Utility workers face unique dangers. Not only can their job provide hazardous work settings that increase their likelihood of injury, but in many instances they can also face risk from others that they have to deal with during their work. Here a quick overview on how OnGuard supports safety in the utility industry.
Dangers to utility workers in the field
Unhappy customers of utility companies are taking it out more and more on the workers in the field. Just as utilities workers are the ones providing the service to their customers, they are also the ones tasked with disconnection of service. Workers are being sent to all locations, sometimes urban or very remote, rural locations sometimes upscale neighborhoods and sometimes unsafe places. Utility workers being attacked has become a more and more pressing issue.Some states have enacted laws to protect utility workers even pushing to making it a felony. But just as stricter laws have not stopped people from stealing, drug use or even murder, making it a felony to attack a utility worker won’t stop it from happening. Utility companies need to provide tools that if such an incident occurs, workers have ways to alert and get immediate support.
Dangers to utility workers on sites
Many utility workers also work at plants, for instance, water treatment plants. These plants are often remotely located and very sparsely staffed. If one of your employees had an accident in a remote area of the facility and were without their cell phone, how long would it be before you or someone else knew something was wrong? How long would it take to get them the help they needed?
Reducing utility workers safety risks on site and in the field
OnGuard gives you the assurance that every worker is not only protected by the best worker safety system in the world, but also increases worker awareness and provides a buddy system to help with quick response in times of need.
All Utility workers should be checking in regularly and using OnGuard’s Life Check providing assurance that they are OK and able to keep working. If a worker misses a scheduled check-in, an emergency alert is sent and a dispatcher is notified and can try to contact the worker. If the worker cannot be contacted, the appropriate emergency resources will be dispatched to the workers exact location.
OnGuard’s Fall and Idle Detection features will also provide immediate notification if a worker has become incapacitated or taken a bad fall. Once again, emergency notification and direct communication with the worker can be the difference between tragedy and success.
Should a worker be attacked and triggers an emergency a hot mic function will start recording for a set period of time providing crucial evidence in any potential lawsuit against the attacker.
With the ever increasing legislation and regulation, it becomes imperative that rules are followed to avoid penalties and fines. OnGuard ensures that you have a record of where every employee is and their safety status and check-in schedule. These valuable tools can be used to help identify potential safety risks and ensure that the same issue is not repeated.
