A visit takes longer than expected. The worker is fine, but the agreed finish time is approaching. What happens next? A lone worker app can help manage the timing, but the team still needs a clear plan for continuing, seeking advice or stopping. Here is a practical approach from LoneApp.
At a glance
- Raise a delay before the agreed finish time wherever possible.
- Check that the task and response cover remain suitable.
- Keep activity extensions and safety check-ins separate.
Recognise the delay before the deadline
An overrun can start with something ordinary: late access, extra rooms to inspect or a customer asking another question. Encourage workers to flag a likely delay while there is still time to agree the next step.
HSE’s guidance for Great Britain recommends setting limits on lone work and making sure workers recognise when to seek advice. Apply that principle to time as well as the task: an appointment running late should prompt a check of the arrangements, not an assumption that everyone can stay longer.
Check three things before continuing
Use a short conversation to establish what has changed:
- The work: is it still the agreed task, or has someone added work that needs separate authorisation?
- The cover: can the assigned responder remain available until the revised finish, and is backup still in place?
- The contact plan: what is the revised finish time, what check-ins remain due and how will completion be confirmed?
Practical example: a property inventory visit
Consider an inventory clerk working alone at a rental property in the North East. Access is delayed, leaving less time to complete the room records before the planned finish. The clerk’s office contact is also due to leave shortly.
The useful response is to pause and explain the remaining work. The manager can then agree whether the visit should continue with suitable response cover, be shortened to the authorised tasks or be rearranged. A revised time only helps if the people providing support know about it.
If continuing is agreed, the clerk can use any activity extension permitted by the company’s LoneApp settings. That does not replace the conversation about cover or authorise extra work. The lesson is simple: agree the changed plan before relying on a later finish.
An extension is different from a check-in
LoneApp shows the next check-in and the remaining activity time separately. Its worker guidance allows an activity to be extended within the manager’s settings. Keep following the check-in instructions shown in the app; do not assume that allowing more time for the job also completes a safety check-in.
Check-ins count once the server confirms them. If the agreed contact method is unavailable, follow your organisation’s fallback arrangements rather than treating an unconfirmed action as successful.
LoneApp supports your arrangements; it does not replace risk assessment or the people responsible for responding. A staffed alarm receiving centre is not included.
Make the instruction easy to use
Give staff a short instruction they can find during a visit: who to contact, when to raise a delay and what to do if continuation cannot be agreed. Practise an overrun during a team briefing so workers and responders understand their roles.
Next step: take one upcoming lone-working visit and check what would happen if it ran beyond the planned finish. Resolve any gap before the visit starts.