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'The G7’s alarm woke me up': Tank inspector credits G7 for waking him and agent for staying with him after suffering severe concussion while working alone
The persistent alarm woke James. He felt disoriented and wasn’t ready to wake up yet.
“James? James, can you hear me? Are you okay?”
James heard the voice coming from far away. He groggily opened his eyes to see the metal on the side of the tank. That wasn’t right. Why was he looking at the tank, at that angle?
“James? This is the Blackline Safety SOC. If you can hear me, please respond and let me know if you need help. Your G7 has detected a fall.”
He pulled himself up and discovered he was at the bottom of a staircase on the outside of the tank he had just been inspecting. As he stood, his heartbeat thundered in his head. He felt the back — it was extremely painful and there was a lump forming.
James realized the voice he was hearing was coming through his G7. As he started walking toward his truck, he spoke into his device.
“I think I fell, but I’m okay.”
“Do you want me to dispatch emergency services?” the Safety Operations Center (SOC) agent asked. “Were you unconscious?”
James confirmed he had been unconscious, but that he had safely made his way to his vehicle and was sitting inside. He still wasn’t feeling good, so he asked the SOC agent to stay on the line with him while he called his supervisor.
“I’m here with you,” the agent said. “I won’t disconnect until you tell me someone else is there to help you.”
James dialed his foreman and let him know he had fallen and had been unconscious for an undetermined length of time. “The G7’s alarm woke me up,” he said.
His foreman told James that he knew about the fall and was already on his way to the site.
The agent stayed on the line with James, frequently checking in on him and asking how he was feeling until the foreman arrived at the site. Once there, the foreman had a look at James and confirmed to the SOC agent that James needed to go to the hospital. The foreman profusely thanked the SOC agent for staying with James until help arrived.
SOC Agents Partner to Help
How did James’ foreman know James needed help? When the fall was detected and the first agent couldn’t immediately get in touch with James, a second SOC agent had followed the company’s emergency response protocol—saved in Blackline Live—and called the supervisor to let him know James’ device recorded a fall and James wasn’t responding.
G7: From “Big Brother” to Best Friend
James’ company later contacted Blackline Safety to give an update: James had been diagnosed with a severe concussion after falling down a flight of stairs. He was recovering well.
James’ company was incredibly grateful that not only had G7 worked as intended, but that the SOC agent had not given up trying to contact James, and then stayed with him until help arrived on the scene. That level of comfort—knowing a human was there to stay with him and monitor his condition after his accident—helped James stay calm until help arrived.
James also expressed his gratitude for his G7. Initially, he had been hesitant about switching to Blackline devices. He felt uncomfortable about being monitored and he wasn't really sure what that would mean – would someone be watching his every move? His accident changed his mind. Now, he checks that he has his device with him every day, just like his keys and wallet.
As one of the company’s leaders told him during device implementation, "Look, you have a friend—your Blackline G7 device—that's with you 24/7. No matter where you're at, no matter how late or early, they're going to be there for you. And if you need help, all you have to do is pull that latch, and somebody's going answer your call and make sure you're safe.”
James truly appreciates having G7 and 24/7 monitoring at his side so he's never truly alone, even when working by himself. He knows firsthand that it can be lifesaving.
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DID YOU KNOW? Cloud-connected lone worker wearable safety devices, paired with 24/7 live monitoring of alerts, is proven to reduce the risks to workers, according to recent research from the National Safety Council. |
This real-life incident is a true story, but names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of the people involved.
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