SitexOrbis among first with BS8484 accreditation for lone workers

SitexOrbis has become one of first lone worker protection providers to be accredited to the new BS8484 standard confirming its continuing commitment to providing advanced levels of service and best practice.

The accreditation comes just months after BSI published the standard in September 2009, the full title of which is the Code of practice for the provision of lone worker devices.

A fundamental aspect of gaining accreditation for the company is the assurance that SitexOrbis operators will, where necessary, continue to be able to escalate lone worker related emergencies to the police, fire and ambulance services.

Partly to reduce false alarms, police authorities have signalled their intention to respond only to lone worker emergencies reported by organisations accredited to BS8484 and the lower level BS5979 for alarm receiving centres. SitexOrbis is among the few to be accredited to both.

Chief executive David Walker said: “BS8484 is hugely important to us and our customers. More than 10,000 workers rely on us for their safety. Business partners such as Vodafone and BlackBerry® maker RIM can pass assurance on to their customers that we will continue to offer a best in class service.

“This has been a very positive exercise for everyone involved. The outcome is the culmination of the years we have spent developing lone worker protection in that we are able to meet and often exceed the standard’s portfolio of recommendations.

“Our service also dovetails well with the police. Lone workers can proactively manage risk at work in the knowledge that should a situation escalate, we have the ability to contact the emergency services on their behalf.”

SitexOrbis lone worker protection is able to be activated discretely via dedicated devices, such as Identicom ID cardholders, as well as via customers’ existing mobiles such as their phones, PDAs and BlackBerry® smartphones. Service options include bespoke packages, implementation management and training.

More than six million people in the UK work in isolation or without direct supervision. Many of them as a consequence will face greater safety risks and will therefore be equipped with lone worker devices to protect them and fulfil duty of care obligations set out in health and safety legislation. The aim of the new standard is to enable the providers of such devices to maintain a good level of support.

Call the lone worker support team at SitexOrbis on 0845 250 4626, lwpsupport@sitexorbis.com, www.sitexorbis.com/loneworker

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For more information contact Jan Comer at Aurora PR, m 07970 258 023, t 020 8287 1124, f 020 8286 2556, jancomer@aurorapr.co.uk or SitexOrbis marketing manager Debansu Das, t 01895 465500, debansu.das@sitexorbis.com

About SitexOrbis lone worker protection: SitexOrbis was an early pioneer of lone worker protection and exact location technology provided by 24/7 operators. Brands include Code5®, IdentiSafe and the earlier Cybertrak GPS phone. The company also has a property protection division which operates in Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, the Republic of Ireland and the UK. The combined property and people protection business generates a turnover of in excess of £40 million and employs more than 600 people. Prior to March 2009 the company was known as Orbis in the UK. www.sitexorbis.com/loneworker

Lone worker protection: about six million individuals are thought to work alone in the UK.

There are as many as 700,000 incidents of violence and aggression towards people at work in Britain every year, and staff who work alone are among those most likely to be on the receiving end.

The TUC has identified workplace violence to be the fastest growing health and safety concern and ranked as one of the top five workplace hazards.

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