Robert Kaiser looks ahead to the Lone Worker Safety Expo's conference and exhibition, which will
focus on what can and should be done to help improve the personal safety of those working alone,
along with the new technologi
Robert Kaiser looks ahead to the Lone Worker Safety Expo's conference and exhibition, which will
focus on what can and should be done to help improve the personal safety of those working alone,
along with the new technologies being developed in this field
Some of the UK's leading lone
worker safety experts will share
their knowledge at the annual
Lone Worker Safety Expo at London's
Olympia Conference Centre on 27th
November 2012. Delegates will learn
how to balance meeting their duty of
care with providing an effective service
to the public, enhance their awareness
of lone worker safety risks, and gain a
better understanding of causes and
good responses to aggressive behaviour
or conflict.
Nigel Heaton, CEO of Human
Applications, an organisation specialising
in providing risk management services,
will open the conference with a talk on
getting to grips with lone working.
Including an overview of criminal and
civil responsibilities, it will also discuss
what documents and systems are
required to improve the personal safety
of workers. Nicole Vasquez, managing
director of Worthwhile Training and
training consultant at the Suzy Lamplugh
Trust, will follow on with an examination
of dynamic risk assessments, also
highlighting the importance of sharing
relevant information that can help
protect lone workers.
Behaviour-based safety will be covered
by one of the leading experts in this
field, Dr Tim Marsh BSc
MSc PhD, who is
managing
director of
Ryder-
Marsh
Safety,
author of
several
behaviourbased
and
safety-related
books, and a global
consultant. Amanda Callen BA MSc,
director of Chartered Occupational
Psychologists at OPC Assessments, will
discuss additional aspects of safe
behaviour, asking why some people are
instinctively safer than others.
After lunch, Ian Johannessen,
managing director of Rocksure Systems,
will highlight five characteristics of the
most effective lone worker safety
implementations and the five most
common mistakes being made, to help
attendees learn from them. The key
questions in reference to the potential
use of Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) by lone workers will be answered
by Jonathan Fox, press officer of the
Association of Professional Ambulance
Personnel, who has been campaigning
for PPE for a number of years.
The day will close with an interactive
session from Steve Collins, CEO of PS5
and author and lecturer on personal
protection and public safety. Having
advised law enforcement units around
the world, Collins will provide an
interactive session, offering realistic
information, which will aim to fill
attendees with a high level of confidence.
Raising standards
In addition to the conference there is an
exhibition where visitors can engage with
industry professionals on the latest issues
and technologies in lone worker safety. A
number of well known firms have
already confirmed their participation
including headline sponsor MITIE Total
Security Management, Connexion2,
Astraline, Advanced Health & Care,
Steanne Solutions, Reveal Media and
Maybo. These companies and more will
provide free advice on the latest
developments in body-worn video
cameras, conflict management training,
and lone worker safety alarms, tracking
and monitoring devices.
Technology-based lone worker
solutions are becoming of greater interest
to those charged with improving the
personal safety of their lone workers.
These technical devices have had their
own British standard for over two years:
known as BS8484, its official title is the
'Code of Practice for the provision of
lone worker device services'. A Code of
Practice of course has no real value until
an organisation makes its
implementation a clear requirement. In
this case, the Association of Chief Police
Officers (ACPO) has done so, by forcing
any organisation which supplies lone
worker services to be certified to BS8484
before they can receive the highest level
of police response.
Police forces in England and Wales,
and shortly Scotland, allocate a unique
reference number (URN) to systems
provided by suppliers who can provide
proof of audit against BS8484. Without a
URN an employer of lone workers will
most likely be left without guaranteed
police response. Anyone looking to
purchase such devices should ask their
supplier if the URN is part of the device
or service.
Thanks to the BS8484 standard, we are
now looking at a situation where a lone
worker can activate their lone worker
safety device, knowing the police will
react with the highest level of response
because they know it comes from an
accredited Alarm Response Centre and is
likely to be a genuine request for help
and unlikely to be a false alarm.
For more details about Lone Worker
Safety Expo visit:
www.loneworkersafetyexpo.com
Rober Kaiser is CEO of PPSS Group and
organiser of Lone Worker Safety Expo
