Case Study: East of England Co-op appoints Safepoint to protect its lone worker delivery drivers
About The East of England Co-op
The East of England Co-op is the fourth largest consumer co-operative in the UK, with over 122 food stores across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. It also runs many other retail and high-street businesses including funeral services, petrol forecourts, travel, and security.
Providing lone worker safety for delivery drivers through COVID and beyond
Across 2020 and 2021, many retailers saw a huge increase in demand for delivery services due to the COVID-19 epidemic. In order to keep up with the new consumer demand for a contactless shopping experience, the East of England partnered with delivery app Snappy Shopper. This partnership meant that the chain of local co-operative stores could offer deliveries within 30 minutes, using their own delivery drivers.
With these new changes, the East of England Co-op wanted a way of keeping their staff safe when they were on the move. Delivery services come with many inherent risks; not only are drivers lone workers (so have lower levels of support and supervision), but also being on the road is a risk in itself (up to a third of all road traffic accidents involve someone who is at work at the time).
What’s more, retail workers have faced increased risk in the last year or so –not just from COVID, but also from higher rates of abuse, threats and even violence from customers.
The solution: lone worker apps, panic alarms and 24/7 monitoring
The East of England Co-op approached Safepoint about providing a comprehensive lone working solution that would help them monitor and protect their staff during deliveries. The solution needed to work in and out of vehicles, provide fall detection (man-down) functionality, and allow managers and supervisors to flexibly oversee their staff’s safety across the breadth of East Anglia.
Safepoint provided all of East of England Co-op’s delivery drivers with:
The Safepoint Alert Button –a wearable smart panic alarm that staff can wear on a lanyard or keys. Staff can request help manually with a single tap, or if the Button detects they’ve had a fall.
The Safepoint app –working in tandem with the Alert Button, the Safepoint app allows delivery staff to set up timed tasks. If the staff member doesn’t check in as safe within that time, an automatic alert is sent out.
The Safepont Web Portal –a powerful online dashboard where supervisors can see all their driver’s locations, task progress, and any emergency alerts. Supervisors can even see a what3words address for their delivery drivers. (What3words is a clever address system that creates unique 3-word addresses for every 3-metre square on earth –perfect for rural locations!)
Safepoint GuardianPlus –Safepoint GuardianPlus provides the East of England Co-op with 24/7 monitoring through a dedicated Alarm Receiving Centre. This BS8484-accredited team handles all alerts, day or night and, if anything were to happen to one of the delivery team, they are licensed to pass their safety data on to the emergency services.
After several months using Safepoint, the East of England Co-op are incredibly happy with their new system. The co-operative’s Head of Security, Lee Hammond had this to say:
“The technology Safepoint have in place is incredibly easy to use, which is important for our colleagues when they are out on the road. Allowing us to track the progress of our delivery drivers and respond swiftly to any calls for support, is a comfort to our colleagues as they carry out their vital role for our communities.”
In conclusion
Safepoint are very proud to be protecting the frontline workers of one of the UK’s biggest co-operatives. The East of England Co-op’s new delivery service is helping everyday people to socially distance, to self-isolate, and simply save time. As The East of England Co-op looks to expand its contactless services, we will continue to support them and keep their lone workers safe.
Safepoint’s CEO, Callum Coombes concludes:
“The convenience sector has really ramped up their online and delivery offerings as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. We know how important these services are for people, particularly when they are unable to leave their homes for essential items. We’re happy our technology can help play a part in keeping not only the delivery drivers safe, but the public too”.
Keeping lone workers safe in the retail sector
All sorts of businesses rely on Safepoint’s lone worker solutions and 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre to keep their staff protected and organised. Some retail organisations that use Safepoint include:
