Why Travel Tracking Is Central to Duty of Care
Why Travel Tracking Is Central to Duty of Care
Operating in fragile, conflict-affected or politically unstable environments including parts of Lebanon and Syria, carries inherent risk. For organisations deploying staff into these contexts, knowing where people are, what risks they face, and how to reach them immediately is no longer optional, it is a core duty-of-care requirement. Yet travel tracking is still too often treated as an administrative task rather than a live risk management function. In complex operating environments, that distinction matters.
From Travel Administration to Live Risk Management
Traditional approaches to tracking staff movement typically rely on:
static travel approvals
itineraries and spreadsheets
periodic check-ins
generic travel advisories
These methods may satisfy internal processes, but they do not provide real-time situational awareness. When incidents occur, whether security-related, medical, environmental or political, immediate questions arise. Without live tracking and two-way communication, organisations are forced to respond with partial information, increasing both risk and response time.
Visibility Is the Foundation of Duty of Care
Effective travel tracking provides a continuously updated picture of:
personnel location
planned and unplanned movements
proximity to emerging threats
This visibility allows security and operations teams to:
assess exposure dynamically
identify personnel near incidents in real time
prioritise response based on actual risk rather than assumptions
In regions where incidents may affect specific routes, neighbourhoods or border crossings, granular visibility is essential. It also creates a defensible record of the reasonable steps taken to monitor and protect staff, an increasingly important factor in post-incident reviews, insurance assessments and legal scrutiny.
Tracking Without Oversight Creates Blind Spots
Technology alone does not manage risk. Tracking systems are only effective if they are monitored, linked to genuine operational oversight and integrated into escalation and incident management procedures.
Any alerts must be assessed and contextualised, not simply delivered. In practice, this means combining tracking data with continuous human oversight. Across Stratum Levant’s operations in the Levant, for example, travel tracking is actively monitored by a 24/7 operations desk to ensure that emerging risks trigger informed decisions rather than passive notifications.
Communication Is as Critical as Location Data
In high-risk environments, communication failures often compound incidents.
An effective travel risk framework must enable:
two-way communication between staff and operations teams
SOS or duress functionality for immediate escalation
mass notifications to disseminate guidance quickly
confirmation that critical messages have been received
Mobile-based platforms allow personnel to communicate discreetly and reliably, even in challenging conditions, while giving organisations confidence that information is reaching the right people at the right time.
An Integrated Approach, Not Just a Platform
Technology alone does not deliver duty of care. In complex environments such as the Levant, effective travel risk management increasingly depends on integration by combining tracking platforms, operational oversight and in-region execution capability. This principle underpins Levant One, Stratum Levant’s regional duty-of-care framework, which brings together travel tracking technology, permanent operational presence and 24/7 monitoring to support organisations operating in challenging environments.
As part of this approach, Stratum Levant partners with Safeture, a leading travel risk management platform, to enable:
real-time tracking and monitoring
continuous security and travel alerts
two-way communication and SOS functionality
rapid mass notification during emerging incidents
This ensures that tracking data informs real operational decision-making rather than static reporting.
Travel Tracking Is a Frontline Safety Function
In complex and high-risk environments, travel tracking is not an administrative task , it is a frontline safety function. Organisations that invest in integrated tracking, monitoring and communication reduce exposure, strengthen duty of care, and improve their ability to respond when it matters most. Anything less creates blind spots and blind spots are where incidents escalate.