The Benefits of a Fall Detection Device and Safety App
Fall detection app saves the life of a hiker
James Prudenciano reported that his Apple Watch saved his life after he fell off a cliff while hiking. The 28-year-old male from New Jersey, shared that he does not think that he would have lived to tell the story if it wasn’t for his device, detecting that he was in trouble. Prudenciano was hiking with Paige Paruso in Hartshorne Woods Park, New Jersey. It was after sunset and challenging to see when the two fell through some shrubs and slid down an extremely steep drop-off. Paruso fell first, but landed in a river below and did not suffer any severe injuries. Unfortunately, Prudenciano landed directly on a rock and suffered three fractures in his back.
Fearing for his life, he said, “There was no way out of this for me. I literally said my last goodbyes.”
Thankfully, Prudenciano’s Apple Watch’s fall detection app detected a hard fall and impact and immediately called 9-1-1. Apple Watches are equipped with an automatic SOS feature that is sensitive to immediate motions and hard falls. Upon detection, the device asks the user if it should dial 9-1-1 and if the user is not responsive, the watch will automatically call and share the user’s location. Surprisingly enough, this is not the first instance where this feature has saved someone’s life. A few months ago, in Norway, an elderly man suffered a severe fall in his bathroom that left him unconscious. His Apple Watch called local emergency services after detecting a lack of motion and response.
The statistics for fall injuries and fatalities are compelling.
According to Ontario’s Workplace Safety North:
“Every day, 80 workers are injured in a fall – that’s one every 20 minutes.
There are approximately 17,000 lost-time injuries each year due to workplace falls.
65 per cent of all fall-related injuries are from slips and trips, i.e. same level falls.
Whether a few centimeters or 120 stories, 34 per cent of injuries and many work-related deaths are the result of a fall from working on heights.
One in five lost-time injuries results from falls.”
The National Safety Council reports that slips, trips and falls are a significant workplace hazard facing workers, particularly lone workers:
In 2016, 697 workers died in falls, and 48,060 were injured, requiring them to take time off because of these workplace hazards. But a team member doesn’t have to fall from a great height to suffer fatal injuries. Surprisingly, 134 workers were killed in falls on the same level in 2016, and according to Injury Facts construction workers experience a higher risk for fatal falls – more than seven times the rate of other industries – but falls can happen anywhere, even those that include a desk and ergonomic chair.
And according to the NSC data for 2016, there was a number of industries where falls were a significant issue, including falls from talll structures and falls on the same level.
Construction: 24,700 injuries, 384 deaths
Manufacturing: 22,040 injuries, 49 deaths
Wholesale trade: 10,250 injuries, 21 deaths
Retail trade: 29,830 injuries, 29 deaths
Transportation and Warehousing: 23,490 injuries, 46 deaths
Professional and business services: 22,090 injuries, 111 deaths
Education and health services: 43,660 injuries, 18 deaths
Government: 63,350 injuries, 44 death
Fall detection: the benefits of motion sensors
You don’t need an expensive watch to protect your lone workers’ safety and peace of mind with fall detection. The motion sensors, in a fall detection app like SafetyLine, are incorporated within a safety system that do not rely on a user’s ability to call for help. They run on the theory that the nature of many emergencies end up disabling a user’s ability to signal that they are in danger. This notion that lone users could be unable to indicate that they are in trouble is very much a reality. In the case of the 67-year-old man in Norway, the fact that his fall knocked him unconscious made it impossible for him to call for help. In addition to losing consciousness, users may be unable to call for help if another person is threatening their safety, and discreetness is necessary. In an environment where hazardous gases are present, the time between when a worker senses the presence of poisonous gas and when they lose consciousness can be extremely short; a fast and reliable method of signaling for help would be advantageous here, as well. Motion sensors should be essential features of every safety solution. They are comprehensive in their coverage of a user’s safety in all situations – even the most unexpected scenarios.
SafetyLine Lone Worker motion features
The motion features put in place at SafetyLine provide users with an additional line of protection. Our motion features are designed to protect your workforce in any scenario. By leveraging the motion sensors already installed on your smartphone, users can gain access to an abundance of tools that add essential protection when they need it most. If something happens and a worker can’t manually indicate an emergency, our motion features will keep your workers covered.
Man-Down detection is triggered if a device has not moved for an extended period. This is often a result of an unconscious worker. Man-down detection is crucial. If one of your workers is unconscious, how will you know? This feature enables fast response times for workers who need it most.
Fall Detection is activated if the device senses a fall or impact that might be capable of injuring a worker. Depending on the severity of the fall, a worker may be unable to press a panic button or signal for help in any other way. The fall detection feature ensures that if a worker suffers an injury that results from a fall, support will be on the way.
Shake for emergency gives workers the ability to signal an emergency simply by shaking their device. This can be useful in several situations, specifically those where silence is essential. The shake for emergency feature is also useful when a worker is unable to type or call for whatever reason. If discreetness is necessary, SafetyLine’s panic button is helpful for quietly calling for help.
Motion features are critical when it comes to comprehensive safety coverage. Prudenciano’s hiking incident could have been fatal if it weren’t for his device’s fall protection. Situations like this that would otherwise be deadly can have a happy ending with motion sensors in place.