In the security industry, the personal safety of workers is paramount.  The responsibility of accounting for employees’ welfare becomes even more of a priority when members of staff or security guards are working alone.

A significant step that many employers are taking is to install a check call management system.  At set intervals over a day, the lone worker will perform a series of calls to the system.  A missed call will raise an alarm.  At icomply, we’ve compiled our top five reasons why you should install check call software to protect your lone workers.

1. Less time-consuming for staff

When using a check call management system, it is no longer necessary to dedicate members of staff in the control room to answer calls from lone workers.  As a result, staff will be available to carry out other tasks, dramatically increasing efficiency within the control room.  As 32% of control rooms reported a reduction in budget for 2012-13, these improvements in efficiency are vital for success in the current economic climate.

2. Calls are scheduled to suit the worker

Check calls are scheduled by the lone workers themselves through a user-friendly interface, ensuring that calls are both convenient and protecting workers’ safety to the fullest extent.  This flexibility in check call software means that staff members with different working patterns can have individual call check schedules, set in advance or edited on a day-to-day basis.

3. Eliminate human error and false alarms

We all make mistakes – after all, we’re only human – but in the control room environment, mistakes could compromise the personal safety of another staff member, or yourself.  Using check call software eliminates the potential for human error when receiving check calls.  When employing the unique ‘dial-out’ system, the check call system the lone worker, ending false alarms caused by workers neglecting to make check calls.

4. Pre-defined escalation process

Utilising check call management software enables control rooms to set up an automated, pre-defined checklist of persons to ring in the event of a missed check call.  As a result, there is no time lapse between the alarm triggering and relevant people being notified.  The system will keep a record of check calls missed for the control room to keep and send to management if necessary, creating electronic time sheets.

5. Bringing the service in-house

Check call management software provides significant long-term cost saving benefits by enabling control rooms to bring the service in-house, cutting down on monthly outsourcing costs.  As the software is scalable to serve any number of workers, your control room could even offer check call handling services to other departments or companies as a source of revenue generation.

Introducing icomply’s iCall

icomply’s check call management software iCall provides cost-effective, fully scalable security for lone workers.  The software has two main components: a web browser where users can log in and manage their own schedule, and a desktop based client where personal details can be entered and check calls scheduled.  Calls can be made into the iCall system by using a landline, mobile phone or PDA device.  If an additional layer of security is required for potentially dangerous situations, GPRS enabled handheld computers or PDAs can be used to locate the worker instantly.

Customers of V-TAS Pro can integrate iCall into the V-TAS Pro interface via the Lone Worker module.  For more information, please download the product brochure or get in touch.