CEA & Eiffage Energy Systems - Lone Worker Protection

Context & safety challenges

In critical industrial environments, certain operators are required to work alone, often in technical buildings, industrial zones or confined areas where risks are significantly higher than in standard operational settings. These risks are linked to industrial equipment, environmental constraints, and the physical isolation of workers, which can delay assistance in the event of an incident.

In such contexts, ensuring worker safety is not only an operational concern but also a regulatory and governance requirement, particularly on sensitive or restricted-access sites. The challenge is to provide continuous visibility and rapid alerting capabilities without relying on public cloud services, while maintaining full control over data and infrastructure.

The objective was to deploy a robust lone worker protection solution, capable of operating reliably in complex indoor environments and aligned with the strict security constraints of industrial sites.

Project scope

The deployment is designed to protect isolated workers operating in sensitive industrial environments and includes:

  • Staff tracking based on smartphones, avoiding dedicated wearable devices

  • Coverage of complex indoor environments, including technical buildings and industrial zones

  • Operation on a closed network, with no dependency on public cloud infrastructure

  • Deployment on restricted-access sites, subject to strict security and data governance rules

This scope ensures that safety services can be delivered without compromising operational or cybersecurity constraints.

Solution deployed

Pole Star delivers a smartphone-based lone worker protection solution combining real-time indoor localization with advanced alerting capabilities. Workers are located continuously as they move through technical and industrial environments, enabling security teams to maintain real-time visibility even in complex building layouts.

In case of danger, alerts can be triggered through multiple mechanisms:

  • Manual alert activation via a button

  • Immobility detection, identifying abnormal inactivity

  • Fall detection (man down), signaling potential accidents

All alerts are geolocated and transmitted instantly to centralized supervision interfaces, enabling rapid assessment and intervention.

Pole Star architecture & solutions

The solution relies on a secure, industrial-grade architecture:

  • NAO® Mobile SDK for smartphone-based localization

  • NAO® Map SDK for integrated indoor cartography

  • NAO® BlueSpot beacons providing BLE infrastructure in complex indoor areas

  • A fully on-premise deployment operating on a closed network

  • Integration with WaryMe for alert management and escalation

This architecture guarantees data sovereignty, low latency, and high reliability in sensitive industrial environments.

Operational capabilities

The deployment enables:

  • Continuous real-time tracking of isolated workers

  • Geolocated alerts triggered by button press, immobility or fall detection

  • Indoor and near-outdoor localization around complex industrial buildings

  • Centralized supervision dashboards for safety teams

  • Full event and alert history, supporting audits and compliance requirements

These capabilities ensure that no worker remains invisible, even in the most constrained environments.

Operational Benefits

The solution delivers clear and measurable benefits:

  • Significantly improved safety for isolated workers

  • Reduced reaction times in case of incident

  • Compliance with industrial and regulatory constraints, including data governance

  • A robust and scalable solution, adapted to critical and high-security environments

Partners

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