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Water Consultancy and Contractor implements StaySafe to ensure lone worker safety.

Hydrosave has introduced StaySafe to ensure the safety of their lone workers. Hydrosave, an operational consultant and specialist contractor within the water industry, regularly sends fieldworkers out to locations across the UK to provide leak detection, water audits or sewerage surveys. With these lone workers at risk of numerous hazards, such as working below ground or in highways, Hydrosave has rolled out StaySafe to employees across the UK.

 

Fieldworkers can now use the StaySafe mobile app to log their arrival and safe departure from each external visit with the simple press of a button. This app is linked to a secure cloud-based monitoring Hub which accurately locates lone workers on a map and provides managers with real-time updates on their movements. If an employee fails to check in safely during a lone working session, has an accident or raises an alert, managers will be able to locate them and get help straight away. 

 

Previously Hydrosave relied on a buddy system for their staff, with employees pairing up and taking it in turns to check in with each other to ensure that their ‘buddy’ was safe. However, managers noticed that there were often discrepancies and they had very little control over how employees were carrying out the buddy system. This process also involved a high amount of paperwork which was inconvenient and time consuming for all employees. 

 

To overcome these issues, Hydrosave began looking for a lone working system that was more automated, easy-to-use and could be managed by head office. The company also wanted a method that was flexible and simple to operate and implement. Hydrosave trialed other company’s solutions but none of them proved to be as simple or effective as StaySafe’s solution.

 

After a very successful trial with StaySafe over a one month period, Hydrosave’s fieldworkers found that there was a significant reduction in  time spent trying to get hold of colleagues. It has significantly reduced the need to fill out time-consuming paperwork every day. Managers now have insight into where their workers are at any given time and can ensure that their staff are safe throughout their working day. Hydrosave employees feel much safer knowing that if an incident were to occur, managers are aware of their whereabouts and assistance can be sent directly to their location. 

 

Connell Shannaghan, Project Manager at Hydrosave comments, “Our overall experience with StaySafe has been really positive. We were initially looking for a safety solution that could help minimise the amount of paperwork management we were having to do. We also wanted something that was simple to implement and easy to use. StaySafe has fit into the company structure very well, it's much easier to supervise and track staff and our employees enjoy the simplicity of the app.”

 

Don Cameron, CEO at StaySafe, adds: “Latest HSE statistics show that the risk of an employee being injured from a fall or using machinery is present in nearly 50% of workplaces in the UK. Lone workers are particularly vulnerable if an accident occurs as there is no one to raise the alarm. We are proud to offer a lone working solution that helps keep employees safe whilst working in dangerous areas.”

"We are building the evidence base that proves government must act on air quality," says British Safety Council.

An app developed by King College London as part of the British Safety Council’s Time to Breathe campaign is building on a growing evidence base that proves outdoor workers are exposed to air pollution well above the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended limits. However, huge variance in quality and coverage of air quality measurement across the UK suggests the problem could be greater than previously thought.

The app gathers data based on London’s air quality monitoring stations and gives individual users a read-out of the air pollution they are exposed to at work. The first data release from British Safety Council confirms that outdoor workers are put at more risk than average Londoners. The WHO says that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk and that reducing air pollution could save millions of lives. As well as campaigning to improve ambient air quality the British Safety Council is working on practical solutions to reduce the risks for outdoor workers.

Over six months the Canairy app has gathered data from a sample of Londoners. Outdoor workers were exposed to air pollution averages higher than guidelines for NO2, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and Ozone. Some maximum exposures were nearly two thirds higher than recommended WHO limits. The workers were in two groups, some mostly working in offices and others mostly working outside. Although both groups were exposed to high levels of air pollution, those working outside are exposed to worse pollution than the average Londoner.

The British Safety Council launched Time to Breathe in March 2019. The campaign offers the Canairy app free to give workers and employers information about air pollution exposure as well as providing free advice and guidance. The British Safety Council has called on the government to adopt WHO guidelines in the new Environment Bill. In March 2020 the British Safety Council will be taking the campaign to Manchester to highlight the limitations of air pollution monitoring outside London.

The British Safety Council’s Head of Campaigns Matthew Holder said:

“The first data release confirms that outdoor workers are being exposed to high levels of air pollution with all the health risks that carries. Canairy confirms what we also thought – if you work outside in a city or near a busy road you are putting your health at risk. What is new is that we now have the technology for individual workers to record their exposure. With Canairy and other forms of measurement we are building the evidence base that makes the case for change. As a first step we must urgently adopt the WHO guidelines on PM2.5. But we also need investment in measurement so we can understand who is at risk and how people can limit their exposure to harmful air pollution.”

Number of Devices set to reach 2.2 million by 2023.

 

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the market for lone worker protection solutions and services in Europe and North America is forecasted to grow from € 154 million in 2019, to reach € 284 million in 2023.

 

The number of users of dedicated lone worker safety devices based on GPS and cellular technology on the European market is estimated to grow from 645,000 users in 2019 to reach 1.1 million users at the end of 2023. In North America, the number of such users is estimated to grow from 205,000 in 2019, to reach 380,000 at the end of 2023. In Europe, app-based solutions are estimated to account for around 25 percent of all solutions, while in North America more than 40 percent of the solutions are based on apps for smartphones and tablets. In both regions, app-based solutions are forecasted to account for an increasing share of lone worker safety solutions in the coming years.

The lone worker safety market is led by a handful of specialist companies based in the UK and Canada, where legislation specifically addressing the safety of lone workers has fostered growth. SoloProtect and Send For Help Group have grown to become two of the world’s largest providers of lone worker safety solutions and services. Send For Help Group mainly serves the UK market and operates under the three subsidiaries Peoplesafe, Skyguard and Guardian24. SoloProtect is active in the US, Canada and other parts of Europe in addition to its main UK market. Both SoloProtect and Send For Help Group, also operate their own alarm receiving centre (ARC).

 

Additional companies with notable market shares in the UK include Lone Worker Solutions, Reliance High-Tech, Orbis Protect and Safe Apps. In Canada, the main providers of safety devices and services for lone workers are Blackline Safety, Tsunami Solutions, Roadpost and Aware360. Blackline Safety is known for developing technologically advanced safety devices for lone workers using both cellular and satellite communications technology.


The market drivers for lone worker safety solutions includes occupational safety regulations, increasing employee insurance costs and higher awareness of risks associated with lone working. The number of individuals working alone is also expected to grow as businesses strive for increased efficiency. A job previously performed by two persons or more is now being done by a single worker. “Traditionally, lone workers exposed to the highest social or environmental risks have been found in industries such as security services, social care, field services and in heavy industries such as oil & gas and construction” says Martin Backman, IoT Analyst at Berg Insight. He adds that companies in other industries are now also starting to see the benefits of these services. “There is now an increasing demand for lone worker safety services from workers in retail, financial services, education and more, which fuels market growth”, concludes Mr. Backman.  

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, takes a look at a new line in wearable technology aimed at the medical sector launched by Nanowear and explains why he thinks it could be an essential aspect for field service worker safety...

Despite all the hyperbole (much of which I myself admit to being responsible for) wearables in field service has just never really taken off.

For example, the impact of the ultimate widespread failure of Google Glass did a lot to suppress the appetite for smart glasses. At the time of launch, Field Service Management (FSM) solution providers were queuing up to announce that they were working on a Glass app and the promise of hands-free working had everybody in the field service sector excited.

However, a mix of poor battery life and spotty voice recognition meant it never really met expectations. Add to this the fact that Google misjudged the product as something the consumer world was waiting for when the reality was it was always a product that should have been geared to towards industry and in particular areas such as field service, where remote workers could have benefited from such a technology.

Google misjudged the product as something the consumer world was waiting for when the reality was it was always a product that should have been geared to towards industryAnd while a raft of companies has since brought respectable, smart glasses to the market, with the pick of the bunch for my mind so far being Vuzix, the general feeling of disappointment with Glass is a hard obstacle to overcome. That said, with the rise in prominence of AR the smartglass market is getting a second wind, and I do feel that smartglasses will ultimately play an important role in the field service industry. But that time is likely to still be a few years away - when a couple of years ago it seemed imminent.

The same can't be said for smartwatches though. Again a number of FSM solution providers including IFS, ClickSoftware and ServiceMax all developed smartwatch applications.

However, looking back with hindsight these seemed to be more about developing an app for a technology for the sake of it, and then trying to work a use case back from that position - which invariably is a lot less likely to yield results. Ultimately the benefit of having a stripped down version of a mobile app on a field service engineer's wrist offered little benefit - especially when most smartwatches need to be paired with a phone in the first place.

While for smartglasses there is a distinct home for them in the world of field service, smartwatches seem to be very much a technology that belongs in the consumer realm.Ultimately, while for smartglasses there is a distinct home for them in the world of field service, smartwatches seem to be very much a technology that belongs in the consumer realm.

However, while smartwatches and smartglasses dominate the conversation, they are not the form factor that wearables come in. In fact, it is a new form of wearable produced by Nanowear, a New York-based start-up launched Venk Varadan and his father Dr. Vijay Varadan, that has caught my eye as having some serious potential within our sector.

The official blurb states that Nanowear is a "connected-self technology platform for diagnostics and chronic disease management and is the first-and-only company in the world to have received FDA 510(k) clearance for cloth-based cardiac remote monitoring."

So what exactly does that mean and why do I think it could play a role in field service?

Well first let's explore the technology.

Essentially, it is a cloth based sensor that contains millions of nano-sensors per square inch. In practice, this means that the cloth could be used in any manner of clothing and it simultaneously captures and relays real-time data from the wearer for remote monitoring at any time.

Sensibly the team at Nanowear have aimed there first product released using the technology, SimpleSense, at the medical industry. This makes sense for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it takes into account that important first rule of launching a tech business - have a clear understanding of the problem your technology will solve. There is a lot of medical and bio-engineering expertise amongst the team at Nanowear and SimpleSense is designed to tackle a very specific problem - namely Congestive Heart Failure (CHF).

By tackling CHF SimpleSense can position itself very much as a cost-saving development for the core market of hospitals, making it that much easier for them to penetrate a market with traditionally complicated and drawn out procurement chains.

Even under a Trump administration that is dramatically reducing the level of red tape regulation, gaining FDA approval is no mean feat and that accreditation will carry a lot of weight and recognition far beyond the medical sector.Secondly, it is a fantastic area for proof of concept. Even under a Trump administration that is dramatically reducing the level of red tape regulation, gaining FDA approval is no mean feat and that accreditation will carry a lot of weight and recognition far beyond the medical sector.

Indeed, when I spoke with Venk Varadan to find out more about the technology he was at a break from a meeting with Google AI team exploring some of the other possible applications for their technology. Other rollouts into different sectors are absolutely on the long-term roadmap, but I think in identifying one core application for the technology, to begin with, Nanowear will not only be able to establish a solid working proof of concept to expand upon, but are also able to avoid the 'boil-the-ocean' mentality so so many start-ups for foul to.

All too often we see excellent ideas and emerging technologies get lost as their founders try to push each and every possible use case all at once. In taking such a structured and measured approach, Nonowear is doing well to avoid that temptation and ultimately are more likely to be better positioned to penetrate other markets when the right time comes.

With that in mind, let us consider the role this technology could play in the field service sector.

Field service is by its very definition a role in which we put some of our most important assets, i.e. the engineers themselves, in an isolated and often dangerous position. Field service is by its very definition a role in which we put some of our most important assets, i.e. the engineers themselves, in an isolated and often dangerous position. Whether it be working at height, working in remote areas with live electrical equipment or even just behind the wheel going from one job to another, field service engineers are at risk simply by the very nature of the fact they are very often alone.

A wearable vest utilising the Nanowear technology that tracks vital body data regularly such as cardiological or even neurological data could quite conceivably be integrated into a remote worker application.

The question is then how can the data be applied to reduce the risk of the lone worker? The first thought in my mind would be that should an engineer be in an accident when working in a remote location - whether it be a fall, a blow to the head or heaven forbid even possibly a heart attack, then assistance could be sent immediately. This could vastly increase the chances of recovery and in severe cases maybe even survival.

How about the possibility of linking the vest to a kill switch when in the vehicle. So again should the engineer suffer a heart-attack behind the wheel the vehicle just comes to a stop? With the sensors available in modern vehicles it is even possible that the vehicle would be able to reduce speed and pull over safely under its own steam in such a situation. Indeed, such a device would have saved countless lives just a few years ago when such a tragic situation happened in Scotland for example.

Taking things one step further could the right interpretation of the data if applied correctly potentially even predict something critical such as imminent heart failure and avoid an engineer putting themselves in a dangerous position in the first place perhaps?

In fact, it is as we turn to the interpretation of the data that the fullest value of Nanowear becomes apparent. Not only have they developed the actual hardware, but they have also established proprietary systems for interpreting the data as well.

"I think for us the real USP is that we offer the full stack. You can't call yourself a data analytics company if you don't have clean pipes. If your just pulling data from everywhere all of your focus is going to be looking for data that you want to see, as opposed to analysing raw data. We have unique data sets because of how we capture them with our cloth. That makes us a better analytics company down the road," states Vardan.

It is the duty of every field service company to do everything within their power to mitigate the risk that their field service engineers face when working on their own."It is a more complicated story because it's materials, hardware, analogue to digital transfer, user experience and analytics that is a big stack for people to get comfortable with and that's why the IoT has been broken up into those five areas. But we feel we are best placed to provide the services as well as the hardware as we have the best understanding of the data."

In terms of the potential for Nanowear being rolled out into the field service sector personally, I think the business case is very straightforward. It is the duty of every field service company to do everything within their power to mitigate the risk that their field service engineers face when working on their own.

So while the initial rollout for Nanowear has a very specific focus within the medical sector, as mentioned above, they have already identified a number of further potential applications for it and are actively exploring other.

From where I'm sitting, wearable clothing to protect lone workers simply has to be one of them.

Want to know more? Why not join Venk and the Nanowear team and as well as the Field Service News team in La Jolla for field service medical in Feb 26th to 28th. Field Service News subscribers have an exclusive 25% discount for this event and if you are a field service practitioner then you may qualify for a complimentary industry subscription
Click here to apply for your subscription now and if you are successful a discount code will be sent to you via email within the hour!

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In Part One of this report Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News looked at the latest developments in live video streaming. In Part Two, he explores three potential areas the technology has potential to make a difference.

User Case One: Driver training

It is well documented that improving the general standards of driving amongst your team of field engineers can lead to almost instant gains in terms of impacting upon your bottom line.  Better drivers use less fuel, incur less day-to-day damage and wear and tear on a vehicle and as alluded to above can even lower insurance premiums.

Indeed the telematics market is full of driver training/driver behaviour monitoring tools designed to help field service organisations track who in their mobile workforce is performing well behind the wheel and who is regularly sitting towards the bottom of the pack when it comes to driving standards.

However,  the cost of having a qualified coach sit in on a ride along can be prohibitively high. This is where one potential application of live streaming can come into play.  With an in-vehicle camera providing the ability to allow a qualified coach to remotely view a driver’s performance in real-time, there's no need for a trainer to sit in with the engineer. Coaching can be given to multiple drivers across a potentially infinite geography in a much shorter amount of time, without the costs of getting your coaching resource to each individual trainee.

Use Case Two: Lone worker protection

By the very nature of their roles field workers are very often working in a sole capacity and this carries it’s own set of regulations and responsibilities for their employer.

The biggest challenge for the lone field service worker is that on a regular basis the job they may be called out to do can place them working alone in an unsafe environment,  putting them in a potentially vulnerable position. Such risks are not just the more obvious settings of hazardous workplaces such as utilities plants or around heavy machinery but can also include those who may be working unsociable hours in an office or even domestic residences when working on an emergency call-out.

Lone worker systems can be linked to 24 hour monitoring systems, where field service agents who find themselves in a dangerous position can simply press an alert button on their device to flag for assistance.  Once again this presents an interesting use case for live streaming video. The technology now exists for a wearable camera capable of delivering live video streamed across either a 3G or 4G network.

 

Of course when we talk about wearables there is a lot of buzz and hyperbole at the moment and a large part of this excitement is around the potential to combine existing technologies into the wearable format.

We can start to explore a number of different opportunities around lone worker safety with wearables and one of such example could be to combine health monitoring (e.g. heart rate monitor) and a wearable video camera with live streaming capabilities to activate in emergencies – providing not just an alert but also vital insight into any incident again in real time.

Use Case Three: Parts Management

Another area for consideration regarding for the implementation of live streaming videos in a field service environment is as part of a parts monitoring system.

Parts inventory management out in the field remains one of the most challenging areas of good field service management. However, from a financial point of view the sheer lack of visibility into spare parts inventory, something that can often be the largest negative balance on a profit and loss sheet for a service operation, is a huge challenge.

Once again the use of live streaming can become part of the solution. Through the combination of a number of different technologies a camera could be utilised alongside the use of QR codes (or possibly even a simpler numbering system) that allows engineers to hold each part they remove from the van to the camera so it is logged instantly as it leaves the van.

Such technology already exists, of course. However, with the advent of the latest streaming technology this video data is available in real-time allowing for two-way communication when particularly expensive parts are being removed for example.

Not re-inventing the wheel

Whilst it is perhaps not a technological breakthrough on a par with some of the other technologies emerging currently such as 3D printing, IoT or Connected Vehicles,the advent of live streaming does present an enhancement to many tools we already have in place in a field service operation.

However, it is the ability to ‘log-in’ remotely to cameras in real-time that is the real innovation here and whilst in many instances this step forward in technology simply enhances and improves the solution, in others such as the potential use case of enabling two way communication for logging expensive parts out of a vehicle in real-time, then new solutions and applications for the technology can be found.

I’ve been quoted in the past as saying that good technology should be simple to understand and should just make our lives easier.  As a technology, live video streaming really is a something that meets this description.  It can be applied to a wide variety of problems from the outset and with an open-minded approach could also play a part in resolving other potential challenges whilst ultimately improving numerous workflows.

 

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 Editor-in-chief Kris Oldland hightlights three technologies that could help field service organisations enhance protection for employees working alone, reduce potential risk and fulfill duty-of-care responsibilites.

The field service worker is often required to work alone and for the field service organisation this presents a large number of challenges of its own. Legislation across countries varies in this respect but at the very least it is the employer's moral obligation to ensure that any of their employees including those in the field have suitable processes in place to help ensure their safety.

Fortunately, technology is proving an ever-reliable tool to help automate many of these processes and as the continuing trend of wearable technology continues to evolve so will the potential new tools for lone worker protection.

New developments are happening all the time in this exciting space but in this article lets take a look at three concepts I’ve come across recently that could genuinely offer additional lone worker protection.

1. Smart Glasses

   Whilst perhaps the most high profile brand of Smart Glasses, Google’s Glass project met an abrupt end to its well publicised beta program the fact remains that the Smart Glasses market whilst still embryonic remains vibrant.

   However, whilst there is a consumer niche for the devices in areas such as extreme sports, many manufacturers and developers of smart glasses, including Google are turning their attention to the world of business as a target market and field services is an obvious core sector.

   For the lone field worker the ability to receive notifications and instructions whilst keeping both hands free could be a vital health and safety feature, particularly for example for engineers working in high risk environments such as an electricity pylon or scaffolding etc.

   Other benefits of Smart Glasses in field service are evident such as the opportunity for more skilled engineers to guide less qualified colleagues through a repair with a true ‘see-what-I-see’ viewpoint. However, it is the safety aspect that could perhaps be the biggest selling point for Smart Glasses when it comes to adoption by field service companies.

2. Bio Sensor clothing

   It might be the newest area of development for wearable technology,  but Bio Sensor clothing is perhaps one of the most exciting when it comes to the protection of field service workers.

   Bio Sensor clothing is perhaps one of the most exciting when it comes to the protection of field service workers.

   The health and fitness sector is already awash with wearable clothing designed to monitor biometric data ranging from wearable vests, socks and even false teeth. However, once again the applications for these wearables have a perfect place amongst field service engineers.

    

   For example a vest that detects heart rate could be invaluable for the lone worker when they are behind the wheel.

   One can’t help but think that the tragedy just under a year ago year when Harry Clarke fainted at the wheel ploughing his bin lorry into pedestrians in Glasgow city centre, killing six people. Had Clarke been wearing a bio-monitoring vest, perhaps even connected to an Bluetooth enabled engine cut-off mechanism, then perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided.

   Due to the nature of their roles, field engineers are often alone behind the wheel and this is just one potential use of bio sensor clothing that could help not only protect them but also those they share the roads with.

3. Wearable cameras

   The potential for wearable cameras for helping secure lone workers is absolutely huge.  London's Metropolitan Police force is utilising these devices  - they are light enough to not impair the wearer in any way but are also capable of not only capturing and recording video but also of transmitting that data live via either a 3G or 4G signal.

   What this means is that simply by triggering a panic button on their person should an engineer find them selves in trouble for whatever reason the team back in HQ can instantly log-in and see the situation in real-time. Also as the cameras are capable of utilising GPS,  triggers could be put in place for the camera to send an alert and start streaming should an engineer leave an accepted area.

   Such visibility into lone workers can prevent them becoming isolated in the event of any threat to their security and as such can also go a long way to helping ensure our lone workers are as safe as they possibly can be.

These are just three potential applications of wearable technology that can help protect our lone workers, but there are many more. As employers it is our duty to ensure that we embrace the emerging field of wearable technology in order to further enhance the safety of our lone workers in the field.

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