Additional Safety For Lone Workers

Keenly aware of its duty of care to staff wellbeing, and to prioritise occupational safety within the company, Budenheim invested in over twenty Soloprotect Solutions for use on site in Germany. Utilising the ‘Soloprotect ID’, workers are equipped with an ID badge form-factor, that is also a two-way communication device, giving 24/7 support to a worker if they need emergency assistance.
At the push of a button, a worker can raise an alert to a certified monitoring centre supplied as part of the solution, which in turn, can make a direct escalation to on-site support in Budenheim’s emergency call centre. Emergency Services support can also be requested on the worker’s behalf, should the situation require the Police, Fire Service or an Ambulance.
Soloprotect is being used by staff in a number of different departments including production, the laboratory, logistics and by technical support staff. It is also used by facilities and security teams, to support ongoing facilities management, site diagnostics and site guarding – often outside of typical working hours during evenings and weekends.

24/7 Support, and Immediate Assistance

Work on the site ensures that some employees are mobile across the Budenheim facility, working alone at regular intervals – to carry out check procedures, maintenance, and inspections.
“If a team member has an unfortunate fall or injures themselves in some other way, we can locate them quickly with the Soloprotect ID and get them help immediately,” says Manfred Neuchel, Safety Manager at Budenheim, explaining the benefits of Soloprotect.
One of the employees regularly using a Soloprotect ID at Budenheim is David Engers. He works in the material ingredients unit, where plastics are processed and supplemented with additives, such as flame retardants or laser absorbers. “I am often alone in the plastics laboratory. This is a segregated area that cannot be seen by others. If something were to happen to me there, no one would be able to find me so easily without the Soloprotect ID”, he explains.

Always Within Reach

The Soloprotect ID is easy to use, with a single-button alert activation, and is proven technology that has been used by over 300,000 workers worldwide. It is also equipped with an ‘Incapacitation’ function, which allows an alarm to be raised automatically in the event a user suffers a slip or fall, or a serious health problem.
Soloprotect monitoring support gives users reassurance, and will manage any escalation requirements on their behalf, as part of the situation. The monitoring centre will continue to stay with a genuine red alert for the entirety of the situation.
Budenheim personnel were involved throughout solution implementation and onboarding, and adopted Soloprotect as part of their on-site, personal safety processes. The solution’s ‘amber alert’ facility also allows a user to leave a short message through the device, detailing their location on site. This is only listened to by a Soloprotect operator in the event of an alarm being raised, but it can be useful where attempting to confirm a worker’s location. It is used in conjunction with the latest geolocation information, in support of the alarm handling process.

Peace of Mind

Patrik Giuliani is a chemical worker and safety expert at Budenheim. Among other things, he works alone in the ‘bagging area’, where products are filled into large bags. “It’s a good feeling that Soloprotect could intervene immediately in an emergency.”
In the past, Budenheim also used emergency signal systems to protect its employees. But their handling had the decisive disadvantage that the devices were too big to carry around all the time. Previously, Budenheim used an alternative system to promote staff safety – but the devices were deemed to be bulky, and more difficult to use by personnel: “In contrast to the old system, the Soloprotect ID is relatively small and it is easier to carry. And it just clips onto your clothes, which is perfect!”, Patrik Giuliani adds.
Matthias Burghardt, a Budenheim team member working in the energy supply department, and a frequent lone worker, added that the investment made by the company does not go unnoticed by the workforce: “You can tell that Budenheim cares about the employees, which is a great feeling”.