Housing Association protects employees

SoloProtect, the international lone worker solution provider, has announced an addition to its customer relationship with bpha, the Bedford based Housing Association that manages over 19,000 homes across the Oxford to Cambridge arc.

bpha, keen to innovate and aware of the benefits that emerging lone worker technology can bring, has chosen to trial a Body Worn Video (BWV) enabled solution from SoloProtect, to deliver comprehensive protection to employees.

Already a well-established user of SoloProtect, bpha has recently supplied four of its Housing Officers with The SoloProtect ID Pro, with a view to rolling out this type of device to a wider group of staff, if the trial is successful.

SoloProtect has delivered lone worker technology for use by over 300,000 lone workers, since inception in 2003. The company remains at the forefront of the lone worker industry and continues to strive to offer solutions that are innovative and highly accessible to users, with a high level of customer service, and a clear return on investment for the deploying organisation.

bpha employs over four hundred staff in the UK, and its vision is ‘to build communities where people can live happily in a home they can afford’.

bpha is looking into deploying the SoloProtect ID Pro, in high risk areas where concerns or incidents have been recorded. The SoloProtect ID Pro, which was made available to customers from late 2019, is a dedicated lone worker device, with optional Body Worn Video technology and a host of other features to assist a user’s personal safety.

The product differs from most traditional body cameras in that a discreet ID badge form-factor is retained, and the device is designed for incident-driven recording only, rather than it being deployed for continuous video capture. This incident-driven approach allows video evidence to be streamed directly to a SoloProtect Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC). Video recording is instigated by the device-user opening a ‘Red Alert’ on their device. This allows operators to support a lone worker during a live event, whilst still in progress, rather than being available only in retrospect.

It also makes the ID Pro an accessible and flexible device to deploy, and one that is less resource-hungry than many traditional systems that require large amounts of video data to be managed – specifically regarding dock and download, storage, and redaction. Which can be a key consideration with regards to meeting data protection requirements.

SoloProtect manages all video on behalf of the client as part of a GDPR compliant solution, utilising the functionality of the device to reduce the alarm verification time where possible, thus speeding up the escalation process to get the lone worker assistance. bpha personnel issued with an ID Pro will be using the video verification capability to assist their personal safety, where required.

Matthew Hunt, health safety & environment officer at bpha said, “The safety of our employees is paramount, and we are really excited to be trialling the ID Pro devices. We have worked closely with SoloProtect for a number of years and have found their lone worker solutions invaluable. Adding video as another level of safety makes perfect sense and is something that I expect to benefit us hugely.”

Craig Swallow, managing director, SoloProtect, commented, “We’re delighted to be supplying bpha, and look forward to seeing how their team get on with the new devices. When we started developing the ID Pro, we always wanted comprehensive safety of the individual lone worker to be at the heart of the product’s functionality. We believe the product delivers this, and it’s great to be able to deliver a device that can significantly speed up alarm verification and get the best possible response for the user.”