How GPS Tracking Improves Lone Worker Safety

Every job has its own unique risks. But about 15% of jobs in the US are also considered lone working jobs – and that means these workers face additional hazards simply because they are alone.

There are many steps that employers can take to protect their employees from the dangers that lone workers can encounter. In this piece, we’ll talk about one that plays a key role in many industries – GPS tracking.

Why is GPS tracking so crucial, and what can it do to help keep lone workers safe? Read on to learn why so many employers and organizations consider GPS tracking to be a key part of their lone worker safety plans.

Why do lone workers face special risks?

A lone worker is often considered to be someone who works all or part of the time without another employee within sight or hearing. So, truckers, delivery people, home healthcare workers, taxi drivers, and realtors can all be lone workers.

Yet all these varied professions have some factors in common when it comes to facing dangers on the job.

Some issues that lone workers can face are:

• Crime such as assault or robbery

• Industrial or work-related accidents with no-one around to help

• Medical emergencies that are unrelated to work, but mean that the worker needs help fast

• Dangers related to the environment they’re in – ranging from heatstroke for a lone worker on an oil rig to aggressive dogs in a home where a healthcare aide is trying to work.

As you can see, all of these problems are more serious when there isn’t another employee around to assist.

And here’s another crucial factor – the lone worker’s employer may not even realize that something is wrong until hours later, which may be too late to help.

How can GPS tracking promote lone worker safety?

Why can GPS tracking make a difference? There are several reasons.

GPS location history can help managers spot that something isn’t right

A good safety plan means spotting issues proactively. And when workers are mobile, that can mean employers should keep an eye on their workers’ movements so they’ll notice if something isn’t right. If an agricultural worker was meant to have moved across a field on a tractor but is still in the same place they were in two hours ago, that could be a huge red flag that they’ve experienced an accident.

GPS tracking can help managers to get assistance to a lone worker as fast as possible

Lone worker devices with GPS tracking and panic buttons are simple yet hugely helpful tools to improve worker safety.

These small pieces of tech can be worn around the neck or on a belt. If a worker experiences any kind of emergency, they can simply press and hold a single button to call for help. And if a lone worker simply passes out or becomes unwell too quickly to take action, a good lone worker device can help with that, too. A feature called automatic fall detection has the ability to sense falls and call for help automatically, even if the worker is unconscious.

But, as you can imagine, these features are only half the battle. Once the call for help goes out, first responders and other helpers have to know the worker’s location so they can provide help as fast as possible. That’s where GPS tracking comes in. Employers or an expert response center can simply use the GPS on the lone worker device to provide information about the worker’s location.

GPS tracking can help managers to know which employees might be facing danger

Let’s say you have a set of farm workers who may be working alone indoors or outdoors. The manager gets a news alert saying that a tornado is approaching. The manager can easily identify who’s outside in a field and who’s safe indoors. They can then focus on reaching the workers who are outside and who need to get to safety.

The same principle can apply to any natural storm, disaster, or outdoor danger. For example, if a realtor is headed toward an area where a wildfire has just broken out, their manager can focus on calling them back.

GPS tracking helps to avoid situations where employers are clueless about whether their worker is in danger or not

Imagine that you’re the employer of a worker who works alone at a water treatment plant. Three hours after the end of the work day, your employee’s spouse calls to say that the employee never came home. Of course, you’re immediately concerned that your worker might have had an accident – they might even have fallen into a water tank. But you don’t have any information about your worker’s location during working hours, so you can’t determine whether you even need to be looking for your employee or not.

Being in the dark about your workers’ wellbeing can cause disruption and distress even if it turns out that your employee is fine. And if this water treatment plant worker did have an accident at work, the delay involved in searching for them all over the worksite might turn a serious incident into a deadly one. As an employer, you want to know where your employees are so that if there’s any question about whether your worker is in danger, you can answer immediately.

Get a simple lone worker device that can transform safety for your employees

As an employer, you have responsibilities under the General Duty Clause and any industry-specific regulations to protect your lone workers from hazards. SureSafe’s Lone Worker Solution helps you take huge strides toward lone worker safety – and all you need is a simple, small, and easy-to-use lone worker device. With a one-touch SOS button to use in emergencies, and automatic fall detection to serve as a backup for workers in distress, your workers can enjoy more peace of mind about their security while they’re alone.

If you’re looking for a better way to improve your lone workers’ safety, we’re here to help. If you’d like to chat, you can get in touch with us through our contact form or by phone at 888 540 7193. Alternatively, you can email us at [email protected], speak with us via our live chat, or request a call back.