Independent workers
Plan where you will be, when you will check in, and what should happen if you cannot respond.
On-device product preview
A clear check-in for work done alone.
Plan the work, agree when contact is expected, record optional location evidence, and make a missed check-in visible on the worker’s device.
Important: SafeSignal is not emergency dispatch or a monitored service. It should support—not replace—your risk assessment and emergency arrangements.
Lone-working essentials
Start with the work, not the app.
Lone working generally means working without close or direct supervision, or spending time where another person cannot readily see, hear, or assist you. It is not automatically unsafe, but the task, location, people involved, and consequences of an emergency must be considered together.
Employers and supervisors
Assess the risk, decide the supervision and contact arrangements, and make sure someone can act on a missed check-in.
Safety managers
Fit check-ins into training, permits, communication, emergency response, incident review, and the wider safety system.
Task hazards
Electrical energy, machinery, work at height, confined or remote areas, driving, and manual work still need their normal controls.
Delayed assistance
An injury, illness, fall, or loss of communication may be harder to detect when nobody is nearby.
Environment and people
Poor signal, severe weather, unfamiliar sites, fatigue, stress, violence, and changing conditions can alter the risk.
General guidance informed by the UK HSE’s lone-working overview and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s working-alone guidance.
A useful check-in plan
Everyone should know what “expected” means.
A timer is useful only when it sits inside an agreed procedure. The interval should reflect the task risk, and the person expected to respond must know what to do.
Set the work plan
Record the worker, site, exact area, task, expected duration, hazards, and responsible contact.
Keep regular contact
Confirm safety at the agreed interval. Higher-risk or changing work may need closer supervision or a different control.
Use location carefully
A site name, work area, access point, route, and fresh GPS fix can help a responder know where to look. GPS accuracy varies and may fail indoors.
Escalate a missed check-in
Allow the agreed grace period, try the worker through approved channels, then follow the workplace emergency plan. Do not assume silence proves an emergency—or that it is harmless.
What the emergency contact should understand
Who is working, where they are, what they are doing, when they should finish, the check-in schedule, how to reach them, the backup contact, and the exact trigger for escalating. A personal contact should not be given responsibilities they have not accepted or been prepared to carry out.
Where check-ins can support the plan
Built around real lone-working tasks.
The task and risk assessment decide whether lone work is suitable. These examples show where an agreed check-in can add a useful record.
Electrical maintenance
Inspection, testing and planned work in substations, plant rooms and remote cabinets.
HVAC & mechanical
Roof plant, mechanical rooms and scheduled equipment servicing.
Construction
Isolated areas, early or late shifts, snagging and site inspections.
Utilities
Pump stations, treatment assets, meter locations and distributed infrastructure.
Facilities management
Call-outs, vacant properties, service corridors and plant inspections.
Security patrols
Scheduled rounds across large, quiet or remote premises.
Field inspections
Environmental, engineering and property checks away from close supervision.
Telecommunications
Remote cabinets, towers and distributed network sites.
Warehousing & logistics
Yards, cold stores, remote bays and out-of-hours operations.
Agriculture & remote property
Fences, pumps, machinery checks and work across large properties.
Practical pre-work checklist
Check the plan before entering the work area.
This list is general guidance. Adapt it to the task, site rules, risk assessment, and emergency arrangements.
- 01
Assess the task and decide whether it is suitable for lone work.
- 02
Tell a responsible contact the site, exact work area, task, and expected finish time.
- 03
Agree the check-in interval, grace period, and what a missed check-in means.
- 04
Confirm who will respond, who is the backup, and when emergency procedures begin.
- 05
Check battery level, mobile or radio coverage, GPS permission, and an alternative communication method.
- 06
Confirm access, exit, first-aid, isolation, permit, PPE, and site-specific emergency arrangements.
- 07
Make sure the emergency contact understands the plan and has useful location information.
- 08
Stop and reassess if conditions, task scope, health, or communications change.
Shared responsibilities
A check-in does not transfer responsibility to the worker.
Responsibilities differ by jurisdiction and employment arrangement. In general, organizations should assess and control risk, consult workers, provide suitable training and supervision, and establish workable emergency procedures. Workers should follow the agreed system, use equipment correctly, report hazards or failures, and stop or seek advice when conditions change.
Employers, clients, and supervisors
- Decide whether lone working is appropriate for the task.
- Provide controls, competent supervision, training, and a tested response procedure.
- Set contact intervals and ensure a responsible person and backup are available.
- Review incidents, near misses, communication failures, and worker feedback.
Workers and contractors
- Understand the work plan, limits, and emergency arrangements.
- Check equipment and communications before starting.
- Keep to the agreed contact schedule and report changes promptly.
- Do not continue when the task or conditions exceed the agreed controls.
For management-system context, see ISO 45001’s official overview. SafeSignal does not claim ISO certification or compliance.
Product and safety boundaries
Know exactly what this browser can do.
A browser check-in can support a procedure. It cannot make an unsuitable lone task safe or guarantee that help will arrive.
- Timestamp-based check-in and grace timers
- Refresh recovery in the same browser
- Optional GPS capture with accuracy and time
- Local session history and text export
- Local sound, vibration, or notification where permitted
- Supervisor team workers and incidents
- Escalation stages and supervisor controls
- Any appearance of multi-user operations
- Authenticated worker and supervisor accounts
- Server-owned deadlines and audit records
- Tested message or call delivery with acknowledgement
- Operational monitoring, support, and jurisdiction-specific review
Power
Start with enough battery for the task. Charging, cold, heat, weak signal, and GPS use can change battery life.
Connectivity
Confirm coverage and a backup method. A loaded page can keep local time, but a closed browser is not remote monitoring.
GPS and permissions
Test location before work. Indoor or obstructed fixes may be inaccurate, delayed, denied, or unavailable.
Browser behavior
Operating systems can suspend background tabs and suppress sound, vibration, or notifications. Reopen the page to review the saved deadline.
Local information
Worker, site, task, contact, notes, timestamps, and optional coordinates remain in this browser. Clear data before leaving a shared device.
Not the only control
Do not rely on SafeSignal alone where lone work is prohibited, rapid rescue is essential, communications are unreliable, or the risk assessment requires supervised or specialist controls.
Check-in tool versus emergency dispatch
A check-in tool records an expected response and makes a missed confirmation visible. Emergency dispatch requires a monitored receiver, verified alarm delivery, trained decision-makers, current location information, escalation authority, and a tested route to responders. SafeSignal provides the first function on the local device; it does not provide the second.
Frequently asked questions
Direct answers about the current product.
Does SafeSignal call emergency services?+
No. SafeSignal does not call emergency services. Use the approved workplace or local emergency procedure if help is needed.
Does it automatically message my emergency contact?+
No. The contact is stored with the session and shown during an overdue state, but this build sends no SMS, call, email, or push message.
Does it work without GPS?+
Yes. You can start and complete a session without location. Check-ins are recorded with location marked unavailable. A response plan may still require another reliable way to identify your work area.
Does it work without internet?+
Once the page is loaded, the timer and local records use browser storage and do not depend on a server connection. Reloading the site, downloading new code, or using external services may require connectivity.
What happens if I close the browser?+
The active session and deadline remain in local browser storage and can be restored when you reopen the same browser and site. While the browser is closed, SafeSignal cannot guarantee sound, vibration, notifications, or monitoring.
Where is my data stored?+
On this device in this browser’s local storage. Records can include worker, site, task, emergency-contact details, timestamps, safety notes, and optional GPS coordinates. They are not currently uploaded by SafeSignal.
Can my employer track me continuously?+
No. SafeSignal does not provide continuous tracking. It requests a location when you test GPS or make a check-in. The supervisor dashboard uses labelled sample workers, not live employee locations.
What happens when I miss a check-in?+
The device enters a grace period, then an overdue state if you do not respond. It may provide a local sound, vibration, or browser notification when supported and permitted. No remote person is notified.
Can I export my session?+
Yes. Completed sessions can be downloaded as a plain-text record, and the check-in completion screen can copy the report.
Is SafeSignal a replacement for workplace safety procedures?+
No. It does not replace risk assessment, supervision, permits, training, communication equipment, rescue arrangements, emergency procedures, or controls required by an employer or regulator.
Is the supervisor dashboard live?+
No. Team workers and incidents are sample data. Real sessions completed on the current device appear separately as local records.
Which devices are supported?+
The interface is designed for current mobile and desktop browsers. Actual GPS, notification, vibration, storage, background behavior, and battery use vary by device, browser, operating system, and permission settings.
Official guidance
Use guidance that applies to your work and location.
These sources provide general occupational-safety context. They do not determine the law or required controls in every country, industry, or workplace.
- UK Health and Safety Executive — protecting lone workers
- UK HSE — managing the risks of working alone (INDG73)
- Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety — Working Alone
- US OSHA — developing and implementing an emergency action plan
- ISO — ISO 45001 occupational health and safety management systems overview
Safety and legal disclaimer
SafeSignal provides a browser-based planning and check-in aid. It is not professional safety advice, a rescue service, an emergency communication system, or evidence that a task is safe to perform alone. Organizations and workers remain responsible for applicable laws, risk assessment, competent supervision, training, permits, communication, rescue, and emergency arrangements. If there is immediate danger, follow the approved emergency procedure and contact the appropriate local emergency service.
Use the current product
Prepare one clear safety session.
Test the local worker flow, or review the explicitly labelled sample supervisor dashboard.