Lone worker apps vs. lone worker devices

Pick Protection

24 March 2020

What factors do you consider when deciding between a lone worker smartphone app or a dedicated lone worker device? One thing that drives us all is cost. But without functionality, it’s simply a waste of money and resources.

Dedicated devices

With such a wide range of products available in the market, it’s difficult to choose which will work best for your organisation. These dedicated devices come in the form of a cellular modem, GPS chip, SIM card and a re-chargeable battery, operating in a similar way to a small phone. They allow the lone worker system to identify workers’ current location, make and receive phone calls and permit some programming to meet organisational needs. Devices are not expensive and they typically operate with the press of a button. Simple and effective.

Smartphones

An application operates on a standard smartphone whether this is an Android based phone or an iPhone. There are also applications for legacy phones that run on Windows-based smartphones. These apps provide the same functionality as the dedicated devices but allow the user more personal control.

Here’s a quick comparison of smartphone versus standalone devices:

Modern smartphones typically have better technology inside them than the dedicated hardware devices – i.e. a more sophisticated modem providing a stronger signal and often having access to all the cellular technologies including 2G, 3G and 4G as well as wifi assistance to help with GPS accuracy.

– Versus –

Dedicated lone worker devices often have older technology inside which sometimes keeps the cost of the devices down, and the lack of a screen and other capabilities a smartphone has helped to reduce power consumption.

An emergency situation dictates an immediate response. It can be difficult to activate the smartphone application through any phone locking security, but Pick Protection’s Bluetooth SOS button activates the app without touching the phone, and provides the same response, with a more accurate account of the location as it can use Wifi assistance.

– Versus –

Lone worker devices are activated by pressing and holding a button for a couple of seconds.

We hope this helps guide you through the maze of lone worker security, but if you have any questions, or would like to know more about our products, we’d love to hear from you.