20 Oct 2023

Blackline Safety’s lone worker solutions helped CEMEX - a global cement and concrete supplier - implement more effective safety measures for their night drivers.

Challenge

Total reliance on worker agency for check-ins CEMEX is a pioneer in building solutions, with worksites all over the world, some of them in isolated locations, some of them empty. 

In some instances, reaching these sites required employees to travel lengthy distances alone and at night. With their previous safety guidelines, workers would make a call to their supervisor to confirm they’d arrived safely. 

Hidden hazards surrounding

Unfortunately, a worker becoming injured would prevent this safety check-in from happening. The numerous hidden hazards surrounding these lone drivers presented CEMEX with a serious issue: how would the company know to send help – or where to - if the employee couldn’t complete a check-in?

Finding a safety solution which would automatically alert monitoring personnel in the event of an emergency became a necessity for CEMEX, as the call-in system provided no recourse if the worker was unresponsive.

The numerous hidden hazards surrounding these lone drivers presented CEMEX with a serious issue

CEMEX have benefitted from having that peace of mind both for the management side and the drivers. We’ve got this system in place now, allowing us that level of comfort when people are working alone on sites. If there is a situation, within seconds we can see exactly where you are,” Barrie A. Flitton Operations Manager, Logistics CEMEX.

Driving long distances

The Blackline solution - Devices that respond even if the worker can’t CEMEX decided to upgrade from the 50 Loner SMD devices they had been using at three sites to 70 G7c devices. The new G7c devices, which feature cloud-connected safety software as well as automated fall and no-motion detection, offered CEMEX a solution to their dilemma.

Equipping all lone workers driving long distances at night with these devices, CEMEX was able to deploy a more reliable and thorough safety system. If workers become unconscious or incapable of sending messages for any reason, the automated alerts on G7s can take control of the situation and alert live monitoring personnel of the user’s predicament so they can respond. 

It’s an extra insurance policy and gives workers and company confidence that the job can get done safely. Dave, one of CEMEX’s night-time drivers, said “I have worked nights for a few years now delivering to quarries and unmanned sites in the dark and I used to worry about my safety at times. For the last year we have been using Blackline G7 and I feel so much safer now; I don’t need to rely on someone to remember where I am.”

Personal safety device

The results - Dependable communication under any circumstances Equipped with a personal safety device, CEMEX employees can rest assured that if they encounter a situation, help can be sent anytime and anywhere.

Even if the employee in peril is in no position to act, they can be confident that their G7c will relay the necessary information to monitoring personnel - making it possible for a rapid resolution of the issue. Transporting materials alone and at night is just one workplace situation that presents potential risk for workers.

Blackline Safety’s connected solutions ensure that CEMEX’s scenario- and others like it- can be recognized, assessed, and responded to with unmatched efficiency, preserving the safety of the company’s employees.