Veolia ANZ selects StaySafe App to help protect Lone Workers
Veolia’s Water Division, situated across Australia and New Zealand, now uses StaySafe technology to adhere to Section 48 of the NSW Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017.
StaySafe is a smartphone app and cloud based monitoring hub which gives visibility of an employees location whilst they work alone. In an emergency, employees can use the app to raise a variety of alerts to ensure that help is sent immediately to the right location.
Workers are often situated at remote locations or unmanned sites where they are out of contact with other workers or members of the public for extended periods of time. In addition, poor phone reception in these locations can make it difficult to notify emergency services if there is an issue while staff are alone in the field.
In late 2020, Veolia made the decision to review and standardise their lone worker solution.
Before deciding on a new solution, Veolia first trialled the StaySafe app to assess its suitability. The free trial allowed their lone workers to use the system during their normal workday and when responding to call-outs after hours. It also enabled users and managers to test a number of different scenarios to check the app’s usability, functionality and response process.
“At the end of the trial, over 92% of Veolia’s trial participants said they would prefer to use the StaySafe app compared to our old system” explains Scott Murphy, Manager Operational Excellence at Veolia Australia – New Zealand.
Following the successful trial, Veolia switched the 60 operators and maintenance staff across its 25 Hunter region sites to StaySafe. Since that time, Veolia has moved an additional 20 staff across three sites in the Illawarra Region to StaySafe.
“Part of the value provided to Veolia and our employees is the ability to easily raise an alarm and get help, or, if an incident occurs, be easily located by emergency services,” says Karen Arkinstall, Compliance Manager for Veolia’s Hunter Water contract.
The StaySafe app is linked to a secure cloud-based hub that provides businesses with real-time updates on the safety status of their lone workers. In an emergency, employers can accurately locate their staff on a map and send immediate assistance to them. The hub is customisable and allows employers to create tailored reporting lines and escalation procedures to ensure lone workers get the help they need in an emergency.
The StaySafe solution impressed Veolia in a number of areas.
The positive feedback from lone workers who were a part of the trial included:
- the ease of use of the solution as a whole.
- in-app training made roll out of the app smooth and quick
- being able to configure the alerts such as man-down, and panic alarms
- the GPS accuracy, which allows for faster response times if a lone worker is in danger
- the highly visible, big red button that is easy to push in an emergency and easy to change or cancel
“Part of the value provided to Veolia and our employees is the ability to easily raise an alarm and get help, or, if an incident occurs, be easily located by emergency services,” says Karen Arkinstall, Systems Manager for Veolia’s Hunter Water contract.
“Health and Safety Legislation in New Zealand makes it clear that the risks to lone workers, who can be particularly vulnerable if an accident or incident occurs, are adequately managed. StaySafe helps companies keep in regular communication with staff, in a way that can be managed and monitored carefully by the company. Not only does it provide a robust way to ensure staff get help if they need it, it also provides an audit trail to show that safety measures have been put in place should an incident occur” says Don Cameron, CEO at StaySafe.
