Lone worker safety app launched in NZ

Queenstown-based safety app company GetHomeSafe believes health and safety is everyone’s responsibility, from staff to management and owners, and this has been reflected in its new product launch.

To meet demand for monitoring the safety of people working alone, the company has released its second app to the market, the GetHomeSafe – Corporate Safety app, which has also been timed to coincide with the new health and safety legislation coming into force from 4 April in New Zealand.

The company said over the past 18 months it has been developing a more comprehensive safety solution for people working unsupervised and away from the office, a step above some very ‘passive’ traditional methods which have huge potential for human error.

“With our new app we’ve created an active system where staff are actively reminded of their check-in time and supervisors are actively alerted if someone’s overdue,” said Boyd Peacock, founder of GetHomeSafe.

Staff share what they’re doing and where they’re going via the app, including how long it will take them to safely complete a task. If they don’t acknowledge the reminders and fail to say they’ve completed the job safely, then supervisors are notified via a failsafe text message and email alerting network.

Even if supervisors fail to follow up or acknowledge an overdue alert, it’s automatically escalated to senior management.

“Our system’s perfect for someone in the mobile workforce such as a building or council site inspector, or for a district nurse or social worker to say they’ve safely completed each of their daily home visits,” said Boyd.

An online dashboard shows supervisors what staff have shared, while in-built alerting notifies them if something is out of the ordinary.

The app is the second by the company, which released the original GetHomeSafe – Personal Safety app in 2013, designed for people to use in their daily activities from long-distance driving to cycling, or for work.

Boyd said the new workplace app, however, meets demand from businesses interested in using it as an essential and cost-effective tool for their workforce.

“Property management firms, local government, consultants and the agricultural sector are those that are either already using it or are very interested in looking further at its applications across their business,” he said.

“There are a huge number of firms out there with a need for their staff to confirm they’re OK at certain times, such as letting a supervisor know they’re home safe at the end of a shift when they’ve been out of the office. Most of them are currently using text or phone-in systems.

“That’s fine when the staff member actually remembers to text or call, but not so good if they don’t and you can’t get hold of them. That silence can be very stressful and no use if the staffer actually needs help, or a colossal waste of time and resources if they just forgot or had a flat battery.”

Boyd added that for some firms the original free app will remain preferable, but for those logging tens, hundreds or even thousands of tasks a week, the GetHomeSafe – Corporate Safety app is a more comprehensive system designed to suit their needs.

For more information, go to www.gethomesafe.com/.

Top image caption: GetHomeSafe Founder Boyd Peacock promoting the GetHomeSafe – Corporate Safety app. Images courtesy of GetHomeSafe.