Dedicated solely to the monitoring of lone worker devices, the Skyguard Incident Management Centre (IMC) located in Epsom is also the first single-purpose facility in the UK to achieve NSI ARC Gold Approval for BS 8484:2009 (which includes BS 5979:2007 Category 2).
The searching approval process leading to the Gold Approval included a detailed evaluation not only of the IMC’s operating and management procedures, but also of the company’s quality management systems in order to ensure full conformance with BS EN ISO 9001:2008.
The National Security Inspectorate accreditation for the IMC is complemented by the regulatory compliance of both of the personal safety devices offered by Skyguard, the GEMshield and the Skyguard 500. These solutions meet the requirements of BS 8484:2009 in all aspects of their construction, performance and operation.
BS 8484-accredited end user system
“There are other companies that offer BS 8484-certified personal safety devices for lone workers,” explained Will Murray, marketing director of Skyguard, “but we’re very proud to be the first to offer a complete end-to-end, BS 8484-accredited package.”
Murray continued: “We believe that what happens after a user ‘presses the red button’ is of critical importance, not just the device itself. That’s why our IMC has only one function. Our operators are specially and specifically trained to respond efficiently and effectively to calls from individuals at risk, and are never distracted by having to carry out other work like such as monitoring building alarms or CCTV images.”
“The IMC also uses our own purpose-written software that has been designed from the ground up to help us respond rapidly, efficiently and effectively.”
Murray is obviously proud of Skyguard’s achievements. “For these reasons, we firmly believe that our lone worker service is second to none, and we’re delighted to have NSI ARC Gold approval as a valuable endorsement of our methods and practices because it emanates from the UK’s leading approvals and certification body.”
Certainly, that approval is a demonstration that Skyguard works to the highest industry standards as demanded by the police and emergency services.
Wide-ranging evaluation of service
Skyguard received its NSI ARC approval on 27 January after having successfully met the requirements of a wide-ranging evaluation of its services and procedures carried out by diligent NSI inspectors.
As is the case with all devices for which BS 8484 compliance is claimed, the Skyguard systems are self-certified since no third-party certification procedure for equipment is currently available in respect of the BS 8484 standard.
SMT Online’s Editor Brian Sims will soon be visiting the new IMC, so watch out for his report here on SMT Online/info4security
