Ringway Jacobs is a leading highway service provider, supporting over 10,000 miles of highways, 8,400 miles of footway and almost 7,000 miles of Public Rights of Way. An integrated service provider, it develops and builds local management and delivery teams and is supported by both national partners and local SMEs to provide an economic, flexible, resilient, and sustainable service.

The Challenge

Ringway Jacobs has been using Peoplesafe lone worker protection since 2016, providing peace of mind to over 300 employees that emergency assistance is available via Peoplesafe’s Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) 24/7, should they need it.

For the Ringway Jacobs highway inspection teams, undertaking walked, visual inspections of footways and carriageways, there was a significant threat to personal safety that required further mitigation. All too often seen as the ‘face’ of the highway authority, they could find themselves at risk from violent and abusive behaviour, the unfortunate victims of public frustration.

Team members also frequently work in remote locations, where they are at higher risk of slips, trips and falls. This could also include road traffic incidents and accidents, both inside moving vehicles and roadside.
 

The Solution

The Ringway Jacobs Health & Safety and Fleet department opted for Peoplesafe and SureCam integration, rolling out a safety solution, which combines the Peoplesafe Pro lone worker app with SureCam video telematics.

Dual facing connected dash cams were initially rolled out in 2021 and fitted on 163 vans and specialist vehicles across the fleet  – with more being fitted continuously – enabling footage to be viewed by Peoplesafe’s Alarm Controllers in the event of any alarm being raised on the Pro mobile App.

Drivers scan a QR code using the Pro mobile App to register their unique ID, which confirms who is driving the vehicle. This then automatically enables controllers in the ARC to access both audio communication and video footage, as well as incident data when an alarm is raised. This could be an injury, illness, accident, or incident of aggression.

Footage from forward-and rear-facing vehicle cameras provides immediate visual insight into what has happened, so the most appropriate action can be taken quickly, efficiently, and safely. Not only can incidents be recorded, the combination of mobile app and video also means that access to emergency help is much faster and more efficient than calling 999.  The system also supports the driver both in and outside the cab of their vehicle, something not possible with any standard in-cab SOS button function device.
 

The Results

Ringway Jacobs has become the first UK fleet operation to adopt this high-tech video-enabled lone worker service, designed to better safeguard drivers operating in the field.

The result is not only an improved level of safety and fleet risk reduction, but also an increased and enhanced level of support to drivers both in and out of their vehicles.

“Health, wellbeing and safety are at the heart of everything we do, so our aim is to always provide a safe working environment for our employees. We are committed to adopting industry best practice technology and processes, which is why we are rolling out the video-enabled lone worker service.

This latest initiative, developed with our valued partners at Peoplesafe and SureCam, will not only increase compliance of our lone worker processes, but also extend and enhance the levels of protection we can provide our drivers.” - David Bonehill, Head of Fleet at Ringway Jacobs