Keeping employees safe in severe weather
Severe weather and natural disasters can have catastrophic consequences for infrastructure, business operations, and of course, our communities.
In 2022, the Emergency Event Database recorded 387 natural hazards and disasters worldwide, resulting in the deaths of 30,704 people. From an economic perspective, these emergency events, which include floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires, resulted in losses in excess of around US$ 223 billion.
Severe weather events are beyond our control, and, although rare, when they strike they can cause quick devastation. They are also on the rise.
Natural disasters are set to increase by 37% globally by 2025
Climate change has a significant impact on the frequency and severity of natural disasters and scientists predict this will continue to increase.
In recent years we have seen wildfires ravage Australia, Europe and the US, earthquakes strike the US and Asia, and floods and hurricanes cause major damage in the US, UK and New Zealand.
As an employer, you have a duty of care to your staff – especially those who work or travel in at-risk areas.
So what are your safety obligations and how can you keep employees safe?
What types of severe weather could affect my staff?
Whilst some severe weather events can be predicted in advance, others have little to no warning before occurring.
Some types of disasters are more likely to occur in some areas than others.
In the UK, staff are most likely to be affected by flooding or temperature extremes. However, globally, the risk of other types of disasters become more prevalent.
Devastating wildfires in Greece, Australia and the United States have dominated the news in 2023. In New Zealand, as well as being prone to severe flooding, being on the boundary of two tectonic plates means they are at an increased risk of earthquakes.
In the US, hurricanes are a major cause of destruction, with eight major hurricanes making landfall since 2017.
As the risk profile varies significantly depending on location, it is important to identify the types of severe weather that are most likely to occur and take the approprpate measures to keep any at-risk staff safe.
Severe weather protocols and policies for keeping employees safe
As an employer, you should have policies in place as part of your health and safety procedures to document how you will deal with emergency situations. Your risk assessment should include provision for severe weather conditions, for domestic employees and for any business travellers and workers in high–risk areas, to ensure you are quickly able to locate and communicate with them in an emergency.
Locating and helping staff in severe weather disasters
If the threat of severe weather is higher for your staff, for example, if they work in a hurricane zone like Florida, or near forests in Australia, it is especially important that you have procedures and tools in place to quickly locate and send assistance to your employees in an emergency.
StaySafe has been developed specifically to help businesses to meet their duty of care to employees in the event of an unpredictable emergency such as a natural disaster or severe weather incident.
Consisting of an app and cloud-based monitoring hub, StaySafe enables employers to quickly and easily locate employees in an emergency and send immediate help.
Features including a panic button, timed welfare checks, missed check-in and fall detection alerts help to ensure that employees are found quickly and get help in an emergency – even in areas of low or no signal.
Guide to Lone Working
A comprehensive lone worker guide for employers, managers and the self employed.
Lone Worker Risk Assessment
Three Questions to Ask When Purchasing a Lone Working Solution
Find out more about StaySafe solutions
Lone Worker App
Our intuitive app allows employees to check in safely following a lone working session and raise an alert in an emergency.
Cloud Based Monitoring Hub
Wearable Technology
Satellite Tracking Devices
StaySafe is now available on the SMART-EX® 02 DZ1 and the SMART-EX® 02 DZ2 from the Pepperl + Fuchs brand ecom.
The company develops intrinsically safe phones which can be used in potentially explosive areas as per the European ATEX Directives. Many workplaces may contain, or have activities that produce, explosive or potentially explosive atmospheres.
StaySafe is designed to quickly and easily turn any smart device into a safety tool for lone worker protection. The StaySafe app is linked to a secure cloud-based monitoring Hub which accurately locates each company’s lone workers on a map and provides managers with real-time updates on their movements.
The app also allows users to trigger a panic alert in an emergency. If a panic alert is triggered on the device, StaySafe will notify their managers immediately, allowing an organisation to take appropriate action.
If an employee fails to check in safely during a lone working session or raises an alert, a notification will pop up on screen as well as via SMS text and email, allowing their manager to locate them and get help straight away.
Accurate location tracking allows remote workers to be monitored from the StaySafe Hub so that help can be sent directly to them. For staff that work in dangerous environments such as the oil and gas industry, having assistance readily available is critical in case of an accident or injury.
Karen Jarrett, Team Lead for UK and Ireland at ecom Mobile Safety, comments, “With powerful features, good ergonomics and an optimized accessory concept, the newly developed Smart-Ex 02 is the most advanced explosion-proof smartphone for Zone 1/21 and Div. 1.’
Don Cameron, CEO at StaySafe, adds “Providing the highest level of protection to lone working staff is of utmost importance to us. We’re glad to be partnering with ecom Mobile Safety to help keep as many workers as possible safe from harm”.
With thousands of employees operating in dangerous locations for long periods of time, ecom’s partnership with StaySafe offers reliable protection for lone workers.
To find out more about our lone worker solutions, visit our product page.
To find out more about ecom’s devices visit their site here
