Man Down Alarms A Safety Feature For Lone Workers

Also known as a fall alarm or movement sensor, Man down alarms are a safety feature offered in some lone worker devices. When activated, this feature allows the radio to send an alert if no movement is detected for a pre-programmable time period.

This will enable monitoring teams to act quickly, following the device’s escalation procedures, and helping them avoid costly call-outs.

Countdown Timer

The countdown timer is one of the most effective tools you can use to create urgency. It’s visual and hard to ignore, which makes it a reliable way to push customers into making decisions they may otherwise put off. This technique is used by many retailers, including some who have achieved impressive conversion rates in their email campaigns. For example, The Diamond Store saw a 400% increase in conversions when using their countdown timer.

Countdown timers are commonly used for events, promotions and other deadlines. They can help to create a sense of anticipation, which in turn, can lead to more engagement and higher conversions. In the past, they have also been used by churches to create a sense of urgency and to encourage people to sign up for services or to attend church events.

There are many different types of countdown timers, and each serves a unique purpose. For example, some can be displayed in different formats, while others can display the number of days or minutes remaining until a specified event. Choosing the right type of countdown timer depends on your business and your goals.

A fixed countdown timer is usually a static image that displays the amount of time left until an event or promotion starts. It can be positioned anywhere on the page and can be styled with different color and font options. It is also possible to adjust the distance between digits and between the timer and text labels.

In the retail industry, fixed countdown timers are often used to highlight a limited-time offer or to display delivery dates (e.g., 2 hours left for next-day delivery). They can be a great tool to increase the urgency of a campaign and to make it more visible to the customer.

Countdown timers can also be used to promote personal milestones, such as days until the release of a movie or book. Some of these countdowns are displayed on fan websites and can include decorative banners that unfurl as the event approaches. These types of countdowns can be very effective in creating a sense of excitement, but should be used sparingly to avoid creating a feeling of fatigue among subscribers.

Alerts to Emergency Contacts

Lone working workers who are in high-risk situations, such as emergency workers or painters and decorators who work from ladders, can benefit greatly from having a Man Down alarm. These devices detect if the wearer is not moving, and are designed to send an alert to someone immediately if they don’t move for a predetermined amount of time. This ensures that the user can always call for help, even if they are seriously injured or unconscious after falling from height.

When the device senses that the worker hasn’t moved for a period of time, it will begin an internal countdown of ten seconds. If the employee presses the Help call button or comes back to a vertical position before the end of the countdown, the pre-alarm will cancel and the device will return to normal operation. If the help call button isn’t pressed before the end of the countdown, the Man Down alarm will send an alert to remote observers via ProRAE guardian software (if wireless connectivity is enabled).

The monitor team can see the status of the user and respond accordingly. The monitoring centre can also access live location and safety data, making it easy to respond quickly and efficiently. This is important, as the longer it takes for a response to be sent, the more vulnerable the person will be and the higher the chance of death or serious injury.

It is essential that employers take all possible steps to minimise falls from height at work. However, if a fall does occur, it is an employer’s duty to provide assistance or medical attention to that individual as soon as is reasonably practicable. Lone Worker NZ A Man Down alarm is an effective way to ensure that this is fulfilled.





The Man Down feature can be added to a lone worker device for an additional cost, or it can be included as part of a bespoke solution depending on the individual’s needs and the environment they work in. A bespoke system can be tailored to the specific requirements of an organisation’s at-risk workers and can include several different alerting options, such as those for co-workers, supervisors or external response teams.

Alerts to Supervisors

When a worker becomes incapacitated, or 'down' in the system terms, their status is reported to their supervisor and any emergency contact they have set up. This can be triggered by many different events, but the most common are slips, trips and falls. Alternatively, they may be impacted by an act of violence (sadly, lone workers in some industries can find themselves at risk from attack), sudden illness or road traffic accidents.

If a lone worker does not cancel their alert within a few seconds, the device will automatically notify a designated supervisor or incident response team. This is a crucial feature for lone workers, who can be left vulnerable when they cannot reach their supervisor or co-workers to ask for help in an emergency.

While the Man Down feature is useful for anyone who works alone, it is particularly helpful for those who work from height or in high-risk industries. In fact, 29% of all major injuries in 2020 were caused by falls from height and could have been avoided with a lone worker device featuring Man Down.

A simple 'down' alert is sent to the designated supervisor when the Man Down feature is activated. This alert can be customised to suit your organisation’s escalation procedures and to reflect the specific types of activities carried out by the worker.

It is also possible to set up a countdown timer that will trigger after the alert has been activated, allowing a worker to signal to their supervisor that they need assistance. This can be adjusted to be as short or as long as necessary.

To avoid false alarms, it is important that the right training is provided to users to ensure they know when and how to use the Man Down feature. In addition, it is a good idea to only enable the Man Down feature on radios that are used in hazardous locations and for high-risk activities. This will reduce the likelihood of accidental alarms being triggered during an unavoidable incident, saving money and improving worker confidence. Combined with Location Services, the Man Down feature can also help to improve response times for workers, by ensuring dispatch knows exactly where to send help.

Alerts to Co-Workers

Some devices with the Man Down function will alert co-workers when it detects a fall or impact. This feature is particularly useful for lone workers who operate in environments where they enter client homes, construction zones or travel between jobs. In these situations, a quick response is key to keeping employees safe.

Depending on the device, a lone worker may need to activate this feature themselves by pressing a specific button or function key for it to engage. Alternatively, it can be triggered automatically and can be configured to align with organizational procedures. It can also be used in conjunction with other safety features like Lone Worker or Location Services to provide additional reassurance that the user is receiving help.

Falls from height are one of the leading causes of fatal and major injuries in the workplace. These incidents can occur in any industry, and despite all the best health and safety procedures, a fall from height can be life threatening. This is why it’s important to consider investing in a lone worker personal fall alarm that can help protect your workers.

A lone worker device with the Man Down function can be set up to send digital alerts to a trusted contact, or to an Alarm Receiving Centre (or ‘ARC’). An ARC is a purpose-built facility that is staffed by security professionals who receive alarms and can then communicate directly with emergency services.

If the lone worker has activated the Man Down feature on their device, a countdown timer will begin. During this time, the device will vibrate or beep to try to gain the lone worker’s attention and warn them that it will raise a Man Down alert if they don’t move within a certain timeframe. If the lone worker doesn’t move or cancels the Man Down alert, then the device will immediately raise a crisis call and trigger the emergency response protocols.

When a crisis alert is raised, the device will immediately notify the lone worker’s emergency contacts and trigger the emergency response protocol that is set up with the lone worker's organisation. SoloProtect’s state-of-the-art Alarm Receiving Centre Monitoring is BS: 8484:2016 accredited, which means that a trained operator can bypass the 999 system and dial into any regional police force in England or Wales using a unique reference number to ensure that help arrives fast. On average, the alarms take just 30 seconds to be processed and responded to.