New Personal Emergency Signal Solution from Spectralink and tetronik receives certification from German DGUV

: 09 September 2019

Spectralink, the global leader in enterprise mobility solutions, and tetronik GmbH announced July 16th that the jointly created personal emergency signal solution (Personen-Notsignal-Anlage – PNA) has received DGUV certification from Germany’s Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung. Complying with all requirements of the German DGUV Rule 112-139 (formerly BGR 139), the DAKS-PNA P8SL solution offers a new, failsafe solution to protect lone workers. This is particularly important in high-risk surroundings such as petrochemical plants, high-voltage environments, heavy machinery, logistics and psychiatric clinical units.

The Personal Security solution from tetronik and Spectralink is certified by the German DGUV and unique within the market

Occupational health and safety is fiercely regulated in Germany and must be at the forefront of businesses’ agendas, especially when operating with lone workers. The DAKS-PNA P8SL solution was created combining leading alarm server technology from tetronik with Spectralink’s renowned DECT handsets, to create a secure and DGUV-compliant personal security system. The solution not only protects lone workers, but helps businesses ensure they meet their legal duty of care requirement towards their employees.

Personal emergency signal devices are required to trigger and transmit alarm signals (deliberate and automatic) when a lone worker gets into trouble

Part of the personal emergency signal solution are the body-worn personal emergency signal devices with voice facility (PNG-S), which are used together with DAKS as a personal emergency signal reception center (PNEZ). This is where the Spectralink DECT solutions offer best-in-class functionality as they have the ability to triangulate between DECT base stations as well as DECT-over-IP base stations within a DECT infrastructure. In this way, the particular location of a lone worker can be determined via the various distributed base stations.

With its performance features, the tetronik/Spectralink solution monitors and reports its activation at all times and is able to trigger an alarm at any given time

Once a device has been removed from its charger, it will autonomously send a message back to DAKS, confirming the activation of the PNA. The self-testing function will run on the device to check basic functions such as sensory technology and the emergency call button. Subsequently, a message is displayed in the personal emergency signal reception center as well as on the device showing PNA mode has been launched and the device is being monitored. If the device detects a lack of movement, or specific movements such as the device being held at a horizontal angle, an automatic call and an acoustic positioning tone is activated after an initial pre-alarm; the criticality of this function is significant – if a lone worker is unable to move and handle the handset, the automatic call provides immediate remote help.

To put employers’ minds at ease when deploying lone workers with the DAKS-PNA P8SL solution in hazardous environments, a PIN code is required to mute the alarm – all in-built precautionary measures to ensure that the safety of the device is not unknowingly compromised.

The solution also provides constant monitoring of connection. If the PNA solution fails to receive a signal from the handset an alarm is automatically triggered, and a loss of connection will be displayed on the handset warning the worker that they are no longer being monitored and are at heightened risk.

Martin Praest, Business Development Director at Spectralink, comments: "It is advisable to not only comply with occupational health standards but to exceed them where possible. When operating in hazardous environments with heavy machinery, powerplants, chemical solutions – any high-risk facility – it is vital these workers be monitored and get help as soon as a difficult situation arises. For this reason, we are delighted to have had the opportunity to work with tetronik to develop a solution with features meeting the stringent requirements of the DGUV certification to ultimately put the safety of lone workers at an all-time high."

Alfred Faustmann at tetronik, also comments: "Combining our expertise and specialist knowledge in the deployment and operation of personal emergency signal solutions with Spectralink’s enterprise mobility capabilities, we have engineered the DAKS-PNA P8SL solution that not only provides reassurance and comfort to the lone worker, but in fact turns a high-risk environment into a safety-managed one, allowing businesses to meet their duty of care requirements."

See product page DAKS-PNA P8SL