If you have staff working alone, whether it’s on remote sites, night shifts, or out in the field, you have a duty of care to make sure that if something goes wrong, help finds them quickly.
Two-way radios can help with this through two related but different features: Man Down and Lone Worker monitoring. They are both safety methods for detecting if there is an issue with a worker on the job, though the whay each of them operates is different.
Here’s what each one is, how they work, and how to tell if your business needs them.
What is a man down alarm?
A man down alarm is a safety feature, usually built into a two-way radio, that automatically raises an alert if the person carrying it falls, stops moving, or becomes incapacitated.
It’s a passive alert, the worker doesn’t have to do anything for it to work, which matters because the situations it’s designed for are exactly the ones where someone might not be able to call for help themselves.
How it works: Most man down alarms use a tilt-switch inside the radio. If the radio stays still, or is held at an unusual or horizontal angle, for longer than a set period, it triggers an alert. Before the alert goes through, the user gets a warning signal, giving them time to cancel the alarm if they have put the radio down or work in an awkward position. The sensitivity is usually adjustable to suit the job.
Benefits of a man down alarm:
- Fully automatic, so there’s nothing for the worker to remember to do.
- Reacts immediately to a fall or collapse, meaning there is less delay between an issue and help being sent.
- Well suited to physically active or higher-risk roles where an incident is likely to involve a sudden change in position.
Drawbacks of a man down alarm:
- It relies on the radio’s physical orientation, so it can miss situations where someone is incapacitated but still upright or seated, rather than fallen.
- It requires the radio being worn or carried in a consistent way; if it’s left in a bag or on a desk, the alarm won’t reflect what’s actually happening to the person.
What is Lone Worker check-in?
Lone Worker monitoring is a check-in system that checks to see if the worker is ok in at set intervals.
The radio will automatically prompt the worker with an alert like a beep, and they have to respond to show they are ok by pressing push-to-talk. If they fail to respond, the radio will raise an alert.
Benefits of lone worker check-in:
- It relies on a response for check-in, so it will catch incidents that Man Down might miss, such as someone unconscious in a seated or stationary position.
- It gives you a positive, regular confirmation that someone is safe, not just an absence of alarms.
Drawbacks of lone worker check-in:
- The a gap between check-ins may cause a delay in response if something happens right after a confirmed check-in, meaning an issue might not be picked up until the next interval.
- If intervals are set too frequently, it can start to feel intrusive or get treated as a routine button-press rather than a genuine safety check.
Man Down vs Lone Worker: why use both?
The two features cover different failure modes. Man Down reacts immediately, but only to a physical fall or unusual position. Lone Worker check-in catches situations Man Down can miss, but only at fixed intervals and only if the worker is conscious enough to respond.
Used together, they can close the gaps of each other, which is why most lone-worker safety setups run both rather than simply relying on just one.
Who needs these features?
Anyone with lone workers or staff in isolated or higher-risk environments should consider them. Roles that benefit from using one or both of them include:
- Security patrols working alone overnight
- Engineers and technicians on remote or unmanned sites
- Warehouse or facilities staff working outside normal hours
- Utility and construction workers in areas with poor phone signal
- Healthcare and social care staff conducting home visits
Is this a legal requirement?
There’s no single law in the UK that says “you must provide a man down alarm”, what does exist is a general duty of care under health and safety legislation. Employers have to assess the risks lone workers face and take reasonable steps to manage them.
For many businesses, Man Down and Lone Worker features are among the most practical ways to demonstrate that duty of care has been met, particularly where a mobile phone signal can’t be relied on.
Does your business need one?
A few signs it’s worth looking into:
- You have staff who regularly work alone or out of sight of colleagues
- Your sites have poor or no mobile signal
- You’ve had a near-miss where an incident wasn’t noticed quickly
- You’re being asked by a client or contract to demonstrate lone worker safety measures
If any of those sound familiar, it’s worth a conversation. Both features are available as standard or as an add-on on Motorola and Hytera radios, and in most cases can be added to a radio fleet you already own. Read more about our Man Down & Lone Worker solutions →