The most significant benefit of this partnership with Globalstar, quite simply, is that your workers and team members will have reliable and proven satellite communications for lone workers to support SafetyLine’s comprehensive suite of safety features. The SafetyLine and SPOT combination provides uninterrupted location tracking and two-way communications (independent of cellular networks), using SPOT to send and receive text messages, track and share progress with managers and coworkers, map their routes, as well as, if needed, trigger an SOS emergency requesting immediate help.

We spoke to Jeffrey Buhr, Director of Philanthropy and his team at the Heart & Stroke Foundation about why heart health needs to be a priority for employers, what can proactively be done to prevent cardiac arrest in the workplace, as well as a number of other interesting areas related to occupational health and safety.

Here we are at the end of February and with-it being Heart Month in North America, there was some focus on the relatively unknown issue of cardiac arrest and heart health in the workplace. Scroll down to see what you missed in safety-related news in February.

Every year, roughly 62,000 Canadians experience a heart attack and stroke which, in many cases, is disabling or deadly. It is also estimated that about 35,000 cardiac arrests take place in Canada annually, and again, these are often fatal. As major causes of death and disability for Canadians, heart disease and stroke are also major occupational health issues in the workplace where cardiovascular health needs to be addressed.

Panic buttons are an important occupational safety technology goes by many names: duress alarm, emergency signal, SOS alarm, personal alarm, alert button, panic alarm and most commonly, panic button. The reason there are so many names and monikers for this safety device is they are so widely used in a wide range of industries and work. Regardless of what they are called, they all are intended to one thing: raise an alarm in emergency situations when an employee requires immediate help.

The 24-hour news cycle has many benefits like constant, real-time news updates as they occur as well as an increase in the overall amount of news we consume. While we are more up to date on the latest news, more than ever, all of these sources, and questioning the legitimacy of these sources, can be overwhelming and time-consuming. With busy personal and professional lives, you may not catch all of the important and relevant safety news of the past month. To help you out, at the end of each month, we will post a curated list of the most important safety-related news so that you don’t miss anything.  

If you haven’t yet, it’s never too late. It should be a major goal in itself for the employer to set safety goals and objectives for the upcoming year so the safety and health of workers and employees can improve and move forward. 

Most places in North America are starting to experience the impact of winter, with cold temperatures, snow, and icy roads. Whether you’re driving with your family or for work, safe winter driving is a concern and a priority when the roads start to get slick and slippery. And whether you’re for personal reasons or your job, certain safety steps can be taken that can protect winter drivers in both scenarios, regardless of where you’re going.

On behalf of the SafetyLine Lone Worker team, we want to wish you and your families a Happy Holidays. Over the past 21 years in business, the SafetyLine team has always had a strong corporate value and commitment to supporting local organizations and helping them meet their charitable goals. Every year SafetyLine Lone Worker and Tsunami Solutions (our parent company) donate to various charities and this year we have set aside $5000, a portion of our donation fund to a registered charity, non-profit, or foundation of your choice.

Online safety courses and safety training in the United States and Canada

In recent years, the prevalence of online safety training opportunities has skyrocketed with a wide range of online training courses available.

To help you navigate and prioritize this wide range of available options, below, we have curated a list of the top safety training resources as well as the best safety conferences in North America.

Since early 2020 due to COIVD-19, the work environment has shifted; it became a place where not only potential physical safety hazards existed, but ones that aren’t visible to the human eye, such as deadly viruses or future pandemics. 

With this new, more unpredictable work environment, certain workers became more vulnerable, including healthcare and hospitality employees, as well as those who work alone and remotely.  

What does a lone worker look like? 

Working alone from home can pose a number of unique risks and challenges. Here’s how to manage workplace safety issues for your remote employees.

Slips, trips, and falls are kind of a constant workplace hazard regardless of your workplace location, however, with cold and wet conditions impacting most of North America during fall and winter, these types of hazards and accidents become more frequent and severe.

Not only do employers and companies have a moral obligation to protect their workers and employees, but they also have a legal one. OSHA regulations regarding lone worker safety are predominantly guided by two core standards.

Safety hazard reporting is not just a quick email or conversation. Hazard recognition and reporting may require some training and education, depending on which industry you’re in. But regardless of how you implement hazard reporting, make sure that your form includes the following 5 key points of information – but customize to your organizational needs as well. 

Depending on your industry and local legislation, your workplace violence program may look different from ours, but regardless, there key areas that must be included in a truly effective workplace violence program.

Every workplace, whether it’s an office or a construction site or a patient’s home, has its own safety hazards and risks facing the workers and team members. Emergencies are more likely to take place when these safety hazards are not addressed, increasing the potential for an incident to take place that could harm and even kill an employee. In many cases, emergencies could have been prevented, or at least mitigated, through proactive planning and assessment of existing and potential safety hazards threatening the team.

As a pioneer who started protecting lone workers via automated check-ins (among other features) in 1999, there are a number of things about SafetyLine Lone Worker that many people do not know. Here are 10 things you didn’t know about SafetyLine

In order to deal with this new safety landscape, employers and workers are also looking to current technology to complement the existing PPE, increasing the safety of the worker, regardless of their situation or setting. This has obviously resulted in a new category of PPET – personal protective equipment and technology. Moving forward, technology will be as integral to the worker’s safety as the steel-toed boots on their feet or 

Pay more attention to communication

When you think of worker safety, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Is it personal protective equipment like face shields or electrical gloves? Or is it an emergency notification device like a panic button? And while these are all important elements of a strong worker safety program, an area often missed is internal communication amongst the team and organization.