Frequently asked questions
What is the Skyguard Service?
The Skyguard Service is the UK's first complete personal safety service combining:
- a personal safety alarm incorporating GPS precise location and mobile phone technology for two way communication
- 24/7 emergency response centre to assess and manage all alarm activations, and
- Full response service, either from the emergency services, the Skyguard National Response Service or other contacts designated by you.
How does the personal safety alarm work?
Skyguard's personal safety alarm is easily activated by pressing two buttons, one either side of the unit, for two seconds only. Activating the alarm sends your identity and geographic position to our dedicated emergency response centre as well as opening a 2 way communication channel.
What is the Skyguard Emergency Response Centre?
The Skyguard Emergency Response Centre is a 24/7 national monitoring centre, operating to appropriate British Standards and dedicated to receiving alarms from the Skyguard 500 and other personal safety units. This service is provided in partnership with Legion Group Plc, one of the UK's most respected security specialists.
How many Controllers are on duty at any one time?
The number of Controllers on duty at the Emergency Response Centre at any one time is calculated statistically to ensure that there are no delays in dealing with an emergency. The monitoring system is fully scaleable and the number of Controllers is increased in line with user volumes.
Is a response guaranteed?
Activation of Skyguard's personal safety alarm will connect the employee through to a professional Controller at the Skyguard Emergency Response Centre. The Controller will listen to the incident and, as long as the employee is not at any personal risk, will talk to him/her. If appropriate, the ERC will notify the emergency services but cannot guarantee that they will be in a position to respond. Skyguard will inform them of all the facts and urgency of the situation.
However Skyguard recognises the importance to both employers and employees of a response and have established a partnership with national keyholding and alarm response provider, Nikaro, to provide the Skyguard National Response Service, who can come to your employees help if no-one else can.
In addition, you can tailor the response to your individual company needs through providing specific company contacts if an alarm is activated from one of your employees.What is the Skyguard National Response Service?
The Skyguard National Response Service provides an alternative response if for any reason the normal emergency services cannot respond, or it is inappropriate for them to do so, and no other response from work colleagues, friends or family is available.
Over 800 staff can respond nationwide to your employee's situation. This service has been in existence for over 10 years and is formed by Nikaro Ltd from 200 security companies, all of which are Government approved and licensed through the Security Industry Authority. Drivers are security screened, uniformed, in liveried vehicles and in possession of identity cards. They have been trained in aggression control and communications. There is an additional charge for this service.
How much does the Skyguard Service cost?
We can provide a range of pricing and payment options including leasing. Prices also depend on the size of the order and your specific requirements. Please contact us for a specific quote.
Can just one unit be purchased?
If you only require a single unit, please use this link to connect you to the Send4Help website, where individual units can be purchased online. For all other enquiries, please contact our sales team on 012528 999 70 or email info@skyguardgroup.com
What are the benefits of the Skyguard Service?
Skyguard's personal safety alarm - Skyguard 500 - provides you and your employees with peace of mind; if they get into trouble, through illness, accident, violence, injury or abuse, they can call for help and speak to a professional Controller who has the information and capability to assist them in an emergency situation.
How will the Skyguard Service help my employees in their job?
The Skyguard Service is designed for those who have to work away from their employer's location and therefore away from colleagues who could come to their help if they get into difficulty. Such jobs may involve a degree of risk from hazardous situations such as violence, accident, injury or abuse. In such circumstances, knowing your employees can call for help at any time will give you and your employee's greater peace of mind and therefore reduce stress and anxiety levels.
Can the Skyguard Service help my employees if they suffer from a medical condition?
The Skyguard Service is also relevant if your employees suffer, for example, from diabetes, a heart condition or an allergy, which could be critical information for paramedics in the event of an accident or escalation of the medical condition, and may also help the Controller in assessing an alarm situation. Such information should be included when the employee's personal details are registered on the Customer Control Panel. All the information supplied is treated as strictly confidential.
What is the Skyguard Customer Control Panel?
As part of the Skyguard Service, your designated company administrator will be able to securely enter a description about your employee(s), or individual employees can enter details about themselves, along with any important medical/lifestyle details onto the Skyguard system. In an emergency situation the Controller at the Emergency Response Centre (ERC) will be able to use this information to discreetly, quickly and effectively assist the employee, therefore it is important that as much useful personal information as possible is entered and kept up to date.
On receiving an alarm activation, the ERC Controller has automatic access to the personal information provided on registration and any updates made.
How are personal details kept up to date?
The Customer Control Panel allows your designated company administrator or individual employees to easily enter personal details and amend them at any time to ensure they are kept up to date. Security of access is provided through individual usernames and passwords.
How is the alarm activated on Skyguard's personal safety alarm?
The alarm is activated by pressing two buttons, one on either side of the unit for two seconds. This will connect you to the Skyguard Emergency Response Centre.
What happens if Skyguard's personal safety alarm is activated by mistake?
We appreciate that this may happen as a genuine mistake, although it is very unlikely. Once connected to the Skyguard Emergency Response Centre, the Controller's first task is to determine whether the alarm is false or genuine. If the alarm has been accidentally activated the employee can tell the Controller over the 2-way audio link. The Controller will ask some personal questions to confirm the identity of the employee.
Can Skyguard's personal safety alarm be used like a mobile phone?
Skyguard's personal safety alarm is a purpose designed personal safety alarm but it does have mobile phone technology to enable two way communications with the Skyguard Emergency Response Centre and up to three preprogrammable speed dial numbers. The personal safety alarm is dependent on battery power to function effectively when it is needed and may require more frequent charging if the mobile phone functions are often used. This can be done with the standard mains charger or with the optional car charger.
How often does Skyguard's personal safety alarm need to be charged?
Skyguard's personal safety alarm has sufficient battery life for at least 14 hours to provide the personal safety and security cover your employees should need at any one time. However, we strongly advise that the personal safety alarm is charged daily so that it can function effectively in an emergency.
How should Skyguard's personal safety alarm be carried?
We recommend that the personal safety alarm is always carried discreetly and attached to the employee. If it is in a handbag or briefcase, it may be separated from the employee or there may not be time to get to it in an emergency.
Three different lanyard lengths are included with Skyguard's personal safety alarm, which can be hung around the neck of the employee, inside a jacket or shirt or on a short lanyard, which can be attached to a belt or placed in a pocket. An optional holster with belt clip is also available.
How does the employee know the ERC Controller is listening when the alarm is set off?
About 30 seconds after Skyguard's personal safety alarm is activated, a soft 'beep' will be heard, which indicates that the Controller at the Skyguard Emergency Response Centre (ERC) is listening.
As an employer, will I be able to track my employees when they carry Skyguard's personal safety alarm?
Skyguard take the provisions of the Data Protection and Human Rights Acts very seriously and will not pass on information relating to an employees' location to you, their employer, unless this has previously been agreed to.
No-one will know where the employee is until either he/she activates the unit in an emergency (when their location is sent to the Skyguard Emergency Response Centre) or the police request us to inform them following a missing person report.
Who will the Skyguard Emergency Response Centre contact if the alarm is activated?
Information gathered from the incident and individual pre-agreed 'escalation' instructions will determine who is contacted when the alarm is activated. The Controller at the Emergency Response Centre will initially listen to the incident to ensure the safety of the employee. If it is clear from the voice call that he/she is under threat, say from violence, the Controller will immediately contact the emergency services. In addition, they can contact designated individuals, such as work colleagues or family or friends that were specified via the Customer Control Panel.
How do I know that private individual employee information will remain confidential?
Skyguard takes information security very seriously. Through the Customer Control Panel your company administrator or individual employee is in control of the personal information provided, which is protected by password and username. All personal information is protected by advanced firewalls and stored in such a way that Controllers have no access until an alarm is activated. This information is not made available to third parties.
All Controllers at the Skyguard Emergency Response Centre are security screened to British Standard 7858 as well as being checked against the Police National Computer.
What is GPS?
GPS stands for Global Positioning Systems. It is a network of 24 satellites launched and operated by the United States Department of Defence with the primary purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of US and allied military forces.
How does GPS work?
Each GPS Receiver measures the distance from each 'visible' satellite by comparing the timestamps of the received signals against a master clock signal. The satellite positions are known, so the time it takes for the signal to travel to the receiver allows your exact position to be determined.
Initially the receiver knows its distance from one satellite. Imagine a sphere; the receiver could be anywhere on that sphere.
As soon as a second satellite is available, the receiver will know it is within the overlap of the two spheres, and an approximate position is obtained.
When signals are received from three or more satellites, the receiver has a very accurate position (the small triangle in the centre of the intersection).
Why does Skyguard use GPS for accurate location?
GPS enables extremely accurate positioning anywhere on Earth and is therefore the ultimate technology for personal safety alarms. This information can be provided to the emergency services to enable them to quickly respond to a situation. GPS is capable of locating your employee's position to within 10 metres.
What happens if the employee is unable to get a GPS fix?
If your employee is unable to get a GPS fix, Skyguard's personal safety alarm will remember its last position. We recommend that the unit is taken outside each day for a few minutes to allow it to get a good GPS fix, ensuring it is available for use at any time.
Why would my employees use Skyguard's personal safety alarm rather than a mobile phone?
Mobile phones are designed primarily for communications and not for personal safety. This means they do not accurately know where they are. Skyguard's personal safety alarm is specifically devised as a personal safety alarm and therefore knows exactly where it is and can communicate that position, together with the employee's individual identity, to the Skyguard purpose-designed monitoring centre. The emergency services are more likely to respond to an incident if they receive a verified alarm to a precise position. Through the use of GPS technology, Skyguard's personal safety alarm can provide a precise location to within 10 metres.
When faced with an aggressor, it is not easy for an employee to call for help on a mobile phone without raising awareness of their actions and in such situations they could be increasing the risk to themselves.
Mobile phones are not always easy to access as they are often carried in a bag or pocket. It is important that any safety product is easily accessible – if an employee can't get to it, they won't be able to protect themselves, which is why Skyguard's personal safety alarm comes with a range of attachments to ensure it is always carried on the employee.
What is GSM?
GSM stands for General System Mobile and is the technology that underpins most of the world's cellphone networks. It is essentially a very small digital radio receiver/transmitter. GSM devices such as mobile phones and personal safety units require a SIM card that enables connection to a particular network providers system.
Is GSM an international standard?
GSM is an international standard but some countries use different radio frequencies; the most common being 900/1800 – usually referred to as dual band – which is used by all countries except the United States and Japan. The US uses 850/1900; many phones are designed to work across all 4 frequencies and are referred to as quad band. Japan has a system of their own, called Imode.
What does the SIM card do?
The SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module) enables the SkyMinder to connect to a specific GSM mobile phone network. It identifies the user in terms of who pays the bill for calls made. Skyguard generally use O2 as our SIM card provider because they offer the best coverage in the UK, however other networks can be used. In addition we can provide roaming SIMs which will work across all networks and pick up the best available signal.
