Fife County Council adopts Identicom
Connexion2, pioneers of Identicom and Blue Chip Technologies, award winning market leader in the deployment of voice recognition technology, are working together in a strategic partnership to bring safety to Fife Council’s lone workers. Identicom is working alongside Blue Chip Technology’s Guardian Angel, a fully automated monitoring system that provides out-of-office workers personal security, to give Fife Council’s staff that cannot carry a mobile phone an alternative means of summoning help.
Identicom, looks like a normal ID holder, but is equipped with a dual or tri-band GSM module, GSM SIM card, lithium battery and control electronics. Identicom not only enables the lone worker to covertly raise an alarm if threatened, but also allows a third party to listen to what is happening and record events whatever the distance. The device can also support the pinpointing of a worker’s location using GSM/LBS technology.
Fife is the third largest local authority in Scotland with a population of 350,000. It employs 4,350 personnel within its Social Work Service of which 2,600 staff are lone workers. The Council had introduced Blue Chip Technologies’ Guardian Angel service for its lone workers but found that in some circumstances the standard service wasn’t meeting their needs.
“We have a number of care homes for the elderly where staff are particularly vulnerable at night and where there have been a couple of break-ins”, says Marion Lackie, Communications Support Officer at Fife Council. “As staff are attending to residents’ personal needs, carry a mobile phone is not a practical option.”
Measuring 102x72x14mm and weighing just 78 grams, Identicom‘s innovative technology is all contained unobtrusively within the unit. The device includes a lanyard attachment that enables it to be worn around the neck as a standard ID and hides a ‘rip alarm’ function, which is triggered if the unit is forcibly removed from the wearer. Identicom is flexible enough to be configured in a number of ways, thereby allowing an employer to adopt the device without the need to significantly change or alter current working practices.
A covert emergency button activates the alarm which opens up a voice call to a third party whilst at the same time surreptitiously notifying the wearer that the alarm has been triggered and is active. A second concealed button enables the wearer to notify their employer when they know they are entering a potentially hazardous situation.
“Identicom has overcome the difficulties of not being able to carry a mobile phone”, concluded Marion Lackie. “The Identicom units have been distributed to our residential homes. Staff now have the security of being able to wear Identicom either around their necks or clipped to their clothing, and know that they only have to press the call button to activate the emergency procedure”.
Blue Chip Technologies whose Guardian Angel monitoring service is endorsed by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and UNISON Scotland has expanded its back-end facilities to accommodate Identicom and is now able to offer call centre support as well as an automated response. The company is currently trialling Identicom with four other county councils and is planning to launch the device in the Netherlands this year.
Such has been the success of the Identicom units that Fife Council are planning to expand their use to Social Work Receptionists who are dealing with the public. Ends
