Your Job Role – Workers

We take privacy very seriously.

That’s why we are transparent about what we see and collect from worker’s phones, as noted in the Google Play store & the Apple App store.

Ok Alone will only access data from a Worker’s phone with their permission, in compliancy with local privacy laws.

Access is not permitted to phone elements such as the camera, contacts etc.

The Ok Alone Dashboard provides app data in the worker profile, for troubleshooting purposes and in mapping, if permission is granted by the user.

Ok Alone uses the GPS location data from smartphones to pinpoint a worker’s location in an emergency. There are three GPS settings workers can choose from; GPS High, GPS Normal and Non GPS.

• GPS High uses the phones GPS to provide continuous data updated every 10 seconds and is the most accurate setting.
• GPS Normal updates a location every 1-2 minutes and reduces battery usage while still providing accurate location data in an emergency.
• Non GPS will update the location at regular intervals and maximises battery life, but is not recommended if the worker is frequently moving locations.

GPS location data is primarily for finding workers in an emergency, however, real time locations are available throughout a worker’s shift and can be seen on the Ok Alone dashboard. This information can also be helpful in seeing which other workers are closest to the worker in distress and who could be dispatched the quickest to help.

Businesses need to be transparent with workers and staff on the extent of their monitoring practices and the use of data locations. It is imperative that workers are shown the need for location information is to keep them safe and help find them in an emergency. They could also benefit from seeing the dashboard view that Monitors can see in an emergency.

Employers need to let staff know which staff members can access their information and the privacy levels issued to their supervisors.

One of the best features of Ok Alone is the speed in which an emergency can be detected and responded to. There are four main ways an alert can be triggered through Ok Alone: Missed check in, High Risk check in, Man Down and Help.

In each of these cases once a timer has elapsed or a request been made, an alert is sent to the worker’s Monitor. This is to let them know there has been a failure to check in or a request for immediate assistance.

One fantastic feature of Ok Alone is that it can be completely automated, there is no need for a call centre. The system is set up so it works in the background, without you having to think about it, until an alert is triggered. With the Essential Protection Plan, supervisors (Monitors) assigned to a worker are contacted simultaneously through phone call, email, SMS and WhatsApp allowing them to respond to the missed check in or Help alert.

With the Automated Monitoring Plan the Alert Loop would be activated and Monitors contacted in sequence until someone accepts and takes responsibility for resolving the alert. These options allow Monitors and Workers to carry on with their day knowing the solution is running behind the scenes. Through switching to automation managers and supervisors get back the time wasted checking in workers manually and they will only be called at two o’clock in the morning for a real emergency!

There is different legislation for lone workers in different cities, states, provinces and countries. Some regions are quite progressive in this matter and have specific work-alone legislation in place, while others may follow a more general “duty of care” clause and expect employees to use common sense. Most legislation requires employers to have a way of regularly communicating with staff throughout their shift either by phone or radio.

It is recommended, if possible, supervisors periodically visit or observe lone workers and that the employer or supervisor checks in with lone workers either by sight or verbally at the end of their shift or once specific tasks have been completed. Choosing not to comply with local legislation could result in management being fined, imprisoned or both.