Transforming worker safety and management in the resource sector with SPOT satellite technology
In today’s always-on, interconnected global marketplace, it’s expected that workers have the ability to connect at all times with co-workers, managers and their supply chain. While this is true for most industry sectors, it can be a challenge in the natural resource sector which conducts operations in some of the most remote regions of Canada – and within the approximately 8 million square kilometers that are beyond the reach of cellular or GSM networks.
Regulations vary across provinces and territories, however the need to ensure lone worker safety and address check-in policies is both mandated and critical to productive and efficient operations. Canada’s resource industry, which includes sectors such as forestry, utilities, mining, oil and gas, accounts for almost 20% of the country’s GDP. To compete in today’s always-on global marketplace and ensure essential workers and operations remain connected, resource sector managers must provide anywhere communications and build efficiency into day-to-day operations.
5 Satellite Technology Benefits for Lone Worker Safety and Management
- Enables check-in and communications, independent of cellular
- Pinpoints the location of lone workers and remote crews with GPS accuracy
- Workers can initiate response procedures depending on the type of signal sent
- 24/7 emergency access at the push of a button
- GPS Mapping for worker management and back office reporting.
SPOT satellite technology and integrated mapping software is meeting this need by enabling managers to address mandates for lone worker safety and check-in procedures, while improving worker management processes and streamlining back office procedures.
For example, companies with a fixed work site can use SPOT to create a virtual perimeter zone around the location and receive automated notifications when their employees have arrived, leave or if they are overdue. At the same time, field crews and lone workers have a reliable two-way remote communications device with SPOT X that includes emergency satellite notification technology and GPS tracking features. The SPOT Mapping back office, included with all SPOT devices, provides supervisors with additional management control, providing worker visibility as well as a suite of reports, from activity to position reports – both historical and in real time.
SPOT provides a business solution that enables employers to minimize the risks for lone workers, while providing accurate and consistent check-in reporting procedures – even in areas where cellular networks are not available. Not only can managers immediately grasp a lone worker’s status and respond accordingly, the integrated mapping software will pinpoint the person’s location to identify stop times and initiate geo fence alerts that can help build efficiencies into future operations.