What is a lone worker Device?
A lone worker device is a personal device used by an employee working alone. Lone workers use these devices so they can enable two-way communication, share their location, and check-in with their monitoring team. There are two common categories of lone worker devices:
- Lone worker apps: for lone workers who are always in cellular service range and organizations that have company-provided smartphones. Organizations that do not have company-provided smartphones require the direct and express consent of their employees to install such apps and they may have limited access to the data collected. An app-based solution is usually cheaper than the standalone device alternative.
- Standalone satellite devices: A standalone lone worker device also enables two-way communication and check-ins, with these devices, organizations can choose between satellite devices for employees who are outside of cellular reception, or regular cellular connectivity.
Standalone lone worker devices, such as the Blackline G7x, often have additional features to improve lone worker safety such as:
- Gas detection
- Man down alarm
- No motion detection
These additional safety features can improve the overall effectiveness of your lone worker plans and escalations.
Lone worker safety devices
There are dozens of lone worker safety devices available on the market. If your organization has employees working alone in different environments, you may need a complex solution to satisfy all lone working requirements. For example, at a utility company where there are hundreds of lone workers, you may see a solution that includes are more affordable app-based check-in system for meter readers who are usually within cellular service range, coupled with a standalone device for employees who perform maintenance on power lines in remote locations or have to enter confined areas and require gas detection capabilities.
It’s important to recognize when one size fits all, and when a complex solution is required.
Recommended lone worker devices
Telelink does not manufacture its own lone worker devices. Instead, we play the role of unbiased advisor to help our partners find a solution that works for their unique risks. For that reason, organizations with more complex needs tend to gravitate to Telelink more than those with one single type of lone worker risk (and one single solution required).
Seven easy questions to determine which lone worker device solution will be best for your workers. Telelink has vetted lone worker satellite devices, lone worker apps, wearables, and more.
Vetted lone worker devices
We’ve vetted the most popular lone worker devices on the market to help our customer's discovery phase be more efficient and comprehensive. For standalone devices, we usually recommend Blackline’s G7x. For app-based solutions we often recommend Aware360. For some organizations, most of their lone workers are actually drivers or have to drive long distances we recommend a speciality app called VDIS.
