'Best deployment' award

Hosted by comedian Jimmy Carr at London’s prestigious Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, the awards recognise the very best people, projects and processes that the security and fire sectors have to offer.

Lone Worker Solutions began the year announcing the five-year contract award to provide lone worker protection for some of NWG's 1,500 staff. NWG had conducted a lengthy and rigorous competitive selection process involving 46 technology providers before selecting LWS’s proprietary platform LoneWorker Manager.

For customer-facing staff, NWG chose ProtectMe, a discrete dedicated device which offers SOS features along with proactive and reactive support. Staff working outside and in areas where mobile or 4G coverage is poor were provided with the SPOT Gen3 Satellite device. Staff working in less remote areas were provided with a convenient smartphone app reducing the need for those staff to carry additional gadgets. The LoneWorker Manager platform works seamlessly across all devices.

Calls and SOS alerts go to Mitec, the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) run by Mitie, and to NWG’s employee support centre for prompt handling. Mitec is a state-of-the-art, 24-hour technology and innovation centre accredited to NSI Gold Cat II ARC BS 5979. This offers complete protection and a managed service for lone workers.

Diane Somerville, health, safety and environment consultant team leader at NWG, said: “Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our staff is an extremely high priority for Northumbrian Water Group and it helps us attract and retain skilled employees. Feedback from staff on the new solution has already been overwhelmingly positive. Our employees are telling us that the system is easy to use, and we are delighted that we are delivering on our ongoing commitment to improving the quality of working life for our team.”