Send For Help – the largest lone worker protection firm in the world – has released data revealing a sharp rise in the number of firms in the transport and logistics sector using state of the art GPS personal alarms to personally protect employees.

Send For Help CEO, James Murray

According to data from the company – which makes key-fob sized GPS safety devices and mobile phone apps for more than 150,000 people across the UK – the number of products being used by firms nationwide rose by 280% between January and December 2018.

“A growing number of companies in the transport and logistics sector are realising the importance of protecting drivers against attack or injury, not just the vehicle and its cargo,” said Paul Watson, Sales Director for Send for Help.

“They have a responsibility for their Duty of Care to staff and are increasingly looking for solutions to achieve this,” he added.

“Companies recognise the advantages of personnel protection when they look at the implications of legal costs and compensation as well as bad publicity if someone gets injured or assaulted,” said Watson.

Send for Help’s devices are in a portable USB stick-sized format so the driver can always carry it with them and is protected through a variety of functions.

The company has direct links to police control rooms, bypassing the 999 system to receive a faster emergency response if clients are threatened, attacked or are in danger.

Once the “SOS alarm’ button on the device is pressed, a user can speak via a two-way audio built into the device to a controller at Send For Help’s fortified alarm receiving centre in Epsom, Surrey, who will act according to the user’s specified “escalation plan” – whether that’s calling an ambulance, alerting the police, asking the worker’s supervisor to check in on them, or simply to confirm it’s a false alarm.

The device sends its GPS location to the monitoring centre which utilises mapping software so the operators can direct help to where it’s needed – even if they are on the move.

End users or their managers can specify how they want their alarms managed, and provide relevant personal information in real time via a 24/7 online portal.

Monitoring centre staff are all trained and have to sit exams before they can answer calls. Clients typically pay a £10 monthly fee for each device.

Send For Help was founded in 2010 and protects more than 150,000 end users through its key-fob sized GPS safety devices and apps, which are linked to the alarmreceiving centre staffed at the company’s headquarters.

Its CEO is James Murray, who oversees the company’s three subsidiary brands – Skyguard, Guardian24 and Peoplesafe.

Last December Send for Help was named as one of Britain’s fastest growing companies in the 22nd annual Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table, joining a small and exclusive number of firms to achieve a hattrick of consecutive appearances on the revered list.

The lone worker protection market in Europe and America is forecast to double from £105 million per annum to £226 million by 2021, according to recent research by analysts Berg Insight.

SEND FOR HELP

www.sendforhelp.co.uk

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