a panic button that can be triggered when the device is activated. This feature is especially helpful for lone workers who may be in danger or feel uncomfortable while they work alone. This can include healthcare and social service workers, child welfare employees, and hotel staff members.

The button will send a duress alert to the person(s) or monitoring center that is assigned to the device. Depending on the type of device, the alarm will also provide the user’s real-time location. This will help reassure emergency responders that the lone worker is not just faking an incident and needs assistance immediately.

In addition to a panic button, lone workers should be given safety training to increase their confidence working alone. This can be done through an on-site consultation with a qualified safety expert or by using a lone worker app like Scatterling that works from the employee’s mobile phone. This can also be used by remote workers and can even work when WIFI or cellular signal is not available.

4. Test the Button

A lone worker panic button is a key component to protecting your employees on the job. Whether they are realtors showing open homes, utility maintenance staff working in remote locations or health nurses visiting patients, the ability to summon help quickly can prevent escalation of an incident into something much more serious.

To ensure that the device is functioning properly, your lone workers should test their devices regularly. To test the device, simply click on the green START TEST button inside the Ok Alone app and follow the onscreen prompts to press the blue caution panic button icon for two seconds (the screen will count it down for them). Once the test is complete the green NEXT button will change to DONE.

Additionally, your lone workers can check in and out of activities within the app to verify that their safety is protected at all times. This is a great back up to their panic button and can help to reduce the risk of false alarms, which are a common reason for lone worker devices to fail during an emergency.