Lone Worker Leverages Iridium Satellite Communicator to Activate Emergency SOS and Notify Team During a Life-Threatening Emergency 

The Challenge

Lone workers are essential in many industries, and assignments often require individuals to work in remote areas outside of cellular service. To ensure employees’ safety, companies must be able to communicate with lone workers even when cellular communications are not accessible. Innovative companies connect and protect their most valuable assets, their people.

Incident

An employee of a large international forestry company was critically injured while working alone, outside cellular coverage in an extremely rugged and remote area in Canada.

Experience

Here is Joe’s story:

Joe was 100 miles into the wilderness down an old unkempt forestry road when he stopped to deploy his quad all-terrain vehicle. As a lone worker scouting the land for reforestation efforts, he drove another 5 miles deeper into the wilderness when his ATV rolled over, pinning his leg between the vehicle and a fallen tree. Remote and alone, Joe’s life was on the line.

Fortunately, Joe worked for a proactive company that had deployed the EVERYWHERE Communications solution. Joe pushed the SOS on his Garmin inReach, which sent the distress signal to the International Emergency Response Coordination Center, his employer, and his teammates. Rescue efforts began immediately. The forestry administrator sent paramedics on a private helicopter, and the IERCC notified the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who deployed search and rescue.

Utilizing the EVERYWHERE Multi-Channel SOS allowed Joe’s field colleagues to coordinate and support the rescue efforts. They used the EVERYWHERE App on their smartphones, paired with their own Garmin inReach devices, to communicate with one another. The EVERYWHERE Hub reported Joe's exact GPS location, which streamlined and expedited the rescue effort.

Situational awareness proved invaluable to all involved when Joe messaged, “Uncontrolled shakes sign of shock”. As the automatic location tracking updated the whereabouts of team members, the IERCC and Joe’s rescue team watched the EVERYWHERE Hub as the dots on the map converged on Joe. Rescue coordinators were able to confidently assure Joe that a coworker was approaching on foot. His teammates' arrival brought immediate comfort to Joe and everyone else involved in the rescue effort. No longer alone, the camaraderie and support enabled Joe to breathe more easily, knowing he would soon be rescued.

During the 2 hours it took for the first helicopter to arrive, other teammates arrived on the scene and started coordinating efforts to get Joe out. In the rugged wilderness, the medivac was able to locate an accessible clearing and land 200 yards away from Joe. It took ten people 30 minutes to carry Joe through the rugged terrain to the helicopter, where his journey to recovery began.

 “It was never a question if the system worked or not. It just worked. We never worried about the tool we were using.”

After the ordeal, the rescue coordinator for the forestry company proclaimed, “It was never a question if the system worked or not. It just worked. We never worried about the tool we were using.” EVERYWHERE Communications’ best-in-class technology exceeded his expectations and will continue to serve as the gold standard in lone worker.