Man-down detection, lone-worker check-in, gas exposure, plant proximity and fitness for duty are all solvable with sensing that has existed for years. What defeats these deployments is a false-alarm rate that exhausts the response team, and a device uncomfortable enough that it is left behind — at which point the system protects nobody.
Every one of these has to reach a person who can act, within a time that still matters.
| Signal | How | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Fall and man-down | Accelerometer with orientation and immobility detection | Escalation when a worker is motionless after an impact, with a cancel window |
| Lone worker check-in | Timed acknowledgement on the device | A missed check-in escalates without the worker having to raise an alarm |
| Gas exposure | Personal monitor for the hazards actually present on that site | Individual exposure recorded, not just area alarms |
| Plant proximity | Ultra-wideband ranging between worker tags and vehicles | Warning in the cab and on the person before a pedestrian-vehicle contact |
| Heat stress | Ambient temperature, humidity and work rate | Rest cycles driven by conditions rather than by a fixed schedule |
| Fitness for duty | Connected breathalyser at the point of sign-on | A screening result recorded against a shift, tamper-resistant and time-stamped |
The sensing is the solved part. These are what determine whether the deployment is still running in year three.
A man-down alert that fires when someone sits down abruptly will be ignored within two weeks. Thresholds are tuned against observed work patterns per role, with a cancel window on the device, and a deliberately quiet commissioning period.
Weight, mounting point, strap material, heat under PPE and charging routine determine whether it is worn. This is a wearability problem before it is an electronics problem, and it is the most common reason a pilot does not scale.
A connected breathalyser suitable for fitness-for-duty screening is not the same instrument as an evidential one, and sensors drift and require scheduled calibration. Recent oral alcohol also produces a transient false high. Stating the distinction at specification prevents a result being relied on for a purpose it cannot support.
Basements, tanks, steel structures and remote sites are where lone workers are most at risk and where radio is worst. Mesh, store-and-forward and satellite escalation are chosen per site, and surveyed rather than assumed.
Worker location data carries industrial-relations and privacy weight that a pallet tag does not. Scope, retention, access and purpose are agreed with the workforce before deployment, and the system is built to that agreement rather than adjusted afterwards.
Many of the sites that need this most are hazardous areas. Intrinsic safety certification is established at scoping, because it constrains battery, enclosure and radio choice simultaneously.
Sectors where a single incident changes the economics entirely.
Man-down, proximity to plant, gas exposure and heat stress, escalated to a control room or supervisor who can respond.
Sensing, low-power firmware, radio, battery and enclosure engineering for wearable devices, including the certification path.
Screening at sign-on with a tamper-resistant, time-stamped record, for fleets, plant operations and safety-critical roles.
Check-in, escalation and location for people working alone, including where coverage is poor or absent.
By tuning thresholds against observed work patterns for each role rather than using a generic profile, providing a cancel window on the device, and running a deliberately quiet commissioning period. A false-alarm rate the response team cannot sustain is the most common reason these systems are abandoned.
No. Screening devices and evidential instruments are different classes. Sensors drift and need scheduled calibration, and recent oral alcohol produces a transient false high. The distinction is stated at specification so a result is not relied on for a purpose it cannot support.
Weight, mounting point, strap material, heat under existing PPE and how it charges. It is a wearability problem before it is an electronics problem, and it is the usual reason a pilot does not scale.
Scope, retention, access and purpose are agreed with the workforce before deployment. Monitoring people carries weight that monitoring assets does not, and the system is built to that agreement rather than adjusted after an objection.
The same location stack for equipment.
PRODUCTSub-metre proximity.
SOLUTIONTaking a wearable to manufacture.
AIFatigue and distraction in the cab.
INDUSTRYSector context.
PRODUCTEscalation beyond coverage.
Tell us the specification, the constraint and the deadline. Programmes that cross silicon, radio, embedded and AI are where Faststream is strongest.