For further information
on any news stories please contact Peter Swan at SBES. +44
1737 226622 or email peter.swan@sbes.co.uk
September 2004: Alarm tailored to one-man operation...>>>
August 2004: MP's issue safety warning...>>>
June
2004: New LifeSaver MINI...>>>
June
2004: SBES Progress: Article Reprint from Works, Plant & Maintenance...>>>
May
2004: Safety & Health Expo @ NEC...>>>
May 2004: National Institute of Biological
Standards and Control...>>>
April
2004 Tesco Distribution Centre ...>>>
March 2004: Worker protection is ‘in the bag’ anywhere
with GPS/GSM alarm ...>>>
February 2004: Lone Worker device directs
emergency crews to accident site ...>>>
January
2004: SYSTEMS REVIEW: Full product review in Health & Safety
Matters ...>>>
September 2004.
The new SBES LifeSaver MICRO single-user
alarm transmitter system introduces the same high level
of personal protection as the company’s full system
of integrated portable lone worker alarms to one-man operations
at a suitably low cost.
A ‘Lone Worker’ wireless
belt-clip alarm transmitter that summons help at the touch
of a button and incorporates a tilt unit to send an automatic
alarm signal in the event of incapacitation is offered
with a base unit instantly sending out the alert in a choice
of three methods: auto-dialler to four telephone numbers,
pager or beacon sounder.
Each version is supplied complete
including installation, training and documentation for
around £1000. Optional
pagers and beacon sounders can be added at very low cost
and an optional rechargeable battery back-up unit will operate
the system for at least 8 hours in the event of power failure.
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August 2004.
When a recent report by MP’s on the Work & Pensions
Select Committee declared that the Health & Safety Executive
needed to double its number of inspectors to cut injury and
illness at work, the TUC agreed and so did SBES Ltd, who
can offer companies an easy way to significantly improve
employee protection.
The MPs’ report quoted figures
showing 226 work-related deaths and 28,426 major injuries
in the year to April 2003, and it is estimated that 7 million
days a year are lost due to physical injury. The MPs said
that penalties for offending employers should be stricter,
with bigger fines for breaches of health and safety rules,
and called for a new offence of corporate killing.
"Far too many employers do not take their health and
safety responsibilities seriously," said TUC General
Secretary Brendan Barber, adding that the government must
give employees better protection.
Peter Swan the founder of SBES has created a unique range
of products covering every area of personal emergency response
at any time or location.
The SBES LifeSaver, Protector, Tracer and Responder systems
are designed to enable emergency teams to respond to an alarm
call in the shortest possible time, using the latest R/F
and GPS/GSM technology.
These products have already been proven to save lives in
countless different environments including distribution centres,
NHS trusts, airports, scientific establishments, district
councils, farms, factories and offices. The SBES systems
are already saving companies money and time and most importantly
are saving lives!
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June 2004
A new development in the SBES LifeSaver range, cost-effectively
brings their unique safety benefits in protecting personnel
working alone, out of hours or in dangerous situations, for
smaller fixed sites.
The LifeSaver MINI system accommodates
up to four ‘Lone
Worker’ wire-free alarm transmitters or up to eight
installed ‘Help Points’, or a combination of
these as required. It provides the simplest and most fail-safe
means for help to be summoned rapidly in the event of a problem
anywhere around the site.
Worn in belt-clip form, the transmitters
are activated to send a signal indicating the wearer’s
identity at the touch of a button or by automatically sending
a signal in the event of incapacitation, as triggered by
a tilt sensor.
The highly visible Help Points are easily activated by anyone
in trouble and use wire-free transmission with a 300m range
for easy installation and relocation. They are offered in
break-glass or push-button versions, a ceiling-mounted pull-cord
style and a splash-proof model.
Alarm alerting options offered with the SBES LifeSaver MINI
system include local area paging, auto-dialler to four telephone
numbers and beacon sounders or a combination of any of these.
A battery back-up facility is also available.
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June 2004
SBES had been involved in UK facilities
management for 10 year, concentrating on building infrastructure,
cabling and environmental controls...
Article printed in Works,
Plant & Maintenance, May
2004.
Click here to read the full article.
Reproduced by kind permission of
Works, Plant & Maintenance
from their May 2004 edition. Tel: 01435 864746
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May 2004.
New worker protection is 'in the bag' anywhere with GPS/GSM
alarm
SBES will be exhibiting their range
of Lone Worker Protection and Emergency Response systems
on stand K70 at Safety & Health
Expo, NEC. (10-13 May), and they will be demonstrating for
the first time, their new ‘Responder’ personal
alarm system.
The device, which is carried in a lightweight bag, helps
protect workers undertaking any potentially hazardous activity
or working alone, anywhere and at any time, using the latest
GPS/GSM technology.
The system comprises a personal alarm
that is worn by the individual, which sends a signal to
a communications unit in the bag. The personal alarm is
activated either manually or automatically should the person
become incapacitated. Upon activation an alarm is automatically
sent to the BS5759 rated monitoring centre giving the location
of the incident. The monitoring centre will then commence
procedures as per the client’s instructions.
SBES ‘Tracer’ system, launched late 2003, is
vehicle based and protects lone workers combining a comprehensive
vehicle tracking system with the personal alarm system. The
personal alarm system works in the same way as ‘Responder’ with
the communications unit fixed to the vehicle. The vehicle
tracking system provides an opportunity to include a Vehicle
Management Information (VMI) module.
The ‘SBES LifeSaver’ can
also be seen. It is a bespoke system using radio frequency,
for use in fixed locations and is a fast, accurate way
of summoning help in the event of an incident. It is virtually
wirefree and can cover multiple zones. Upon activation
of a help point or lone worker transmittor an alarm signal
is sent both to a control panel and at the same time automatically
pages the relevant emergency response personnel informing
them of the incident location. SMS alert text messages
to mobile phones and networked PC alert messages can also
be activated.
The SBES 'Protector' will also be on show. A self-contained
lone worker protection system which is housed in a lightweight
carrying case, developed to extend the safety loop to individuals
moving from site to site. The case is kept within the working
area and the user wears the personal alarm, including tilt
sensor, which if activated sends a signal to a pager given
to a colleague or first aider on-site, who is alerted to
the emergency.
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May 2004.
The SBES LifeSaver Lone Worker portable
alarm system provided an ideal combination of versatile
personnel safety, ease of use and economy for the National
Institute of Biological Standards and Control in satisfying
its Health & Safety
duty of care to staff working in high risk areas at its Potters
Bar site.
A public funded body under the Department
of Health, the Institute installed LifeSaver to cover various
areas not generally populated during the working day, such
as plant rooms and walk-in freezers, and other high risk
spots after comparing the SBES system with others on the
market.
According to the Institute’s Environmental Health & Safety
Advisor, the SBES system appeared to be the most versatile
without being overcomplicated, and was also the most economically
advantageous.
The system is used by both Institute staff and external
contractors who may be working alone in risk areas. The wire-free
alarm transmitters immediately inform the necessary personnel
of any problem that may arise and its location.
Installation was relatively easy
and the system is very simple to use, according to the
EH&S advisor, who also
reports that it gave cost-savings in terms of man-hours since
staff do not have to continually work in pairs or stop to
telephone Security every half hour. Weekend work has also
been made easier and safer.
Most of the LifeSaver alarms are kept at the main reception
area and are issued by a logging out and in system, which
gave the added advantage in an evacuation of showing if a
unit is in use and whether particular areas need to be searched.
Some alarm units are also positioned at the main entry points
into specific high risk areas, with clear instructions to
staff authorised to work in such locations to use a unit
whenever working alone.
The system is very easy to understand
and manage, reports the EH&S Advisor, explaining that
the concise instructions enabled contractors to master
its use very quickly. He also reported that the after-installation
service provided by SBES has been excellent.
Another advantage of the system at the Institute was its
ability to work within walk-in freezers and cold storage
areas where other devices such as mobile phones, pagers and
radios did not operate.
The need for Lone Worker protection
at the Institute facility was identified by risk assessments
carried out in accordance with the Management of Health & Safety
at Work Regulations 1999.
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April 2004.
As part of its on-going commitment
to personnel well-being, Tesco Distribution Division has
installed an SBES ‘LifeSaver’ emergency
safety alarm system at its 250,000ft_ Southampton composite
distribution centre, providing protection for employees working
on their own, and promoting the highest level of safety awareness
at the centre for all other staff with the emergency help
points.
The SBES LifeSaver system used by Tesco is designed to enable
help to be summoned in the event of any mishap or other problem
and comprises alarm help points, emergency pull cords and
the Lone Worker personal alarm transmitter.
First-aiders are quickly alerted
to the location of an injured person anywhere in the facility.
The system conforms to Tesco’s
strict first-aid guidelines, with unlimited extendibility
to tailor functionality to specific needs and combining total
convenience with guaranteed round-the-clock coverage.
The system is used in the distribution warehouse, their
vehicle management unit and plant rooms.
“The system is a great success,” said
Alan Shambrook, the distribution centre Technical Support
Manager.
SBES’s system is based on a
control panel and interacting products. The highly visible
Help Points are easily activated by anyone in trouble and
can cover multiple zones in buildings. As well as the emergency
pull cords, the system includes wall-mounted pushbutton
and break-glass versions.
Lone Worker wire-free alarm transmitters are worn in belt-clip
form and are activated either manually by the person with
a problem or send an automatic signal in the event of incapacitation,
as triggered by a tilt sensor.
In the fully integrated system, alarm activation instantly
sends a visual and audible signal of the incident location
to the control panel and simultaneously pages first-aiders
with the information. The system is capable of sending SMS
text messages to mobile phones and activate networked PC
alert message, as an optional extra.
There is no limit to the number of Help Points and Lone
Workers and the system allows for programming an unlimited
number of zones. A rechargeable battery back-up keeps the
system fully operational for a minimum of 8 hours in the
event of a power failure.
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March 2004.
The ‘Responder’ personal
alarm system introduced by SBES helps protect workers undertaking
any potentially hazardous activity or working alone, anywhere
and at any time, whether in an empty building area, at
a remote location or even in transit.
The system automatically notifies an emergency response
team of an incident, its identity and location within seconds.
Using the latest GPS/GSM technology and incorporating a comprehensive
world-wide tracking system, the system is easy to use and
requires virtually no maintenance.
A personal alarm unit is worn by the individual and is activated
either manually or automatically should the person become
incapacitated. This sends a signal to a communications unit
that is carried in a small lightweight bag.
Instantly, this communications unit
contacts the system’s
24hr monitoring centre via the GSM network, detailing the
user’s exact location by use of the global positioning
satellite (GPS) system.
Upon receiving an alarm the monitoring
centre immediately commences response procedures as per
the client’s agreed
instructions. Typically this will be to; 1) call the user
to establish it is not a false alarm, 2) alert the appropriate
emergency services directly.
This system can reduce staff costs
by eliminating the need for a second worker in many working
environments. Its use also ensures a company’s compliance with Health & Safety
regulations by ‘Showing a Duty of Care’.
An optional Personal Management Information (PMI) service
is also available, enabling the tracking of personnel carrying
Responder.
The monitoring centre is registered under BS5759, which
regulates personnel security clearance, response times, event
logging procedures and back-up facilities for such centres.
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February 2004.
RESPONDER, the Lone Worker portable alarm transmitter proved
its value in the most dramatic life-saving style when Peter
Swan, Managing Director of personal safety alarm system supplier
SBES, was driving to give a factory demonstration of the
device and came upon the scene of a terrible car accident
trapping the badly injured driver.
Although the emergency services had been
called from a mobile, nobody at the accident knew the exact
location. Mr Swan immediately activated the wire-free unit,
which sent details via satellite to an emergency call centre
that in turn gave the site co-ordinates to the ambulance,
police and fire services.
"There is no doubt that although
the emergency crews were fast to arrive, the Lone Worker
unit enabled them to pinpoint the exact location, and thus
speed-up their attendance," reported
Mr Swan. It was a good thing, too, since the accident was
so serious that the air ambulance emergency helicopter was
also called.
The Lone Worker system can be an
everyday ‘lifesaver’ for
people working on their own in potentially hazardous situations
such as electrical roadside repair, in computer and service
rooms of buildings, in factories and a wide range of day-to-day
work.
As well as the portable alarm transmitters
and the ‘Tracer’ GPS/GSM
vehicle tracking system to pinpoint an emergency’s
location, the full system includes interacting products and
help points enabling aid to be summoned 'at the touch of
a button'.
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January 2004
With the distinct possibility of relevant legislation arriving
sooner rather than later, HSM magazine has published an in-depth
article on SBES Lone Worker Solutions.
Click here to read the article on-line reproduced in full.
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