Lone worker safety firm launches app to transform smartphone into protection device 

Lone worker devices and services firm Safe Shores Monitoring has launched Companion, an app that transforms a smartphone into a protection device “with unrivalled safety features”.

The Glasgow-based lone worker monitoring specialist developed its Companion application to use a range of smartphone features. The cross-platform, IoT compatible app is connected by Safe Shores Monitoring’s ‘Police Preferred Specification Archangel’ cloud service to “deliver a contextually-aware, intelligence-driven solution,” the company said.

Safe Shores Monitoring said Companion delivers “the most advanced man-down detection system available by harnessing the array of sensors available within the device and combining sensor data with advanced algorithms to validate genuine situations of jeopardy”.

Other features of the app include screen-lock button override which can be pressed discretely if circumstances prevent the lone worker from speaking or indicating they need help. Companion uses location technologies, including the phone’s GPS to trace the location of the user, which can then be shared with emergency services if required. Features of the app enable system users to record and report their working activities and help them stay safe.

Tom Morton, chief executive of Safe Shores Monitoring, said: “Our Companion app has been developed by our in-house team of software specialists to put the most effective lone worker safety device in the hands of any employee who has a smartphone. Companion has features that aren’t available elsewhere on the market and we are excited to make it available to our new and existing clients.”

Safe Shores Monitoring delivers location-based safety systems for more than 150 UK organisations in support of their duty of care and customers include government organisations and corporations. Its alarm receiving centre, based in Dunoon, can bypass the 999 system to deliver priority access to police, fire and ambulance control rooms across the UK offering emergency services “mission-critical information” if they are required to offer support.