Aboca S.p.A is an Italian healthcare company producing over 100 food supplements and medical remedies from organically farmed plants and medicinal herbs. They help with more than 60 health issues for people of all ages, with remedies sold in close to 20 countries.
The company’s field operations span almost 1700 hectares of land located throughout Umbria and Tuscany, where more than 60 species of plants and herbs are grown using sustainable techniques and cultivated by 150 workers.
The challenge
Improving communication reliability
Aboca places a high priority on the promotion of health and well-being throughout all facets of its business, including among its people. However, their unique, rural locations within which they engage in farming activities, made keeping their workers safe a significant challenge.
Aboca’s cultivation team is spread across vast farmlands, and many workers are often out of sight and sound for long periods during the day. With most areas having a very weak or patchy cellular signal, traditional forms of communication - such as manual check-ins by mobile phones were unreliable.
Lone worker personal monitoring solution
CSTA’s collaboration enabled our Health & Safety team to gain internal approval for the devices"
To address this safety risk, the company’s senior management was looking for a lone worker personal monitoring solution that they could rely on to provide a constant way to reach workers in the fields, which is critical should an accident, health, or other emergency event occur.
"We are using Blackline G7 devices to improve our lone worker safety. CSTA’s collaboration enabled our Health & Safety team to gain internal approval for the devices, and our workers have already expressed feeling safer," said Luca Tavini, Health & SafetySenior Specialist, Aboca S.p.A.
The solution
Providing layers of protection with advanced capabilities
Aboca approached Blackline Safety distributor CSTA for a solution to fit their needs. CSTA recommended the Blackline G7 Lone Worker monitoring device due to its robust communication capabilities even in areas with very poor cellular signal.
The manual SOS latch is easy to operate by workers and generates an instant visible and audible alarm with an associated GPS location to easily locate a person in distress.
No-motion and fall detection sensors
Alarms are shown on the cloud-hosted Blackline Live portal, which displays real-time alerts
In addition, the built-in no-motion and fall detection sensors will send an alert to monitoring personnel when the worker isn’t able to.
Alarms are shown on the cloud-hosted Blackline Live portal, which displays real-time alerts and accurate location information to ensure an immediate response, regardless of the type of landscape.
G7 Lone Worker
G7 Lone Worker can also be configured for time-based alerts and will communicate with monitoring personnel if check-in is not received from the worker using the device at the allotted time. Its various capabilities add essential layers of safety for workers in isolated locations.
Said Martina Gonella, CSTA’s representative for Blackline Safety Solutions, “CSTA helped Aboca to evaluate the solution over a two-week period, during which we proved the efficiency and strength of the G7 devices. We also provided a consulting service ensuring Aboca’s workers all knew how to use the devices and trained the company on how to set up and use the Blackline Live web portal.”
The results
Lone worker solution increases safety and improves worker confidence
Aboca has introduced a dedicated Lone Worker procedure with an improved risk assessment protocol and training regime
As a result of the G7 implementation, Aboca has introduced a dedicated Lone Worker procedure with an improved risk assessment protocol and training regime for those issued with G7 devices.
Feedback from those using the solution has been positive, with workers reporting that the chosen devices are easy to use.
Commitment to worker safety
In addition, and most importantly, workers declared that they have felt safer and have more confidence since the adoption of G7 Lone Worker to protect them while working remotely across large swathes of land.
In a carefully regulated industry, Aboca was also pleased to receive support from both worker unions and Local Control Authorities regarding the introduction of the Blackline G7 Lone Worker solution, as a proof point of their commitment to worker safety.
