LONEALERT September Newsletter

Volume 2: September 2019
NEWSLETTER
03 INTERVIEW:
We speak to
lone worker
guru Nicole
Vazquez at
Health &
Safety show
LONEALERT
taking your
service to the
NEXT LEVEL
with O.W.L
system
updates
06 07
5 reasons why
lone worker
training is
vital for
workers and
your business
PLUS: Sign up to our new Loyalty Rewards Scheme

Why have a Lone
Working Policy?
Employers have a legal duty to
carry out risk assessments of any
work-related activities which present
a risk to personal safety. This
policy should identify who might be
harmed, the dangers they face and
any measures that can be taken
to prevent and reduce the risk of
injury. Currently, there is no specific
legislation relating to lone working
but, due to increasing national press
coverage about the issue, employers
are becoming more and more
aware that it is their responsibility to
provide a duty of care for their staff
or face the consequences of a hefty
fine, damaged reputation - or even
tragedy - should the worst happen
with no effective lone working policy
in place.
Every organisation needs a policy
to inform lone workers about the
arrangements that are in place to
protect employees, which clarifies
roles, responsibilities and procedures.
As well as covering preventative
measures, the policy should also
state the actions that will be taken
in the case of incidents. The policy
should be communicated to all lone
working staff and anyone else who
has a part to play.
What is a Lone
Working Policy?
Lone Workers are under increased
threats from certain risks associated
with their particular job. A Lone
Worker Policy helps the business asses
any health and safety risks to an
employee which can be relevant to a
number of different situations in the
workplace. The assessment is essentially
in the form of a risk assessment
and can help decide whether
the employee requires a lone worker
device or something similar.
LONEALERT has created a lone
working policy template containing
many useful resources and advice,
including guidance on how to create
your own lone working policy to
keep your people safe.
Download our lone
worker policy
template here
Lone workers shown
they are never alone at
Health & Safety Show
The LONEALERT team exhibited at the Health and Safety Event at Birmingham’s NEC
from April 9th-11th.
Hundreds of visitors flocked to our stand during the event to learn more about the
latest developments in the lone worker industry, as well as our unparalleled range of
devices and solutions to protect lone workers.
We were given the chance to interview a range of visitors, exhibitors and customers
during the event to gain a greater insight into their thoughts on the world of lone working
and the solutions available. Here’s what they had to say:
WATCH: Rebecca of Maidstone Council shared her thoughts regarding desirable
lone working interface features
WATCH: Kevin of KSH Safety spoke to us about his own experiences with
LONEALERT
WATCH: Sophie of JCB Group spoke to us about a previous incident, in which a
LONEALERT device was used
Why the law is a low bar to aim
for when it comes to effectively
protecting your lone workers
Nicole was asked by LONEALERT’s James Lippett what
her views were regarding the current legislation regarding
protection of lone workers.
Nicole said:
“There is no specific
legislation relating to lone
working and that is potentially
one of the challenges
for organisations to understand
why they should
take it seriously. But I think
what businesses have
to recognise is that lone
working is just one of the
factors that can have an
impact on risks that come
under the Health & Safety
legislation that they absolutely
have a duty of care
to manage. And by that, it
means to manage in a way
It is about
understanding
the business
benefits of managing
lone
workers - their
safety, security
and wellbeing -
efficiently
that they feel comfortable,
their workers feel comfortable
and everyone can
get the business benefits
of managing lone workers
- safety, security and wellbeing
- really efficiently
In the last few years,
some businesses have
started to recognise that
it isn’t just about security
in terms of violence
and aggression, it is also
about Health & Safety impacts.
If you think about
an ageing population
and an ageing workforce,
there are particular sorts
of health concerns that
you might have with oler
lone workers, but also
A chat with:
Nicole Vazquez:
Nicole Vazquez, Director
of risk management
training consultancy,
Worthwhile Training, has
become somewhat of a
guru in the lone working
world. Renowned
for her encyclopaedic
knowledge and practical
experience, Nicole
supports many clients
through the whole risk
management process.
She has developed countless training solutions
and is a popular speaker at national conferences
and a contributor to many magazines.
people going out and
about who may be using
equipment, machinery, or
may have slips, trips and
falls - there’s health and
safety stuff there as well.
There’s also been a lot of
work done recently on
isolation and the impact
of lone working on stress,
and therefore the wellbeing
and mental health
issues as well. Therefore,
I think legislation is one
thing, and maybe we
could look at regulations
and think if they could be
tightened up, but from my
point of view I’d rather
businesses recognise the
benefits of getting this
right.”
LONEALERT to showcase its services and
solutions at Lone Worker Safety Expo 2019
We are delighted to be exhibiting at the Lone Worker
Safety Expo 2019, which will be held at the King’s Fund,
in Central London, on October 15th.
As a proud sponsor of the event, we are looking forward
to showcasing our lone worker protection solutions,
whilst networking with fellow industry experts and professionals,
and liaising with visitors to learn more about
their lone worker needs. Mathew Colley, LONEALERT’s
Sales & Marketing Manager, said: “The event is a perfect
opportunity for people to gain practical advice on
minimising risks, take part in practical workshops relating
to the health and safety of workers, and increase knowledge
and awareness about the personal safety, security
and wellbeing risks to lone and vulnerable workers in a
variety of sectors. We are looking forward to another informative
event which will allow us all to work together to
make positive strides in the world of lone worker protection.”
Click here to learn more about the event.
03

In The Spotlight:
LONEALERT Responses
Response systems tailored to meet your needs
LONEALERT offers an unrivalled level of response options for customers to ensure the most effective assistance is provided to all lone workers in any circumstance. Organisations may choose to send all alerts
to LONEALERT’s dedicated 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) which is filled with highly trained operational staff who will escalate the response procedure depending on each individual situation. Alternatively,
larger organisations with their own monitoring/operating centres can choose to base responses from their own control rooms whilst smaller firms based in one location may designate certain members of the
workforce as responders for lone workers at certain times as they are best placed to do so quickly and effectively. Importantly, due to LONEALERT’s intuitive O.W.L system, all of our response methods can be
mixed to suit the needs of your organisation at various levels, such as individual team, individual lone worker or even the time of day. Is your organisation happy to rely on colleagues looking out for lone worker
alerts during from 9-5 but needs LONEALERT’s ARC throughout the night? No problem!
Your Employees
Your Control Room
Our LONEALERT ARC
There are many occasions when using
an external ARC (Alarm Receiving
Centre) is not always necessary. In fact
often your own employees can be the
best solution in responding to alarm,
as they can respond to the lone worker
quickly.
You may have a member of staff that
is lone working in a quiet area of
the building, or a forklift truck driver
off-loading pallets into the warehouse
at a quiet time of the day. Accidents can and do happen, but if people are
not around or not alerted the lone worker cannot get help, despite a colleague
only being 30 seconds away in the next office. Having an employee
as a responder would be the quickest way to get these lone/remote workers
help if it were needed.
Another reason to use your employees could be that you handle confidential
information, which you cannot disclose the location of, meaning the
situation needs to be handled sensitively whilst at the same time offering
effective protection to lone workers should they need help.
Using your employees in conjunction with The O.W.L means you can:
• Alert colleagues on a pre-designated priority-order list or as a group all
at once.
• Alert colleagues via SMS, email, phone call or visually in The O.W.L.
• Record alerts sent and responses given.
• Provide a location of the lone worker through various methods. This
location can be defined to a room or even a store room locating workers
anywhere in the world.
• Activate a siren or flashing light (if required, depending on the working
environment, requires additional hardware).
Larger organisations that have their own control rooms may have staff
based in the business monitoring calls 24/7 so choose to deal with their own
response procedures. However, having a large staff volume with workers in
different job roles, working different shifts patterns may mean that the operator
does not know the lone worker and his/her background, which could
present challenges when it comes to responding effectively. To implement
The O.W.L, you simply need to provide one dedicated phone number and a
web browser.
It operates seamlessly alongside existing software you may be running and
is intuitive to use. This keeps initial and ongoing training requirements to a
minimum. It also helps minimise the length of time operators spend administering
alerts. You can be up and running extremely quickly, and the impact
on other operations is minimal.
Using The O.W.L in conjunction with your control room means that:
• Staff who fully understand your operations, infrastructure and employee
roles are responding to alarms.
• The operator is presented with the procedures for the lone worker at that
point in time. No need to access other systems in the event of an alert.
• It can be used for combining sources of information, such as worker
information and CCTV, GIS, Telemetry or vehicle tracking information to
give a fuller picture.
• Operators can receive direct audio calls from lone worker devices in
alarm, listening in and understanding the situation without requiring the
lone worker to speak or initiate call.
• You could even offer lone worker monitoring to your client as an
• additional revenue stream.
The LONEALERT Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) is a fully managed response
solution giving you peace of mind that your lone workers have the support
of highly trained staff who work 24/7 to respond to alerts effectively and
efficiently.
Using the LONEALERT Responder service has the least impact on your
business, as our staff will handle any calls directed to them as fully as they
are able, only engaging other staff when the situation demands – e.g to
request key holders, to notify you of an alarm situation or to request further
information to aid in verifying an alarm.
Using The O.W.L in conjunction with our LONEALERT ARC means:
• Operators who are trained to verify alarms promptly and escalate responses
to emergency services if needed.
• Operators are trained to empathise, reassure and support individuals in
emergency or distressed states until help arrives.
• You have access to operators who undergo regular and dedicated lone
worker response training.
• Operators who liaise with your security and key holding companies to
direct resources to your lone workers.
• Effective and immediate response for geographically diverse workforces
where colleagues are not close by.
• Effective and immediate response for out-of-hours workers where contact
with other colleagues with the ability to respond is limited or
non-existent.
05

Taking your services to the
NEXT LEVEL with O.W.L updates
We are delighted to be taking
LONEALERT’s services to its customers
to the next level, with the addition of extra
capacity and security features to The
O.W.L operating system that will provide
even more protection for lone workers
from all walks of life.
All customers were given prior warning of
behind-the-scenes improvement works to
the unique operating system.
The scheduled work, which took place
between 23:00 and 23:45 on July 3rd,
was the first of a small number of system
upgrades that will take place over the
coming months to allow us to continue
offering the very best
protection to all of
our lone workers.
Customers will be
10,000
LONEALERT is responsible for
protecting more than 10,000
lone workers from across the
UK & the world. Each of our
devices and solutions work
in conjunction with the
O.W.L to ensure the very best
protection, whatever their
working circumstances
kept informed of any
upcoming improvement
works going
forward, which will be
scheduled to cause
minimal disruption to
our thousands of lone
workers.
LONEALERT employs
an in-house team
of IT experts who
work to constantly
develop the technological
capabilities
of its systems and
software so we can
fulfil our promise of offering only the best
protection to all lone workers.
The result of this ongoing effort is The
O.W.L - the BS8484-compliant, unique,
highly advanced, responsive and intuitive
operating system that is at the heart of our
lone worker protection solutions.
As the behind-the-scenes mechanics of all
of our solutions, The O.W.L has undergone
a complete redesign, rebuild and transformation
into the most advanced lone
worker management tool available - and
these system upgrades form part of our
ongoing dedication to continually improving
its capabilities.
The O.W.L enables all of LONEALERT’s
lone working devices to send alerts in any
given situation. Once an alarm has been
raised the system will automatically notify
staff who monitor and respond to lone
worker alarms so the right response can
be actioned immediately.
The O.W.L is integral in supporting businesses
to manage and locate; control and
comply; respond and review their lone
working staff efficiently, and in a responsible
manner. Mathew Colley, LONEALERT’s
Sales & Marketing Manager, said: “We
protect around 10,000 lone and vulnerable
workers from
all walks of life.
Each of their
circumstances,
job roles
and risks are
different, which
is why it is so
important to
have a system
that is flexible
and can be tailored
to meet
their individual
needs. The
O.W.L is designed
to improve
business
efficiencies
for everyone
we work with. Investing in a lone worker
solution can be a significant investment
for an employer, so we want to ensure our
lone worker solution provides you with a
return on investment that you can easily
demonstrate to staff at all levels.
“Just like the industry, we never stand still
at LONEALERT and are constantly looking
for ways to improve and expand to ensure
we offer only the very best lone worker
protection, whatever the situation. Thank
you to everyone for their understanding
whilst any system upgrades and improvement
work takes place.”
Is it time to
change the
definition of a
lone worker?
A commonly occurring question is: “What
is the definition of a lone worker?” This is
quite a difficult question to answer, as the
HSE’s version is:
“Someone who works by themselves
without close or direct supervision”.
According to the HSE, lone workers
include those who:
•work from a fixed base, such as one
person working alone on a premises (eg,
shops, petrol stations etc);
•work separately from others on the
same premises (eg security staff) or work
outside normal hours;
•work away from a fixed base (eg, maintenance
workers, health care workers,
environment inspectors);
•work at home (homeworkers); and
•mobile workers (eg, taxi drivers)
However, this is quite vague, and can
lead to a wide range of interpretations
from businesses. At LONEALERT, we will
now be expanding on this definition to incorporate
circumstances where workers
may not necessarily be physically alone,
but still require effective lone worker
protection:
“Anyone who works alone, without
close or direct supervision, or with a
colleague who would not understand
the risks or know what to do in an
emergency”.
Mat Colley, LONEALERT Sales &
Marketing Manager, said: “I heard this
description recently, and it is one that
we will now be adopting at LONEALERT
when asked to give a definition of a lone
worker.
“An example of someone who fits this bill
could be a someone working with a new
starter/young person/apprentice. E.g. the
new starter is not a lone worker as their
colleague has experience both of the role
and life experiences. However the ‘old
hand’ is a lone worker as the reverse is
not true.
“I think this definition gives a bit more
meat to the bone and also expands on
the misconception that lone workers are
just people who are physically alone.”
Introducing a lone worker protection system
is only half of the story. It’s vital that
your company culture fully understands
and embraces the need to protect lone
workers, by training and educating staff
about its importance, as well as its use
and management, so your solution can
do its job properly.
Here are 5 reasons why training is vital
for lone worker protection to be effective
- and how to implement it.
1) Allows workers to feel connected
with the business and
promotes the overall wellbeing
of lone working staff
Why this training is important:
Lone workers, by the very nature of
their job, can feel isolated and disconnected
from the business, which in turn
can have a huge impact on their mental
health and wellbeing. Providing effective
training allows for two-way dialect
between the lone worker/line manager,
improving company and worker morale.
Training themes could encompass:
•Working alone doesn’t mean you are
alone
•Providing programmes on mental health
and wellbeing
•Adopting an ‘open door’ policy
•Risk assessment training
•Encouraging communication
•Role play activities
2) Increases productivity and
confidence in lone working employees,
so that they know help
is available at all times
Why this training is important:
Explaining how the system and the
devices work together at all times emphasises
to the lone worker that they
aren’t ever really alone - and that help is
available at the press of a button should
the worst ever happen. Statistics show
that having this peace of mind increases
their confidence within their role and
their employer, ultimately leading to an
increase in productivity.
Training themes could encompass:
•1/2 day LONEALERT training on the devices
you have purchased and how they
work in conjunction with the O.W.L
3) Illustrates how lone workers
can effectively defuse potentially
threatening situations
for those who work in volatile
environments
Why this training is important:
Working in potentially hostile environments
can create panic if a situation was
to get out of hand. Training your lone
workers effectively will give them the
tools and skills needed to be able handle
5 reasons why lone
worker protection
the situation calmly and appropriately, as
well as illustrating just how effective their
lone worker device and solution can be
in getting them help quickly if needed.
Highlighting the risks they face - as well
as how to safely negotiate any potentially
volatile situations - will give them greater
peace of mind that the company is investing
heavily in protecting their safety.
Training could encompass:
•Role play activities
•Device training in heated situations
•Understanding check-in and check-out
and the frequency
4) Helps employees to understand
what should happen
in an emergency and how to
effectively and efficiently respond
to alarms raised by lone
workers.
Why this training is important:
Many employees need to understand
exactly what happens in the event of an
alarm being raised.
Imagine being woken by an Alarm
Receiving Centre call at 2am to be told
that a member of staff has activated an
alarm. It has been verified and the police
are en route, and you need to enact your
organisation’s response protocols. What
are these? What is the first call the manager
needs to make? How does he notify
next of kin (if at all)?
These questions - and the answers to
them - all form part of each organisation’s
escalation procedure, and staff
training is vital
need proper and thorough training and
support to obtain a clear set of guidelines
in order to respond appropriately,
quickly and calmly.
Training could encompass:
•Role play activities
•Training of the lone worker system The
O.W.L
•Knowing your company’s escalation
procedures
•Establishing emergency procedures
5) Provides adequate risk assessments
and emphasises the
importance of these to ensure
competency in safety matters
Why this is important:
This provides lone workers with a clear
set of limits of what can and cannot be
done whilst working alone. It’s especially
important employers ensure that lone
workers are competent to deal with new
or unfamiliar tasks, or those beyond the
scope of training, so they are aware of
when to stop work and seek advice from
a line manager/supervisor.
Training could encompass:
•Mock risk assessments to illustrate how
the lone worker identifies foreseeable
events
•Providing information about emergency
procedures and danger to lone workers
visiting your site
•Identifying how a lone worker responds
to emergencies
07

Suzy
Lamplugh
Tragedy
Latest
LONEALERT:
rewarding
your loyalty
Introducing our
Loyalty Rewards
Scheme
July 28th marked 33 years since the estate agent disappeared, and despite
new police searches we’re still no closer to the truth. On the anniversary of her
death, a former detective has accused police of ignoring evidence in the case.
Police investigating the 1986 disappearance
and murder of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh dug
up a field to search for clues in one of Britain’s
most notorious unsolved crimes - but the operation
ended without any evidence being found.
The search, which started on 3 July, involved
the excavation of several areas of land in Pershore,
Worcestershire, with the assistance of
archaeologists, after police received a tip.
Detectives combed through the field near the
village of Drakes Broughton in Worcestershire
as part of the search. The field is just a few
miles from two other sites which police have
previously searched in connection with the
case.
The Metropolitan police, which are leading the
investigation into her disappearance, said her
family had been informed that the search had
been unsuccessful.
The announcement came as West Mercia
police, which has been assisting the Met,
said human bones discovered in the village
of Kempsey, approximately six miles from
Pershore, were not believed to be linked to
Lamplugh.
Supt Damian Pettit, commander for south
Worcestershire, said: “We are conducting a very
thorough investigation and have multiple lines
of inquiry to explore, one of which is into the
disappearance of a woman from Kempsey that
was launched in 1982.
“At this stage we don’t believe the remains to
be connected to the Met police’s missing person
investigation for Suzy Lamplugh.”
It was latest development in the investigation
into the death of tragic Suzy, whose disappearance
in 1986 sparked a national campaign into
improving policies and protocols for people
working alone.
The only clue into the estate agent’s disappearance
was an appointment in her work diary
recording a lunchtime appointment to show a
‘Mr Kipper’ around the house in Fulham.
That night, her white Ford Fiesta was discovered
nearby with its doors unlocked, the handbrake
off and the keys gone.
The search of the field took place eight months
after police spent two weeks digging up the
garden of a home where the mother of chief
suspect John Cannan once lived in Sutton
Coldfield, but found nothing.
Scotland Yard said it had received information
about Miss Lamplugh’s disappearance following
publicity of this previous search in November
2018. Serial rapist and killer Cannan, 65, who
is serving three life sentences for the murder
of Shirley Anne Banks in 1989 and a series of
other sex attacks, was named by police as the
prime suspect in November 2002.
Cannan was jailed in 1989, following the rape
of a woman in Reading in the same year as
Lamplugh’s disappearance, as well as the rape
and murder of Shirley Banks and the attempted
kidnapping of Julia Holman. He was questioned
in relation to Lamplugh’s murder several times,
but denies the allegations.
A Met police spokesperson said: “We remain
committed to securing justice for Suzy and her
family, and officers will continue to assess any
new information received in connection with this
case.”
On the 33rd anniversary of her disappearance,
Ex-Scotland Yard detective David Videcette
claimed The Met has an ‘over-commitment’ to
Cannan as a suspect. Mr Videcette, who has
been investigating the case himself since 2016,
says his evidence suggests Cannan was not
involved. Instead, he believes he has identified a
new suspect. Speaking in the Sunday Telegraph,
he withheld the name for legal reasons.
Videcette – who had no prior involvement in the
case – provided his evidence to the Met in June
that suggested the investigation was flawed
from the start and claimed Suzy had invented
the appointment with ‘Mr Kipper’ to cover her
tracks as she went out on a personal matter in
work time.
In his interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Mr
Videcette said: “Cannan has been convicted
of other crimes and is rightly serving out his
sentence for them. However, despite a clear
lack of evidence against him in Suzy’s case
and all the time these accusations are levelled
at him, Suzy’s real killer remains at large. In the
past ten months alone, the Met Police has wasted
hundreds of thousands of pounds on a dig in
Sutton Coldfield and another in Worcestershire,
in a relentless pursuit of evidence against Cannan.
My research suggests that the intelligence
underpinning these digs is highly questionable.
“I remain committed to working with the police,
but cannot, and will not, be silent about the
evidence forever.”
Miss Lamplugh, 25 at the time of her disappearance,
was declared dead in 1994, presumed
murdered. In the months after her disappearance,
her parents set up the Suzy Lamplugh
Trust to tackle violence and support stalking
victims. Its legacy also includes the dramatic
increase in awareness surrounding the risks
of lone working, and huge improvements into
protection for those working alone.
Her father Paul died in June last year aged 87
and her mother Diana in 2011.
We have launched our Loyalty
Rewards Scheme to show our
customers just how much we
value them.
As part of the scheme, we are
now offering discounts for those
who opt to take longer-term
contracts or a larger number of
licenses/devices as part of our
Loyalty Rewards Scheme.
Whilst many companies save all
their best deals for new customers,
we want to reward our longstanding
clients and those who
commit to LONEALERT as their
dedicated lone worker protection
provider.
A range of discounts are available
to suit the needs of each of our
loyal customers, including free
devices or discounted license
fees. It is worth bearing in mind
just how much you could save by
choosing to sign up for a longer
contract and making the most
of our loyalty offers. This money
saving comes on top of the peace
of mind you’ll get from knowing
you’re doing all you can to keep
your workforce safe in the long
run. That in itself, as they say, is
priceless!
Enquire Now
Call us:
0330 999 8484
Email us:
enquiries@lonealert.co.uk
Tweet us:
@LONEALERT