Transport for NSW (TNSW) is a government agency responsible for developing safe, integrated, and efficient transport systems across New South Wales, Australia. With a diverse workforce operating in various environments, including remote locations, TNSW faced significant challenges in ensuring the safety of its employees. Bradley Lawder, a Safety Champion at TNSW, recognized the need for a comprehensive safety solution to protect workers exposed to various risks in the field.
Lawder was the winner of the transport award and was nominated for the NSW public service award for his work. Brad is a strong advocate for the safety and wellbeing of frontline regional road workers at Transport for NSW. He has driven several safety and process advancement initiatives to improve the experience of lone, regional workers.
Brad is a trusted and proud advocate of mental health awareness. He pro-actively led the trial of the Guardian Angel Safety Systems program, supporting road workers to stay connected when working in remote locations. Brad is also a local volunteer first responder during emergencies and disasters in the Port Macquarie community.
Key Challenges
Lawder’s team at TNSW often faced significant challenges that compromised their safety and well-being:
- Remote Locations: Staff often worked in areas with no cell coverage, making it difficult to communicate or call for help in emergencies.
- Natural Disasters: Bushfires and floods posed constant threats, with staff sometimes trapped in dangerous situations with no means to seek assistance.
- Vehicle Issues: Accidents and breakdowns in isolated areas further increased the risk to staff.
- Working Alone: Lone workers are away from colleagues and sometimes are completely isolated from people. Lone workers also face potential exposure to anti-social behavior from the public
- Dangerous wildlife: Due to the nature of the work staff can also be exposed to wildlife hazards, including snakes and spiders.
- Inadequate Communication Solutions: Previous trials with phone apps failed due to lack of cell coverage. In-house monitoring solutions risked staff exposure to psychosocial harm if they had to be responsible for their mates and potentially responding to life threatening incidents. It also required them to stay awake, causing fatigue and risking response times during emergencies.
Previously, Lawder and his colleagues spent sleepless nights waiting for staff to check in, confirming their safety. A particularly harrowing incident involved staff members trapped in the Great Divide jungle during a bushfire, with blocked roads and no communication. This experience highlighted the urgent need for a reliable safety solution.
The Solution
After exploring various options, including phone apps and in-house monitoring systems, Lawder turned to Guardian Angel Safety and initiated a pilot program using Garmin devices integrated with the Guardian Angel Portal and Everywhere Communications hub.
The comprehensive safety solution included:
- Garmin Devices: Garmin devices for reliable communication in areas without cellular coverage, ensuring staff could always raise an SOS.
- 24/7 Monitoring: 24/7 monitored service of failed welfare checks, SOS and less critical “help messages” with specialised operators to coordinate emergency responses, removing the burden from TNSW staff and ensuring timely assistance.
- Data Management: Using Guardian Angel Portal for safe storage and management of all personal identifiable data (PID). Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, with SSO and a full audit trail. Data is stored in AU/NZ Azure data centers.
- Everywhere Platform: The Everywhere platform allowed Brad and his team to set up welfare checks, geofences, and message field teams efficiently.
- Training: Guardian Angel Safety ran comprehensive training for all users on the devices and platform, ensuring smooth implementation and operation.
Benefits Achieved
The implementation of Guardian Angel Safety’s solution resulted in numerous benefits for TNSW:
- Enhanced Safety: Staff felt much safer knowing they could communicate and seek help anywhere.
- Peace of Mind: Brad and his colleagues no longer needed to stay awake waiting for check-ins, reducing stress and fatigue.
- Reliable Communication: The Garmin devices provided dependable communication in all areas, regardless of cell coverage.
- Swift Emergency Response Co-ordination: The 24/7, A1 Graded Australian based monitoring ensured that emergencies were handled promptly and efficiently.
- Increased Confidence: The team’s confidence grew, knowing they had a robust safety solution in place especially when working in challenging environments.
- Reduced internal stress: Reduced stress on internal resources by eliminating the need for in-house monitoring.
- Customisable safety features: Customisable safety features through the EVERYWHERE platform and country accessible support from Guardian Angel Safety.
Everyday hero for the Greater Good
The success of this initiative led to Brad being a winner of the transport “Safety Hero” award and being nominated for the NSW public service award, recognizing his commitment to employee safety.
Bradley Lawder, Safety Champion at Transport for NSW, shared his experience:
“Having run a number of SOS tests and a lot of messaging to each other over the last few months, I’m finally feeling at peace. Our team’s feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. They feel so much safer, love the confidence that they can get in touch no matter where they are, and knowing that someone is 24/7 ready to respond if they get into trouble has been a game-changer. If staff drive off for the day and they realize they’ve left the Garmin device behind, they turn back to get it!”
Petra Håkansson, CEO of Guardian Angel Safety, added:
“Bradley, from the very first conversation we had, knew what he wanted from the solution for himself and for his team. He is a resilient fellow, with a lot of lived experience in terms of close calls to danger, but instead of making him foolhardy, it’s made him passionate about mitigating the risks as much as possible. He really is a safety Hero in every way. I love talking to people like Brad. And I love it even more when we’ve been able to assist by providing what I know is a solution that will ease his mind and provide him with the non-compromising safety he was looking for. We speak the same language when it comes to that!”
This case study demonstrates how Guardian Angel Safety’s tailored solution effectively addressed the unique safety challenges faced by Transport for NSW, resulting in improved employee safety, peace of mind for management, and recognition for their commitment to workplace safety.
