Watching the news that was streaming in the background as he worked, Kenny Kelley, CEO of Silent Beacon, had this recurring thought. Why were people who were in serious accidents, and had cellphones on them, unable to call for help?
He found the answer to that question when he was in a motorcycle accident, had his cellphone on him, and was not physically able to make a call.
That became the impetus for him to create his company, Silent Beacon. The company manufactures a wearable panic button that is connected, via Bluetooth, to a safety app.
A construction worker, injured on the job, can speak through an emergency button to activate a system that dials preprogrammed numbers. Those numbers could include a direct call to 911 while simultaneously sending emergency alert notifications, with GPS location, to colleagues and family members.
“Having the ability to contact emergency services, in real-time, so that an injured person can be found instantly, can really improve safety outcomes,” explains Kelley. “This system can alert everyone who can possibly get to you. They will know exactly where you are.
“For people working in dangerous jobs, or those lone workers, the ability to contact emergency services when unable to use a cellphone makes them feel safe when they’re on the job,” Kelley adds.
Technology Moves Faster than Regulations
Building an app that solves a major safety issue provides an important advantage. “While companies need safety mandates and regulations, it takes a long time to create them," explains Kelley. "A tech company can create a solution much faster."
In terms of regulations in this area, currently seven states have mandated panic buttons in various forms and 18 states have bills pending.
While those regulations move forward, technology is moving even faster. Kelly gives the example that during the process of devising this tech solution and wanting to help emergency personnel find injured workers, he used geofencing. “Using that technology, we didn’t have to go through two years of R&D or wait for legislation. And we are able to continually update the technology based on the needs of our customers to improve safety features."
The evolution of physical technology also plays a part in the faster adoption of these safety measures. “Wearing something small on your wrist, instead of having to wear some big clunky thing around your neck, is just more appealing to the workforce,” explains Kelley. The panic button can be worn as a wristband or a small device attached to clothing.
A small, discreet device also offers safety advantages for workers in various industries. The name of the company, Silent Beacon, reflects the ability to reach emergency services in situations where silence is important. There is a mode on the device that silences the Beacon, which ensures that people around an employee don’t know that a call for help has been placed. This would be especially useful for those in the retail industry.
As there are many situations, across industries, where employees may feel unsafe, the application also features a feature called Pro Footsteps, which can connect to a monitoring center that stays on the phone until the alert is resolved.
Continuing to develop capabilities is how Kelley feels his company will be able to expand safety for workers. “We add features as companies let us know their specific concerns,” he says.
And Kelley believes that everyone should benefit from any lessons learned. Companies using this product have dashboards that enable them to see trends and therefore improve safety. And Kelley requests the ability to share their data with other customers.
Sharing safety protocols to help others manage emergency situations is, after all, why Kelley created his business in the first place.
