Alarm for Employees and Lone Workers
Fast help for employees in industry, production and service – when seconds matter.
Thousands of people work alone every day – on production floors, in warehouses, on night shifts, or out at customer sites. Most shifts of course pass without incident. But when something goes wrong – a machine stops, a colleague falls, a customer turns hostile – seconds decide how bad it gets.
That is why more and more companies – from industrial giants like Grundfos to smaller manufacturers – are giving their staff a dedicated employee alarm. Not an app buried inside a phone. A physical panic button, always within reach, that summons help with a single press.
In this article we look at why lone working is a special risk, what Danish workplace safety law actually requires of employers, and how a modern workplace safety alarm works in practice. Finally, we share a concrete example from Grundfos.
Why lone working is a special risk
The Danish workplace safety authority (Arbejdstilsynet) defines lone working as work where the employee is physically or communicatively cut off from colleagues. That covers everyone from the service technician visiting a customer at 10 p.m., to the production worker running a machine on evening shift, to the night porter walking rounds alone. The common factor is this: if something happens, there is no one around to react.
The risk rises sharply when the work happens near heavy machinery, chemicals, high voltage, or where there is a possibility of threats from third parties. For many employees the phone is the only lifeline – but the phone is often in a pocket, in another building, or out of reach in exactly the second you need it most.
What Danish workplace safety law actually requires
Section 15 of the Danish Working Environment Act states clearly that the employer has a duty to ensure that work can be carried out in a fully safe and healthy manner. That obligation applies also – and especially – when the employee is alone.[1]
The Danish workplace safety guidance D.2.25 on lone working goes further. It states that when an employee works alone, the employer must assess the risk and put measures in place so the employee can summon help in case of accident, illness or threat. In practice this means the company must be able to document that a reliable emergency-call solution exists – and that everyone knows how to use it.[2]
In short: it is no longer enough to hope the employee reaches their phone. The law expects an active, documented solution. A dedicated employee alarm is exactly that.
[1] Danish Working Environment Act, Retsinformation, retsinformation.dk
[2] Danish Working Environment Authority, Guidance D.2.25 on lone working, at.dk
Why phones and walkie-talkies are not enough
Most workplaces have some form of communication – a company phone, a walkie-talkie, maybe a landline in the corridor. The problem isn't whether the equipment exists. The problem is what happens when the employee is on the floor after a fall, or facing a threatening person who can hear the call.
Three typical weaknesses: first, availability – the phone is in the jacket when the accident happens at the machine. Second, discretion – a loud call can escalate a threatening situation rather than resolve it. Third, location – even if the call gets through, the recipient doesn't necessarily know exactly where in the building or site the help needs to go.
How Linucare works as an employee alarm
Linucare is a workplace safety alarm that combines a physical button, an app and a network of colleagues or a monitoring centre. The employee carries a discreet safety button on a keyring, lanyard or as a wristband. A single long press triggers an alarm that tells who needs help, where they are via GPS, and calls the designated recipients directly.
- One press, instant notification: The alarm breaks through the recipient's silent settings and is delivered as a critical notification, so the call is always heard – even on night shift.
- GPS location shared automatically: Colleagues or the monitoring centre see exactly where the employee is and can be navigated directly to the location.
- Works without reaching for the phone: The safety button is a standalone physical device. No unlocking a screen, no looking up a number – just press.
- Discreet enough for threatening situations: The alarm is activated silently and without a visible signal on the device, so staff do not escalate the situation.
- Documentable compliance: All alarms, calls and location data are logged, so the company can document its emergency-call solution to the workplace authority and internal audit.
Grundfos: safety on the production floor
Grundfos is one of the world's largest pump manufacturers, with production running around the clock. For employees on evening, night and weekend shifts – often in sections of the factory where colleagues are far away – fast help is essential. Grundfos has adopted Linucare as part of its safety setup in selected areas.
C. Ramesh Kannan, Safety Representative at Grundfos, has been close to the rollout from the start.
"When you work alone on the production floor, it gives peace of mind to know that help is always one press away. Linucare is so simple that every employee can use it – even those who are not used to technology." – C. Ramesh Kannan, Safety Representative, Grundfos.
"As a safety representative it matters to me that our solution doesn't just look good on paper but works in real situations. Linucare helps us meet our duty of care to our employees – and that is exactly the safety we want to give them." – C. Ramesh Kannan.
The Grundfos story highlights a pattern we see across many industrial customers: it's not about what the company makes. It's about whether employees sometimes work alone – or in conditions where help has to be fast. When that is the case, a dedicated employee alarm is a moral, operational and legal investment all at once.
Which companies does a personal safety alarm fit?
We typically see four profiles of companies choosing Linucare for lone-worker safety:
- Production and industry: Factories with evening or night shifts, machine halls and areas where the employee may be several minutes from the nearest colleague.
- Food and feed production: Mixing halls, cold storage and silo areas, where the combination of lone work and heavy environments demands a fast emergency-call path.
- Field service and technicians: Technicians driving out alone, often to unfamiliar addresses, evenings and weekends.
- Warehouse, logistics and security: Night rounds, large warehouses, and roles where threatening situations with third parties are a real risk.
Book a 20-minute demo meeting
Want to see how Linucare can protect your employees – and how the solution documents your obligations under Danish workplace safety law? We review your specific situation and demonstrate the safety button in practice.
You can book a no-obligation meeting directly in the calendar below, or contact us for a quote tailored to your company.