Privacy and Data Protection is an ever-increasing concern for both individuals and organisations. Most recently, these concerns have been highlighted with the roll-out of various government-led COVID-19 tracking applications. Whilst some people are amenable to being tracked, others find it an infringement of their privacy and even as far as a breach of human rights. Vismo takes the privacy of its customers seriously; maintaining your trust is paramount to us. This article explains how Vismo has overcome Lone Worker privacy concerns without compromising the security of personal data.

What is the purpose of a Lone Worker App?

A Lone Worker App is a tracking solution designed to protect employees who work without close or direct supervision.  If there is an emergency, Lone Workers are able to alert their employers who can assess the situation and follow the required escalation process. A Lone Worker App enables organisations to meet their legal and moral Duty of Care responsibility in protecting employees’ health, safety and welfare while at work.

How does the Vismo Lone Worker App work?

The Vismo Lone Worker App is compatible with Smartphones and Tablets operating on iOS and Android systems. Using GPS and other technologies from the device allows Vismo to accurately determine a Lone Workers’ location and this information automatically is sent to the Vismo Secure Portal for monitoring purposes.

What Information Does Vismo Collect About You?

To operate correctly, the only information that is required is location data; all other information is optional. Vismo generates a unique anonymised identifier for each device and this identifier may then be associated with certain personal information in accordance with the data handling policy of the individual customer. Registration information will be subject to and protected as per our Privacy Statement. Our Privacy Statement and our practices are designed to provide a globally consistent level of protection for personal information all over the world, even in countries whose laws provide less protection.

Is My Data Secure?

Security and data protection are the upmost importance concern and maintaining your trust is paramount to us. Vismo is hosted by Microsoft Azure Cloud to protect personal information and to maintain its accuracy, encrypting sensitive personal information when transmitting such information over the Internet. Vismo and Microsoft Azure are both ISO 27001 certified; the gold standard for Information Security Management Systems. Vismo adheres to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which is the EU law on data protection and privacy policies.

What Happens If a Lone Worker Doesn’t Want to Use a Tracking Device?

Organisations can only encourage Lone Workers to use a tracking app and they must voluntarily consent to be tracked as part of their personal safety and organisational Duty of Care obligations.

To encourage acceptance of tracking devices by Lone Workers, Vismo has integrated Privacy Mode capabilities into the Lone Worker app to protect Lone Workers personal privacy without compromising safety. Privacy Mode allows Lone Workers to choose when to be tracked, whilst keeping the Panic Button feature. If a Lone Worker faces an emergency or situation of duress, they can activate the Panic Button from within the Lone Worker App and this will notify monitoring teams while revealing their location to provide peace of mind for employees as they work alone.

Company Profile

Praesidio Ltd is a specialist security, emergency response and training provider, offering a wide range of solutions to suit a varied client base. Headquartered in the UK but with global reach, Praesidio provides support to the oil and gas sector internationally, with a strong operational presence in Africa.

Business Situation

An intrinsic element of the commitment to safety and security is ensuring that all organisations comply with the legal and moral duty of care to their personnel. At Praesidio, that commitment to safety and security commences when personnel depart the UK, continuing throughout the duration of their time overseas. Praesidio required a secure tracking and monitoring solution and after extensive due diligence selected Vismo as their tracking partner.

The Solution

Using the Vismo Global Traveller App downloaded to travellers’ smartphones, has enabled the Praesidio Operations Team to track and monitor clients travelling overseas, whilst aiding in planning travel and security arrangements at their end destinations before their arrival. Praesidio makes use of the range of features Vismo offers, to help in protecting their clients whilst travelling abroad.

Utilising the ‘Check-In’ functionality allows clients to notify the Praesidio Team when they arrive and depart key destinations or locations, during their travel or time overseas. The ‘Country Change’ feature automatically notifies administrators when clients arrive in a new country. These features ensure the Praesidio Team can monitor key movements in the client’s schedule, whilst acting as an added safety layer. Should a ‘Check-In’ be missed or late, the team immediately responds and follows the required escalation process.

The Vismo Secure Portal has incorporated ‘Points of Interest’ (POI’s) to define relevant locations on the map. In preparation for a client’s trip, the Praesidio Team identifies locations for clients to stay en-route to their end destinations, as well as identifying key infrastructures such as Embassies, hospitals, police stations and airports.  Geo-fences are invisible borders placed around high-risk and safe areas. Geo-fences help to ensure that should a client accidentally find themselves in such an area, the Praesidio Operations Team is immediately alerted and can intervene and direct them to safety.

Customer Quote

“The global security climate can be volatile, unpredictable and change without warning. Through the Vismo Secure Portal, we can respond to this changing climate by altering routes, journeys or destinations to ensure our clients are not exposed to unnecessary risk. Using Vismo, we have found that during emergency incidents overseas, we can monitor and coordinate personnel in real-time as the situation unfolds, to ensure they reach safety, in a fraction of the time than we have previously.

The Vismo Global Traveller App has been designed so that it can be personalised to suit each client’s individual needs, whilst incorporating essential functionalities in case an emergency situation arose. Within the App, we have been able to add a direct link for our Incident/News Feed from the Praesidio website; ensuring our clients receive news directly from us. We find that because we can configure the Vismo App to our clients’ specific needs and our company profile, clients are more likely to interact with the multitude of features available to them within the App.

As well as the key safety features you would expect from a tracking application, including Live & Historic Location Updates, Panic Alerts and Geo-fencing capabilities, Vismo has a range of additional functionalities to aid with tracking and monitoring clients overseas. We can communicate directly with our clients using Vismo Encrypted Messages and Mass Notifications, which again is reassuring to know that ‘One App Does All’; it alleviates the requirement for contact through multiple platforms.”

Rob Diver, Operations Director, Praesidio Ltd

What is Electronic Visit Verification?

Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) is a method used to verify home healthcare visits in the United States.

Part of the 21^st Century Cures Act passed in 2016, EVV has been introduced to reduce fraudulently documented home visits while ensuring people receive the documented care they need. In turn, this helps verify that the services billed for are actual visits made.

All US states are required to implement EVV for home care agencies that provide personal care services (PCS) by January 1, 2020, and home health services on January 1, 2023, or risk having their medical claims denied. Many states already have EVV implemented.

How to Comply with EVV Legislation?

The federal government has suggested several possible methods to comply with EVV legislation. One of the most popular methods that ensure home care agencies adhere to EVV is through using a Lone Worker tracking app that uses location services on the caregiver’s cell phone. Most states are opting for mobile solutions because people no longer have landline phones and fixed devices are more costly and burdensome to implement than mobile apps.

The Vismo Lone Worker Solution

The Vismo Lone Worker Solution uses GPS technology to locate caregivers using their smartphone or device, as they travel between jobs and at patients’ homes. When arriving at a patient’s home, caregivers can check-in using the Vismo App. This will verify the date, time and place that they started their home healthcare visit. Once they have completed their visit, the caregiver can check-out from within the Vismo Lone Worker App, which will record the information about the job in compliance with EVV and store it on the Vismo Secure Portal.

The Vismo Lone Worker App features an integrated Panic Button to aid with monitoring caregiver’s safety if they face an emergency or a duress situation. Once the Panic Button is activated, monitoring teams are automatically notified of the situation. Vismo then covertly records audio which is available for playback to help monitoring teams to further understand the situation and follow the required escalation process.

Features of the Lone Worker App:

• Yellow Alert with Timed Check-ins
• Panic Alert with Covert Audio Recording
• GPS Tracking with Location History
• Two-way Encrypted Messaging
• Mass Notifications
• Geo-Fencing
• Assignments
• Personalized Interface

The deployment of the Vismo Lone Worker App on a caregiver’s smartphone will allow Home Care Agencies to meet the EVV mandate and in addition improve communications, enhance business process and most importantly, improve the safety of their caregivers as part of their organizational duty of care.

Ready to start protecting your employees?

Email: enquires@vismo.com
Call: +1 866 815 9128 (USA) or +44 (0) 1904 616666 (UK and RoW).

As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic continues to plunge the world into uncertainty, it has impelled many organisations to change the way they work and introduce remote working from home for many employees.

Vismo recognises the risks faced by lone workers and has developed the Vismo Lone Worker App; a fully integrated solution for all mobile platforms.

With the strict new measures being introduced by Governments to tackle the outbreak, employees may also be exercising alone to adhere to social distancing rules. If an employee is found in a difficult position they can activate the panic alert from the Lone Worker App. Once activated, Vismo will covertly record audio and notify key contacts of the situation.

The Lone Worker App turns a smartphone or tablet into a tracking device with a panic button, timed check-in functionality and assignment capabilities. It enables lone workers to have two-way encrypted communication with colleagues, managers and security teams.

Lone Worker App Features Include:

• • Panic Alert with Covert Audio Recording
  • GPS Tracking with Location History
  • Two-way Encrypted Messaging
  • Geo-Fencing
  • Yellow Alert Timed Check-ins
  • Assignments
  • Personalised Interface

Ready to start protecting your employees?

Book a Demo Today

GPS tracking devices have proven to be an essential piece of equipment for those travelling around the world where standard mobile devices are simply not suitable. Organisations have a Duty of Care towards their employees to ensure their safety, and should continually extend diligence when employees travel to potential/known high-risk areas. It is in these areas where tracking devices become really essential.

Global Tracking Specialist, Vismo, provides peace of mind and reassurance to those travelling around the world, often in areas where there is no GSM mobile coverage. Vismo provides trackers that are all fully integrated into the Vismo Secure Portal, allowing for the monitoring of users travelling globally. The trackers also provide live location updates and location history reports with notifications for panic alerts, country change and geo-fence alerts.

Iridium Extreme

The reliable nature of the Iridium Extreme works across the 100% global Iridium network and has up to 30 hours standby and 4 hours of talk time.  The Iridium Extreme is built with military grade toughness in a small durable structure to guarantee communications and monitoring in the toughest conditions. The Iridium Extreme has incorporated SMS, email messaging and dialling capabilities as well as a specialist panic button. Upon activation of the panic alert, an alert is sent to the Vismo Secure Portal for monitoring capabilities.

RockSTAR

The RockSTAR two-way messenger works far beyond the reach of WiFi and GSM networks using the truly global Iridium Satellite network. The handheld unit is waterproof, light weight, ruggedised and designed to withstand the most challenging of environments, with a long battery life of 3 weeks set to 30 minuet fixes. Send two-way messaging using SMS and email formats, as well as raising the panic alert using the specialist button.

Garmin inReach Mini

The small, but powerful rugged lightweight satellite tracker is the perfect solution for travelling where size and weight matter. The palm sized devices work using the 100% Global Iridium coverage, which reports locations and alerts to the portal.

To find out more about Vismo tracking devices, please contact enquires@vismo.com or call us on +44 (0) 1904 616666 (UK and RoW) or +1 866 815 9128 (USA).

Returning to Japan for the first time since 1964, the countdown is on until Tokyo hosts the biggest sporting event in the world. Global tracking specialist Vismo is set to provide organisations and travellers with essential monitoring and tracking capabilities. With the eyes of the world on Tokyo, focus must be placed on security for the large-scale event.

Before travelling abroad, travellers should conduct research in order to understand any potential cultural differences, as well as any possible risks in the target destination. Japan is one of the safest countries in the world. Yet with natural disasters making the headlines, should travellers and attendees be cautious of their safety? In wake of recent natural disasters event organisers are taking extra precautions to ensure travellers feel safe at the Games. According to media reporting, attendees can feel reassured in the knowledge that all venues have been constructed so  they are seismic resistant and comply with strict Japanese building regulations. Venues also have specialist evacuation plans as an added precaution should natural tremors occur. Attendees’ safety is the primary concern for event organisers, who have even resulted in fail-safe testing their venues through controlled simulated earthquake testing.

While Japan is pulling out all the stops to safeguard attendees and provide ease of mind, Vismo advises travellers to extend further diligence to their own individual safety.

Secure Portal – Example incident in Japan.

How can Individuals/ Organisations Protect Themselves?

Vismo enables organisations to protect and monitor individuals travelling globally with the Global Traveller App. Using GPS and other technologies, Vismo reports a traveller’s location to the Vismo Secure Portal for live location monitoring. Vismo ensures that travellers can be located quickly and effectively in a crisis situation when precious time may be critical.

Recently, Vismo has launched an enhanced version of its successful long-standing Portal and App with increased user functionality and new innovative features. These include: Incident Management and Mass Notifications that enables organisations to effectively manage a crisis situation, while automatically notifying users in affected locations and giving appropriate advice.

The Global Traveller App

Safeguard users visiting Japan and receive notifications with live location updates, geo-fencing to define high risk areas and panic alerts. The new updated Global Traveller App allows organisations to personalise the interface suiting individual travellers, while making it the perfect tool for integrating Vismo into any organisation.

Local Japanese SIM

Vismo sister company, Cellhire, a leading global telecommunications provider, offers businesses and travellers with cost-effective local Japanese SIM cards. With network partnerships with Japanese networks NTT Docomo and SoftBank, Cellhire offers unrivalled mobile connectivity throughout Japan, allowing attendees to seamlessly connect, browse, like and share their experiences.

To discuss short-term licences from Vismo for Japan please contact enquires@vismo.com or call us on +44 (0) 1904 616666 (UK and RoW) or +1 866 815 9128 (USA).