Peoplesafe to speak at major housing conference

Lone worker specialists Peoplesafe will be speaking at a major housing conference on ways to keep frontline staff safe.

Peoplesafe’s managing director Ian Johannessen will be joined by the health and safety manager of Aspire Housing, Sophie Webster, at the National Housing Federation’s Annual Conference and Housing Exhibition at The ICC in Birmingham.

The conference, which runs from September 23 to 25, features experts from across the housing industry. Guest speakers include the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Greg Clark; the political commentator and writer, Jonathan Dimbleby, and former head of the Civil Service, Lord Bob Kerslake.

Peoplesafe, which has its headquarters in Yorkshire, is one of the UK’s leading providers of simple and lightweight equipment, monitoring services and safety training for lone workers. It works with dozens of housing associations, including Grand Union, as well as Aspire Housing, and helps protect thousands of frontline housing workers.

Its clients also include a range of major retailers, facilities management companies, charities and house builders, including Taylor Wimpey.

Ian Johannessen said:

“We are delighted to be taking part in this conference and to have a chance to share best practice.

“Housing associations provide a valuable service, but their frontline staff can face difficult situations. It could be an accident while driving between sites or it could be an assault.

“That’s why it is so important that their managers take steps to keep staff as safe as possible and that’s where personal alarms and monitoring equipment come in. But it is not just about the equipment but also about the culture of the association to make sure safety is taken seriously.”

According to Inside Housing Magazine ten physical assaults are reported by front line housing workers every week.

Sophie Webster, of Aspire Housing, said:

“As a responsible employer the welfare of our staff is at the heart of what we do. Many of our frontline staff have to work alone at times, so we make sure we do everything we can to ensure their wellbeing and that includes having a comprehensive lone worker policy that is embedded in the organisation.”

Ian and Sophie’s seminar, ‘Frontline in housing – taking the safety zone with you’, will be at 10am on September 24. Peoplesafe will also be at stand 83 throughout the conference.

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