BLACKLINE SAFETY EXPANDS EVACUATION TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES

LONER® SAFETY MONITORING TECHNOLOGY TO INCLUDE REAL-TIME EVACUATION MANAGEMENT OF COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES

“Launching in July, Blackline’s evacuation capability will operate completely independent of a site’s power and communications infrastructure — including indoor location technology,” says Gavin Boorman, Managing Director of Blackline Safety Europe. “Supporting our new employee-worn Loner M6 device, this evacuation system is the first of its kind to blend 3G communications, voice calling, two-way text messaging and real-time employee tracking throughout a facility.”

All customers can take advantage of this new evacuation management functionality — including those who self-monitor or are monitored by Blackline’s Safety Operation Center (SOC) and Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) partners.

“From natural disasters to security threats and process failures — emergency situations can happen anytime and affect anyone at any given location,” says Sean Stinson, VP Sales & Product Management of Blackline Safety. “In order to efficiently manage the situation, it’s crucial for an employer to quickly notify all affected personnel, initiate their evacuation and actively manage the process to ensure that everyone is accounted for at muster points or other safe locations.”

Creation of Blackline’s evacuation technology was inspired by customer requirements. The Canadian subsidiary of Cermaq Group AS deployed Blackline’s Loner Bridge System across their salmon farms on the West Coast of Canada. “We looked at several solutions that would let us instantly notify our workers about tsunamis and other potentially life-threatening situations, and allow them to quickly evacuate to a safe location,” says Dave Samson, Cermaq Canada’s occupational health and safety officer.

Blackline’s SOC and ARC partners initiate evacuations for clients and monitor employees’ progress in reaching muster points and designated safe areas. Employee-worn Loner M6 devices initiate a TeamAlert™ that includes an audible and visual alarm plus a voice recording that provides critical evacuation instructions. Similarly, employee-worn Loner 900 devices initiate a TeamAlert where a yellow indicator light instructs employees to return to their Loner Bridge device for important evacuation instructions via two-way text messaging.

Loner M6 and Loner 900 include GPS location technology for use outdoors and are compatible with Blackline’s indoor location beacon technology. Every employee’s location is updated in real-time on an interactive Google™ map within Blackline’s Live monitoring account. Custom floor and site plans can be imported into Blackline Live and provide valuable situational awareness — evacuation routes, muster points and safe areas can be highlighted on top of the Google Map. Blackline’s Live monitoring account pin-points employee locations every step of the way during the evacuation — including any personnel who may otherwise be left behind. With real-time situational knowledge, a rescue can be proactively managed, bringing everyone out to safe locations.

Blackline is demonstrating its safety monitoring solutions at the Safety & Health Expo, located at stand M1915 at the ExCeL London. Blackline’s broad portfolio of safety monitoring solutions empowers organisations in all industries and geographic locations with real-time incident awareness and management capability.

POSTED BY KELLY MEYERS | JUNE 22, 2016 

LONE WORKER SAFETY — THE PROFITABLE THING TO DO

INVESTING IN YOUR EMPLOYEES

Over the last few decades, developed countries have been part of a concrete legislative and social push toward improving lone worker safety standards for employees in the workplace. Employers are responsible for providing safe and secure workplaces for their personnel.

According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) under the U.S. Department of Labor, “Establishing a safety and health program to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses is not only the right thing to do, it’s the profitable thing to do. Studies have shown a $4 to $6 return for every dollar invested in safety and health.”

OSHA also indicates “only about 30 percent of businesses have established safety and health programs. About half of the 95 million workers who would be covered under an OSHA safety and health program standard don’t have that protection today.”

Understanding that every dollar spent offers a return of up to six times the original cost supports the importance of investing in safety.

When safety becomes the top priority, traditional safety programs are maximised and safety monitoring technology is implemented, industry will have done the best it can to ensure that every employee returns home safely each day. Every organisation has the power to make that happen.

Find out how your organisation can reduce costs, save money and learn more about the ROI from investing in lone worker safety monitoring solutions. Download the infographic today.

POSTED BY KELLY MEYERS | JUNE 21, 2016 | BLACKLINE WORKPLACE SAFETY