Safeguarding Utility Workers During Extreme Elements
Use Case
Challenge
Utility workers often find themselves in remote locations, facing extreme weather conditions from cold snaps to heatwaves and hazardous environments while maintaining or fixing critical infrastructure. These lone workers are exposed to unique risks that demand specialized safety solutions. As an employer, ensuring the safety of these essential workers is not just a legal obligation but a moral imperative.
Utility workers frequently operate in areas with limited cellular coverage, making traditional communication methods unreliable. They face risks from severe weather, dangerous terrain, and potential encounters with wildlife or hostile individuals. In emergencies, their remote locations can significantly delay response times, potentially turning minor incidents into life-threatening situations.
Guardian Angel Safety recognises the challenges utility companies face when protecting their lone and remote workers across Australia and New Zealand. As a safety manager or operations leader, ensuring the well-being of your employees during extreme elements is crucial to ensure they get back home safely at the end of the day.
Risks
- Extreme Weather Exposure
Utility workers often face harsh weather conditions, including extreme heat, cold, storms, and flooding, which can lead to heat exhaustion, hypothermia, or injuries from falling debris or falling from a height.
- Electrical Hazards
Working with high-voltage equipment poses risks of electrocution, especially in wet conditions or during storm damage repairs.
- Isolated Locations
Many utility tasks occur in remote areas, far from immediate help. In case of an accident or medical emergency, workers may be hours away from assistance. Travelling to remote sites on challenging terrain or in poor weather conditions increases the risk of vehicle accidents or breakdowns in isolated areas
- Communication Barriers
Limited or non-existent cellular coverage in remote work areas can leave workers unable to call for help in emergencies.
- Heath Emergencies
Long hours and stressful conditions can lead to more fatigue-related accidents and impaired decision-making.
Solutions
Guardian Angel Safety offers comprehensive solutions tailored to protect utility workers in extreme and remote conditions. Our technology options mean you can select the right solution for your workers ensuring that they are never truly alone, even in the most isolated locations.
We take care of your employees’ safety so they can maintain critical infrastructure for our community.
Key Features:
- Robust Durable Devices
We have devices designed to withstand harsh conditions, ensuring they remain operational in extreme environments. They are waterproof, dustproof, and virtually indestructible, making them reliable in extreme conditions. - Shared Devices
We make sharing devices easy, especially in post-disaster settings. This is perfect for remote locations where there is no cell cover where there normally would be. Learn more about sharing devices with Guardian Angel Portal. - Real-time GPS Location Tracking
Precise location tracking allows for quick response in emergencies, guiding rescue teams to exact locations even in vast, remote areas like the Australian outback. - Emergency SOS Button
One-touch activation sends immediate alerts to response teams, crucial for rapid assistance in life-threatening situations. - Two-Way Communication
Enables direct contact with safety officers or emergency services, providing vital information exchange during critical moments, even when traditional networks fail. - Fall Detection and Man-Down Alerts
The no-movement fall detection feature automatically sends alerts if a worker falls and remains motionless, allowing for a swift emergency response. - Long-lasting Battery Life
Devices are designed to operate for extended periods, crucial for long shifts in remote locations. - 24/7 Monitoring and Response
Our A-graded professional monitoring team is available round-the-clock to respond to alerts and coordinate emergency services when required. This ensures that help is always just a button press away, even in remote locations. Learn more about monitoring.
Benefits for Utility Companies
By implementing Guardian Angel Safety solutions, you will:
- Enhance Worker Confidence: Knowing they have a reliable lifeline, workers can focus on their tasks with greater peace of mind.
- Improve Response Times: Real-time location tracking and instant alerts significantly reduce emergency response times.
- Strengthen Safety Culture: Demonstrate a commitment to worker safety, boosting morale and potentially improving retention rates.
- Optimize Resource Allocation: Better tracking and communication, and sharing devices allow for more efficient deployment of workers and emergency resources.
- Comply with Safety Regulations: Meet and exceed safety standards, potentially reducing liability and insurance costs.
- Enhanced Worker Safety: With fall detection and SOS alerts there is immediate access to help in emergencies significantly reducing the risk of serious injuries or fatalities.
When land networks are down, satellite networks save lives
‘When Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence realised they were flying staff into isolated communities with no power or cellular comms, they took six handheld radios and six Guardian Angel Safety Garmin inReach devices. Because the Guardian Angel Safety devices were so effective, the army then borrowed them. Civil Defence then kept our six devices and we have since purchased six more radios and six more devices. Our radio network struggled after a couple of days due to battery life in some of our repeaters and we lost that channel on day 2 of the solution for a lot of our communications.’
Marcus Hayes-Jones, Corporate Asset and Support Lead, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council
Partner with Guardian Angel Safety today
Get in touch to start your journey of keeping your utility workers safe during extreme weather events. Contact Us for a Free Consultation.
