LOROL
Chooses SoloProtect for Staff Safety on North London Line
London Overground Rail Operations Ltd (LOROL), which last November
took over suburban routes previously operated by Silverlink, is helping
protect its staff from accidents and verbal and physical abuse with the
support of SoloProtect lone worker solution. As LOROL is providing staff
at previously unmanned stations on the Gospel Oaks to Barking Line who
might occasionally confront potentially abusive situations, it wanted
to ensure that its staff had the ability to discreetly summon help if
threatened or if they had an accident or were taken ill.
As part of its seven-year contract with Transport for London (TfL), LOROL
is ensuring that all stations are manned from 15 minutes prior to the
first train in the morning until 15 minutes after the last train has departed
at night. These stations include nine that have been unmanned for 10 years
serving communities facing higher levels of social challenge.
Looking at ways of protecting staff, Mungo Duncan, Health & Safety
Manager at LOROL turned to his provider, ManGuard to see if the company
could recommend a means of supporting members of staff who might work
alone. ManGuard immediately suggested the award-winning SoloProtect service.
‘We looked at other solutions but SoloProtect provided the best possible
protection for our staff’, said Mungo Duncan. ‘We were particularly
impressed with the Identicom i770 device with man-down detection, which
addresses the risk of verbal and physical abuse as well accidents’.
Following a successful trial, LOROL has purchased 97 Identicom i770 units
as part of the SoloProtect solution, which are being used by platform
staff, station assistants and ticket inspectors. Feedback from staff has
been very positive as they view the introduction of Identicom as providing
them with additional levels of security and confidence.
‘Our staff have found the Identicom units simple to use, robust and
reliable’, stated Mungo Duncan. ‘SoloProtect also provided us
with what we needed in a straightforward package at a cost effective price’,
he concluded.
When an employee feels they are entering a potentially hazardous situation,
they press an amber alert button, which notifies SoloProtect's monitoring
centre. In this way, the monitoring centre is able to note the wearer's
location and raise the alarm if the amber alert is not cancelled within
a predetermined period. If the red alert is then pressed the centres'
support staff can discreetly listen in to what is happening and make an
assessment as to the level of support required - involving the police
if necessary. In the event of a verbal confrontation, the Centre can also
record the conversation for future action.
Winner of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) IFSEC Security
Industry Innovation Award 2007, SoloProtect is the only solution on the
market that truly addresses the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)
guidelines that explicitly rule out the use of mobile phones and demand
a reduction in false alarms. SoloProtect combines the ACPO 'Design by
Award’ accredited Identicom with a 24/7 manned monitoring service
accredited to the highest UK standard, BS5979 Cat II, through a partnership
with Reliance Security, an established market leader in the provision
of electronic security solutions. SoloProtect provides end user training,
which has been delivered to thousands of lone workers, included in a fixed
monthly fee.
Tel: 01909 550368
Web: http://www.connexion2.com
