Why GPS Tracking Matters In Lone Worker Safety - And How My Safety Buddy Gives You Control

Why GPS Tracking Matters In Lone Worker Safety – And How My Safety Buddy Gives You Control

Acknowledging Worker Concerns About Privacy

When organisations introduce digital tools like My Safety Buddy, some staff may raise concerns regarding privacy. Some workers feel uncomfortable about being “watched” or tracked. Others worry that their manager might use location information to monitor their late arrivals or early departures from service appointments and so on.

These fears are understandable. For years, many roles were built on trust without technological oversight. But as workplaces change and legal expectations around safety grow, employers need to manage a new reality: safety and privacy are sometimes in tension.

The good news is, organisations don’t have to dismiss these concerns. With My Safety Buddy they can acknowledge worker anxieties while still fulfilling their duty of care.

The Legal Principle: Safety Trumps Privacy

Australian case law and regulatory decisions have consistently held that an employer’s duty of care outweighs privacy concerns when worker safety is at stake and harm is foreseeable.

Courts / regulators expect employers to take steps that are “reasonably practicable” to ensure safety. If GPS location tracking is a tool that can reduce risk or reduce the time for an emergency response, then not using GPS location tracking may weaken an organisation’s ability to satisfy what is “reasonably practicable.”

This still needs to be balanced with privacy laws (the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles) which allow for collection, use, or disclosure of personal or sensitive information for workplace safety, but are subject to limits around necessity, consent (or implied consent), proportionality and transparency.

The message is clear: employers cannot hide behind privacy to avoid implementing safety protections. If a worker is seriously injured and first responders take an extra 30 minutes because they didn’t have accurate location data, the employer and its managers may face liability.

The Complexity of Lone Worker Safety

Lone worker safety is not a simple challenge. Risks include:

  • Medical emergencies such as heart attacks or severe allergic reactions.
  • Accidents from slips and trips to motor vehicle incidents.
  • Occupational Violence And Aggression (OVA) from clients, customers, patients, or members of the public.

When something goes wrong, knowing the worker’s location is critical. A delay in reaching someone who is injured, unconscious, or under threat can be the difference between life and death.

In this context, privacy concerns are real, but they cannot outweigh the priority of safety.

My Safety Buddy’s Three GPS Tracking Options

To balance safety with flexibility, My Safety Buddy offers three configuration options for GPS tracking:

Option 1 (Recommended):

  • Administrators can see the worker’s real-time GPS location at any time via the dashboard map.
  • Emergency Contacts and Administrators see the worker’s GPS location whenever an alarm is activated.

 Option 2:

  • Administrators cannot see the worker’s GPS location via the dashboard map.
  • The worker’s real-time GPS location is only shared with Emergency Contacts and Administrators when an alarm is activated.

Option 3:

  • Administrators cannot see the worker’s GPS location via the dashboard map.
  • Emergency Contacts and Administrators do not see the worker’s GPS location even when an alarm has been activated – they only know that an alarm has been activated.

This flexibility means organisations can select the level of visibility that best fits their workforce culture and operational environment.

Why My Safety Buddy Recommends Option 1

While flexibility is valuable, Option 1 is the safest and most legally defensible configuration.

  • Faster response times. First responders can reach workers quickly and accurately when GPS data is available.
  • Regulatory compliance. Demonstrates that the organisation did everything “reasonably practicable” to meet OHS and Duty of Care obligations.
  • Reduced liability. Protects managers and organisations from claims that inadequate monitoring contributed to harm.

Without real-time GPS location visibility, organisations risk unnecessary delays when responding to emergencies. Regulators may ask why location information was intentionally withheld when lives were at risk.

Customisable for Organisational Needs

Not every workforce is the same. Some industries face greater resistance to perceived “surveillance” while others prioritise operational efficiency. That’s why My Safety Buddy is highly configurable:

  • Organisations can choose the GPS location setting that aligns with their workforce culture.
  • My Safety Buddy allows gradual adoption where some teams may start with Option 2 and later move to Option 1 as trust builds.

This flexibility empowers organisations to meet their workforce where they are, without compromising the fundamental goal of safety.

Worker Protections: My Safety Buddy Is Not ‘Always Watching’

Another important point to clarify is that My Safety Buddy does not monitor workers outside of work hours.

  • My Safety Buddy can only see the GPS location of a user while they are logged into the app.
  • Staff are encouraged to log in at the start of their work day and log out at the end. This ensures no intrusion into private life, weekends, or personal activities.

By making this clear, organisations can reassure staff that My Safety Buddy is a safety tool.

The Takeaway: Safety First, With Flexibility

The reality is that the safest choice is full GPS location tracking (Option 1). It ensures the quickest emergency response and provides the strongest compliance protection for employers.

But My Safety Buddy recognises that privacy concerns cannot be ignored. That’s why it empowers organisations with three configuration options giving them the flexibility to choose the approach that works best for their culture.

The message is simple: safety comes first, but My Safety Buddy lets you decide how to balance it with privacy.

 

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Travis Holland

Travis Holland
CEO
My Safety Buddy

Should you wish to discuss strategies to improve your staff’s safety in their work environment, please feel welcome to contact My Safety Buddy.

Passionate about creating safer workplaces our goal is to enhance wellbeing for all concerned whilst also delivering improved operational and financial performance.

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