Personal Alarm: Which is best for reducing risk?

Selecting the best personal alarms for you or your team

Should I consider using a personal alarm to improve my safety?

When considering your personal safety at work or generally, the risks you face will often inform whether a personal safety alarm would benefit you on a day-to-day basis.

Personal alarms can give great peace of mind, and support users in the event of an individual being on the receiving end of duress, verbal abuse and aggression, or physical attack.

Who is using the personal alarm?

If you’re considering implementing personal alarms for use by colleagues in the workplace, assessing any risks they face is also a key part of making the right selection for a group of would-be alarm users. But also

Is the lone worker alarm for personal use – either by yourself or that of a family member? If so, does the alarm appearance fit with the user involved, and

How easy is it to use?

Any personal attack alarm needs to be simple to use and engaging for the user.

A clear and straightforward process of activation, via button press or touch-screen menu and device-based feedback to a user regarding an event, (often by haptics [vibration] to ensure discretion is maintained by the personal alarm user).

The SoloProtect ID Touch utilises discreet use and a sleek graphical user interface to allow personal alarm users to access safety features, and menu information to assist their own dynamic risk assessment.

Our range of SoloProtect personal alarms and applications is shown below:

Also, consider the support you’re given as part of the adoption process. Most credible suppliers of personal alarms will offer it as part of a managed solution.

Lone worker solutions often come with advice on implementation and best practices, and a mechanism for users to be trained and supported. If the personal alarm is not supported, user adoption can be more difficult to gauge and manage – in such cases what seemed a very cost-effective personal alarm investment, can be under-utilised.

Is my personal alarm accessible?

How a device looks, and how it is worn, will often impact usage. If a personal alarm is deemed by a user to be unsuitable or unattractive, it may end up being left in a bag or glovebox, out of use. Personal safety alarms can only be used properly if within a user’s reach.

Good training to inform best practices and useful accessories also help users engage with the personal alarm and integrate it within their work apparel.

What does the alarm do?

Personal Alarms come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from an item that simply makes a loud noise, up to the fully managed lone worker solution, as mentioned above.

The personal safety alarm should not just be judged on its aesthetics or form factor – but more importantly, the support it’s able to deliver to the worker in terms of the response to an incident.

When on the receiving end of verbal abuse or attack, a personal attack alarm with 24/7 alarm monitoring support can give a worker vital support and a mechanism to reduce risk as part of their dynamic risk assessment.

Take a look at our blog: Panic alarms: traditional vs monitored.

Is Lone Worker Accreditation important?

If your supplier of Personal Alarm systems is accredited to lone worker standard BS 8484, they can ensure the most appropriate and efficient response to an emergency raised by a monitored lone worker device. With the ability to contact the local Police control room nearest to where an incident is taking place, those monitoring events can request police assistance without having to dial 999 (a police-approved system for escalating a personal security alarm) – thus the most efficient escalation process for obtaining a Police response in England and Wales. SoloProtect is an end-to-end, lone worker service provider, and is BS 8484 approved. Check out our blog BS 8484 Lone Worker Standard explained.

What if I want to use my personal alarm away from the workplace?

Most personal alarm device suppliers will factor in that a device user may want to utilise the lone worker technology away from their traditional workplace. Perhaps when commuting, or whenever they want additional reassurance. An employer will often want to be able to demonstrate they have considered their duty of care to staff travelling to and from their physical workplace – or indeed to home workers in addition.

Find out more about personal alarms from SoloProtect on our Lone Worker Solutions page.

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