VINCI Facilities, part of VINCI – the world leaders in construction, has adopted Skyguard’s personal safety service to mitigate potential risk to all of their lone workers.
Using Skyguard’s MySOS, Europe’s smallest and lightest personal alarm, VINCI’s lone working staff are able to call for help at the touch of a button, wherever they are, whenever.
VINCI Facilities provide services to a variety of sectors including Housing, Education and Healthcare and understand the risks faced by their lone workers. For example, VINCI’s Resident Liaison Officers work alone and visit domestic properties across a wide array of locations from rural to inner city.
Josephine O’Connor, Business & Community Investment Manager for VINCI Facilities set about sourcing a BS 8484 approved lone worker personal safety service to backup and protect their lone working employees. Josephine explains why.
“Our Officers encounter persons from all walks of life and may find themselves alone and in awkward situations such as in known areas of high-risk.”
Upon extensive research and after deliberation, Skyguard were awarded the contract to provide 24 hour emergency backup via their fully accredited MySOS personal safety device.
The MySOS, which fits easily onto a set of keys or carried on a belt holster, allows users to raise an alarm at the press of a button should they feel threatened or their safety is compromised.
The alarm is immediately sent to Skyguard’s own purpose-built Incident Management Centre (IMC) where Controllers will listen-in, locate the user, assess the situation and take appropriate action, including escalating to the emergency services.
When tracking options are enabled, the MySOS device will also automatically record and transmit its GPS locations at set intervals, or manually by the press of a button on the device. These positions can be viewed on a map with grid references, in real-time, via Skyguard’s Customer Service Centre (CSC) online portal.
Speaking as to why Skyguard was the preferred choice, Josephine said, “The real-time link to the emergency services and the fact that the Controllers can hear what is happening is a real comforter. In a genuine emergency situation they’ll despatch the appropriate services to your aid. This is the assurance we wanted and exactly why we chose Skyguard.
“The offering of two-way communication, GPS location and emergency despatch all in one device, ensures the complete safety of our staff in areas of risk. And the fact that Skyguard links directly to the Emergency Services and recordings are admissible in court were deal-makers!
“On top of that, the security of knowing that we control all the parameters via Skyguard’s Customer Service Centre and that we can tailor the response for every scenario from mild risks to emergencies, really set Skyguard apart from all others.
Skyguard’s CSC portal allows client administrators or end-users to create and update their account details in real-time, 24/7. Clients can input their own emergency procedures, tailored to their organisation and department, or personalised to each employee.
Josephine continues, “The CSC portal gives me the management data I need to be able to keep my staff safe and it also offers the geography of my teams. This has the added benefit of enabling me to better manage their time to serve our clients.
“Although we have set procedures to follow for the health and safety of all our employees and customers, we did have one incident where a staff member felt vulnerable. By using the MySOS, it gave them added confidence to better handle the situation knowing they were not alone.”
Skyguard’s Marketing Director, Will Murray added “Skyguard is the preferred lone worker solution provider for leading organisations in every market sector, so we are delighted VINCI Facilities have chosen us to protect their most vulnerable employees.”
