FAQs for our Ok Alone Lone Workers
About Ok Alone
What are Workers and Monitors?
- Workers are the members of your team who work alone. Working alone may mean home care visits, travelling by oneself, being on a jobsite or working late in the office.
- Monitors are the people alerted if a Worker misses a Check-in or sends a Help Alert. The Monitor is often the Worker’s line manager, but it can also be another person in the office, someone in the vicinity, a family member or a Live Monitoring service.
Do I have to watch a screen all day if I’m a Monitor?
Monitors have access to a webpage that gives them the latest information about their team. However, there are many good reasons for someone to leave their desk. Ok Alone alerts the Monitor of an incident in four ways:
i) on the cloud-based dashboard,
ii) with an email,
iii) by sending a text message or WhatsApp to their cell phone or
iv) by having Ok Alone call them.
In other words, you are not tied to your desk when you are Monitoring your team with Ok Alone.
How can workers check-in using Ok Alone?
Workers have four ways to check-in with the office:
- Using the smartphone app
- Calling in with a landline/mobile phone
- By sending a text message
- Responding to an in-bound phone call
This means that you don’t need any special hardware or a data plan on your phone to use Ok Alone.
What if I go out of cell phone coverage?
If the app senses you don’t have service, it will tell you to Check-in using a text message or to call a number using a landline phone. For those not using the app, they have the option of either text message or calling a landline to Check-in. Ok Alone can also be used on a range of satellite phones. Please contact our OK Alone team if you’re interested in learning more.
Can I vary the frequency of Check-in for each Worker?
Yes, you have a great deal of choice, anywhere from 5 minutes to 24 hours.
Can I vary how frequently the Worker gets a reminder alarm on the app?
Yes, you can choose from 30 seconds to 1 hour. Apple restricts this feature to 1 minute increments. You may also choose to have repeating sms messages sent or computer-generated phone calls made to your workers.
Can I change when a Monitor receives an alert?
Yes, you adjust how quickly a Monitor receives a Missed Check-in alert. This is called the Grace period and can be set from 1 minute to 1 hour.
Can I have more than one Monitor per Worker?
Yes, people these days are very busy, jumping between meetings and travelling to see customers. As a result, you never know who will be able to respond to an alert at any given time. Ok Alone removes this problem by letting you choose multiple Monitors per Worker or using our Live Monitoring service. Once the situation is resolved, the status is updated in your OK Alone website.
What is Live Monitoring?
Live monitoring is a service provided by Ok Alone for organizations that do not have the necessary resources to Monitor their teams. Live Monitoring is useful in scenarios where Monitor and Worker shifts may be slightly or completely misaligned. It can also be effective if Monitors have several responsibilities and their attention is best served elsewhere for a period of time.
Accordingly, Ok Alone provides a live operator/real person to actively Monitor your team all day, every day. Live Monitoring may be limited to times outside of normal business hours which can include weekends, holidays, sick days, during meetings or after hours. For other organizations, 24/7 coverage is required. Either way, Ok Alone lets you choose how much or how little you’d like to have us monitor your team for you.
Is there a local number to call for landline check-ins?
Yes, +1 604 256 5739 or +1 438-500-1809 in Canada, +44 7380 336757 in the UK, +61 3 8658 1382 in Australia, and +64 9-887 8405 in New Zealand.
What devices can use the app?
The app is available through the Google Play Store for Android phones and the App Store for iPhone.
Can I go hands free?
Lone workers can also control their lone worker status with their voice by linking Ok Alone to Siri or any Alexa Dot device or Google Home device.
Can Ok Alone remind people to end their shifts automatically?
Yes, when using Automated Calls. Workers who are on their own may forget to end their shift before going home. To prevent this from happening, and causing unnecessary alerts, Ok Alone can be setup to call just before the end of their shift.
Do I have access to my log files?
Yes, log Files are available for download by all Monitors from the dashboard.
How do I set my local time?
In the ‘Settings’ tab under ‘Settings’ on the left-hand toolbar, Monitors can set the local time.
Does Ok Alone work anywhere in the world?
Yes, Ok Alone will work anywhere there is a cell phone network or traditional landline telephones and the internet. It can also be used on satellite phones if cell networks are not available.
How many workers or monitors can I have?
There is no practical limit to the number of Workers you can assign to a Monitor or vice versa.
The Website
Who has access to my website account?
Monitors are given access to the website and they control how Ok Alone is setup. Workers do not have direct access to any of the system settings.
How are Monitors alerted to missed check-in or help calls?
Monitors have four ways to get notified of a missed check-in or a help request:
- Through the monitor’s web page
- A text message or WhatsApp on their phone
- An email
- Automated Phone calls made to their designated number.
What is an Escalation Procedure?
An escalation procedure is the action plan for the Monitor(s) when either a Check-in is missed, or a help message is sent. Think of it as a step by step guide for what to do in an emergency. The procedure may be as long or as short as you like. You also have the option of setting a single Escalation Procedure for the company AND/OR a unique Escalation Procedure for each Worker.
Who can update the Escalation Procedures?
Only Monitors can update your escalation procedures.
Payment
How much is the app?
Monthly subscriptions for the Ok Alone system and the app start at $8/£7 per worker. You can get a detailed quote using our Pricing Calculator. Other services and larger subscriptions are available by request. Please let us know more about your requirements and we’ll happily send you a quote.
How much is the app?
The app is free for Android, iPhones.
How do I pay?
Payments are made by credit card through our secure payment gateway.
How long is my contract?
Your subscription is renewed each month. You are not locked into long term agreements.
When do I pay?
Subscription fees are taken on the monthly renewal date of when you first signed up for your Ok Alone account (i.e. If you signed up on March 9, you will be charged on the 9th of each subsequent month). If there are additional charges or overages, these may be charged separately.