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An employee safety device that promises to de-escalate dangerous situations has found its way to the market, something that might be useful for property managers who feel vulnerable during property inspections as an additional safety tool.
WanderSafe’s beacon safety device and app is a new safety protocol that works in tandem to keep people safer when they are in potentially vulnerable situations.
Inventor Stephenie Rodriguez said that the non-violent device has four features that are designed to disorient and scare an assailant, giving somebody enough time to save their life.
“When pressed, the activation button sends off an SOS message and GPS coordinates to corporate security managers, next of kin or colleagues to take action,” Ms Rodriguez said.
“Also incorporated into the device is a 140-decibel danger alarm, a piercing strobe light to disorient the assailant, and a wide-blinding lumen light for lighting up a potential threat.”
Ms Rodriguez said that the recent high-profile attacks on women have shown how important it is for employers to strengthen their employee duty of care, especially when they’re travelling outside of the workplace.
“I was shocked when I read Mission Australia’s research that found 46 per cent of young women and 18 per cent of young men feel unsafe walking home at night,” she said.
“Moreover, Safe Work Australia statistics showed that 22 per cent of workers have been physically assaulted or threatened by patients or clients. There are many apps that allow GPS tracking of staff. However, these fall short because they do nothing to de-escalate a situation.”
Vantage Strata managing director Chris Miller said that the property management industry is a prime example where it can be used.
“The real estate industry has been grappling with this challenge for a number of years,” he said.
“This problem has been well publicised in the context of property managers who attend routine inspections with people who are unknown to them.”
The WanderSafe ecosystem has been invited into a partnership with Crime Stoppers International.
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