Safety gadget for BPO staff on anvil

The shocking rape and murder of a Bangalore-based business process outsourcing (BPO) employee by the driver of her pick-up vehicle has brought women's safety issues to the fore.

From a complete overhaul of security systems to usage of better technology, BPO bosses are exploring all avenues to improve employee safety standards.

A Mumbai-based software company may just have the answer to these security concerns. Prashant Dwivedi and Pramod Sankpal, two young engineers at Mercury Infocom, have developed a product that can track the movement of vehicles that ferry employees to and from office.

The company, which makes and produces of electronic security systems, has developed a security system that uses both GSM and Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFIT) to track vehicles.

R P Mishra, CEO of Mercury Infocom, told Business Standard: "The product consists of two units "� a black box fitted in the vehicle and a keychain-like device to be carried by the employee. The employee will have to activate a security check before getting on to the vehicle before he can sit in the car,"

And in case of an emergency, the employee can raise an alarm that would halt the vehicle immediately and raise a hooter alarm immediately. It would also send SOS messages to the tracking device in the office, police and an ambulance and the owner of the security system.

The parties that received SOS messages can also call a phone installed in the vehicle to know the nature of the emergency. A unique feature of this product, Mishra claimed, is that the hooter would not stop blowing or the vehicle wouldn't restart unless a person in charge of the vehicle operations at the office gives the command to do so.

Explaining the reasons for using both the GSM and RFIT technologies Mishra said: "From our experience of mobile phone usage, one doesn't receive the same level quality of GSM signal every where."

"GSM signal fails in the basement of a building and car parking. To ensure that the technology works in the case of emergency we have equipped our product with the alternative technology."