Understanding Duress Alarms And Why You Should Be Using One
The duress alarm has been around in a variety of forms for many years. The initial principle was to create a high-pitched sound that would alert others to danger. It originally hit the market in the 1980s as there was an increase in crime rates and it made people feel safer.
Today, these personal alarms have evolved and, while there are still those that use it for protection on a night out, it is now more commonly associated with lone workers.
How the Duress Alarm Works
Lone workers are employees doing a job for a company but doing it by themselves. Advancements in modern technologies have made it possible to do many jobs single-handed. However, this often means employees can be in danger and hurt themselves without anyone knowing.
Initially, the employee had to contact the base at given periods to assure they were safe. But, today’s modern duress alarms made the process simpler, more effective, and safer.
A duress alarm will be attached to your person. It can be clipped to your belt or be worn as a watch. It monitors your position via GPS and your vital signs. A worker doesn’t need to do anything, their base can check their location at any time.
The most important part of these alarms is their ability to verify that your body is behaving normally. That means if it detects your heart rate is slowing too much or even going too fast, it can alert the base. Duress alarms can even react when you’re lying down and that’s not normal behavior.
If the alarm detects an issue it will alert the base immediately. Many modern duress alarms will also send a signal to the emergency services, letting them know where you are and enabling them to send an emergency response.
Of course, there is also a manual button that allows you to call for emergency help. This can be useful if you’re in danger but not yet had a life-threatening incident. For example, you’ve got yourself tangled in ropes, are alone, but currently uninjured.
You can activate the alarm and it will send a signal to your base that you need assistance.
You should note that, in most cases, the alarm will need an internet or phone signal to send a message to your base, but it will always be able to contact the emergency services.
Why You Need One
In short, a duress alarm saves lives. Whether you’re a lone worker in a lighthouse station or an elderly person suffering a fall at home, you need to be able to call for emergency help or have your alarm do it for you.
Many professions put people in potential danger, a duress alarm gives you a quick and convenient way to call for help when you need it.
The only real decision you need to make is how advanced do you want your system to be? It can be a standalone device or one that is linked into a network and constantly monitored.
