Empower employees to be safe and Fearless this Safe Work Month

Friday, 23 September, 2016

Every October, Safe Work Australia Month is held to raise awareness of the importance of workplace safety. In 2013–14 there were 106,565 serious workers compensation claims made¹ and, tragically, 190 workers lost their lives while working in Australia in 2015². Workplace health and safety is of vital importance for all employees and employers, yet some professions face additional risks that can be difficult to prepare for. Fearless is a personal safety system that helps keep workers safe wherever they are. It is of particular benefit to ‘lone workers’ such as mobile staff, nurses, construction and salespeople.

Developed by security monitoring provider Calamity, Fearless offers mobile protection to staff and helps businesses quickly comply with some of the toughest WHS requirements. It is accessed through an app on a piece of technology everybody already carries: their smartphones.

In a dangerous situation, or when staff fail to ‘check in’ as expected, an alarm can be raised through the app. Calamity’s 24/7 monitoring centre is alerted and has access to the user’s location as well as using the phone for audio and camera evidence, allowing live operators to initiate a suitable response. The alarm can either be activated manually or automatically when a countdown timer reaches zero. The system is cloud based, meaning the user is always protected — even in the event of a lost or stolen phone.

Professions that require employees to travel off-site regularly, or to work irregular hours, can include occupational risks that can be difficult for management to prepare for. A survey of health professionals, teachers and police working in rural and remote Australia found that 57% had experienced verbal abuse from community members in the past 12 months and 21% had experienced physical violence³. In situations that can compromise a person’s feeling of safety, such as finishing a nursing shift late at night or needing to visit a stranger’s house for an appointment, Fearless can offer much-needed peace of mind.

While travelling, Journey mode can be activated on the app, providing live updates to emergency contacts or employers if necessary. Meeting mode can be set for a potentially risky meeting or while alone. An alert is raised if a countdown timer reaches zero without being reset by the user. In situations where injury or personal immobilisation is a possibility, such as off-site construction, Man-Down is a function which offers additional protection by flagging any sudden deceleration, non-movement or impact.

Fearless has been purposefully built to assist in emergency situations and to dispatch help as quickly and efficiently as possible if needed. Businesses owners and managers feel at ease knowing that their staff are prepared for the worst-case scenario or simple day-to-day risk.

“Fearless has far-reaching applications in so many workplace scenarios,” said Daniel Lewkovitz, CEO of Calamity and designer of Fearless. “It has been carefully constructed to ensure employers can comply with work health and safety requirements and offers peace of mind to anyone who may feel unsafe in their personal or professional life. Fearless takes a proactive approach to safety, as users can switch it on before any potentially dangerous situation, such as travelling to a meeting, and it will let others know you arrived safely without anyone needing to remember to ‘text their boss’. The technology is the best on the market and this tool saves lives.”

The Fearless app is available on iTunes and Google Play. For more information, visit www.calamity.com.au/fearless-app.