Top Employee Safety Considerations for Utility Providers
What are the top safety considerations that utility providers should prioritize? Electrical, water and gas companies provide a critical service to consumers and are responsible to their shareholders as well. Unplanned outages and service disruptions cause cascading issues for residents and local organizations, and there are financial repercussions as well: lost revenue and potential fines from government agencies.
As such, utility companies must do everything in their power to prepare for emergencies. They must create plans and incorporate resources that help them effectively respond to crises and quickly recover from disruptions. By improving communication, situational awareness and incident management, utility providers can better serve their customers and shareholders.
Business continuity for utility providers
Businesses, property managers and consumers rely on utility providers to maintain consistent services. Unplanned outages can cause injuries and fatalities, and can result in significant financial losses for businesses. While no amount of emergency preparedness can prevent all unplanned outages, especially those caused by severe weather and active assailants, providers can mitigate some risks by maintaining their equipment and infrastructure.
Additionally, utility providers can reduce the consequences of crises and unplanned outages by creating thorough emergency response and recovery plans. For utility companies, business continuity involves responding to crises quickly and utilizing backup resources to support essential operations during the recovery process. A fast, effective emergency response minimizes the negative impacts of outages, gains consumer trust, avoids compliance-related fines and protects shareholders’ investments.
Occupational risks for utility workers
Utility workers often face unique job-related threats to their safety and mental health. Utility-related infrastructure can be extremely dangerous, especially when damaged or malfunctioning.
Additionally, maintenance and repair tasks often require employees to work alone or in small groups in remote locations during severe weather. Without access to mobile-based critical communication tools, workers may be unable to contact 9-1-1 quickly in the event of an emergency.
Essential communication solutions for utility providers
Rave Mobile Safety helps utility providers (and corporations in all industries) protect their workers and serve their customers well during daily operations and crisis situations.
Mass notifications
Rave Alert allows utility companies to inform employees and customers of an emergency via multichannel messages that utilize voice, email social media, SMS text and digital signage. Our platform is simple and effective; users can be trained in under two hours, and sending a notification only requires three clicks.
Managers can use mass notifications to contact on-call workers, augment staff during a crisis and inform employees of planned events that require support. Customer-facing users can send mass notifications to local residents and businesses to provide details of planned outages and maintenance appointments. They can also send alerts during emergencies to inform consumers of an outage and provide critical safety information.
Emergency response
Communications are a critical component of emergency response as well. With our comprehensive platform, incident managers can store emergency plans and documentation securely online. Authorized users can access these resources from anywhere. Having easy access to emergency documentation also enables incident managers to effectively conduct live drills and tabletop exercises. Regularly running drills allows companies to test their emergency procedures and make changes so that everyone knows exactly what to do in a real-world crisis.
Incident collaboration
It’s crucial for utility workers to coordinate response procedures with local law enforcement, 9-1-1 dispatch and government officials. Our incident management platform simplifies collaboration by allowing authorized users to quickly share relevant information (e.g., egress routes, building floor plans and infrastructure blueprints) with 9-1-1 and first responders. Our system also includes automated task management functionality that minimizes errors, ensures that no steps are missed and reduces redundant efforts.
Support operations and protect employees with help from Rave Mobile Safety
Utility providers have a duty of care to protect their employees during emergencies and to maintain a safe work environment. That includes providing adequate protective equipment and safety training as well as giving their workers fast, reliable methods to contact 9-1-1 in an emergency. Managers must make sure that workers in remote locations can contact internal authorities and law enforcement if necessary.
They must also consider their customers and shareholders. Service disruptions and infrastructure malfunctions can cause widespread injuries to local residents and large-scale disruptions to businesses. A slow, ineffective emergency response can prolong outages, impacting profits and reputation.
By prioritizing communication, utility providers can mitigate many of the negative outcomes of emergency situations. They can send multichannel emergency alerts to employees and customers, informing them of outages and providing critical instructions. With two-way communication tools, managers can quickly request status updates from employees anywhere and contact on-call workers during a crisis. Utility providers can also utilize text, email and social media to inform customers of upcoming repairs, planned outages and changes to their service.
Rave Mobile Safety provides a range of communication solutions that can help utility companies better serve their customers and protect their employees. Our robust communications platform allows users to send mass notifications, assign and track emergency response tasks, collaborate with first responders and maintain two-way communication with employees. And with our personal safety apps, users can report potential risks and contact 9-1-1 from anywhere. To find out which Rave Mobile Safety products are right for your company, contact our team.
