At its 16-hectare site in Toulouse, France, which runs around the clock, Hydro Building Systems (Technal brand) manufactures aluminum profiles for the construction industry. The EHS manager, the SERIS security officer and an operator explain why VigieApp replaced the site's old lone worker devices: location tracking, alarms configured by workstation and fast alarm verification.
It's an application that is easy to roll out and fairly inexpensive. It makes our lives easier!
Hydro Building Systems, a subsidiary of the Hydro group, manufactures aluminum profiles for the construction industry in Toulouse, France, notably under the Technal brand. The site covers 16 hectares and runs 24/7. The profiles are more than six meters long and are moved with forklifts or overhead cranes, so manual handling risks are high.
At night and on weekends, smaller crews leave operators working alone for all or part of their shift. The site's old lone worker devices, small units worn on the body, were becoming obsolete, offered no location tracking and kept triggering tilt alarms on handling equipment.
Neovigie first provided a few licenses and access to the platform so the site could test the application in real conditions with its operations teams. Today the site uses about fifteen lone worker devices on smartphones: some are dedicated to specific workstations, with settings tailored to their work area, while others are kept at the security desk for occasional lone work.
Operators picked up the application very quickly and welcomed it, since it runs on a smartphone they already have. The SERIS security officer highlights the exact location of the person, which the systems used at other sites did not provide, and recommends the solution for other SERIS sites in France. Hydro finds the application easy to roll out and inexpensive.
We are at the Hydro Building Systems site in Toulouse. We belong to the Hydro group, which specializes in manufacturing aluminum profiles. Here, at the Toulouse site, we make profiles for the construction industry. Hydro Building Systems has three production sites in France.
On our site, we face many manual handling risks because of the size of the profiles, which are more than six meters long and have to be moved either with forklifts or with overhead cranes. This raw material is handled in many places across a very large site of 16 hectares, so there are many risks related to handling. We also have a site that runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Night and weekend crews are necessarily smaller, so some people end up working alone for their entire shift.
Before using VigieApp, we had conventional lone worker devices, small units that people carried with them, but they were becoming obsolete and, above all, had no location tracking. On a site like ours, it was important to be able to identify where a person in distress is. The system was also not suited to our operations: it required the device to stay upright at all times. But when you are on handling equipment, it kept going off.
Before rolling out VigieApp across the whole site, we ran trials. Neovigie provided a few licenses and access to the platform, and we were able to test how it worked in real conditions, check that there were no false alerts and that it was practical for operators. We set it up directly with the operators. We involved all our operations teams to choose the most suitable equipment. Then, with Neovigie, we were able to configure the system to meet our needs.
Setting up VigieApp was not very complicated. On our site, it is a very functional, very intuitive application. When we had to explain to operators how it worked, they picked it up very quickly. In addition, the computer interface, which is used to configure settings and locate people in the event of an alert, is very intuitive and easy to access, and we get the information very quickly.
Today, we have about fifteen lone worker devices on our site. Some are dedicated to specific jobs or workstations in very specific areas, with settings tailored to their work location. We also have devices kept at the security desk, available to any staff member who may occasionally find themselves working alone.
Neovigie allows us to protect employees who work alone. It allows us to respond quickly, because we have the exact location, and also to verify alarms so we don't make unnecessary trips if it was a handling error. Neovigie lets us know exactly where the person is. That is very important compared with the older systems we had at other sites, because SERIS has many sites in France. Neovigie really lets us know where the person is at any given moment. We are satisfied with the Neovigie system, which is easy to use and reliable. I recommend this system for the other SERIS sites we have across France.
The alarms we use on VigieApp are preset: I defined the alarms used on our site, so operators don't have to choose their own settings. On our site, we use no-movement detection, fall detection and loss of connection. We also have the manual alert, which any operator can trigger. It activates our alert procedure to send help to the person.
I work rotating shifts, alone. So I'm alone at night. When I work mornings, I'm alone for 3 hours, and in the afternoon, for 4 hours. I feel safer since I've had VigieApp. I also know that if I feel unwell or I'm in distress, the security desk can contact me. The Neovigie system keeps me safe if I run into difficulty, distress or illness. We also have designated responders, the production manager and the manager of the neighboring workshop, who automatically receive an alarm if there is a problem. When I trigger the alarm manually, or if the device detects inactivity, the alarm goes off after one minute, and the security desk and the responders take over to check that I'm okay and try to reach me. That way, I can do my job safely. I'm satisfied with the Neovigie system and I'll recommend it to my colleagues who work alone, even occasionally.
Alarm transmission is really very fast. As soon as an alert is triggered, we receive a notification directly on the computer platform, along with a voice message sent to all the responders listed in the device settings. The voice message says that the device wearer is in distress and needs help.
Employees saw this new system in a positive light, because they already have a smartphone. We simply installed the VigieApp lone worker application, with no additional device. That's a big plus. On top of that, the application is not difficult to use at all, which also explains the rather positive reception. I'm satisfied with the Neovigie system. It's an application that is easy to roll out and fairly inexpensive. It makes our lives easier!
