Reviewed by Rial Black, General Manager
Last reviewed
Reading time 5 minutes
In one paragraph
A guard wellness check is an in-person visit to a lone worker who has missed a check-in and cannot be reached, carried out by a licensed security guard and dispatched by the CheckMate monitoring centre only after the worker's designated emergency contacts have been tried and none could be reached. It is an optional add-on. It is the only dispatch CheckMate makes: operators never call police, fire, ambulance or 911.
What is a guard wellness check?
A guard wellness check is a physical visit to a worker's last known location to confirm they are safe, made by a licensed security guard when a missed check-in has gone unanswered by the worker and by every designated emergency contact. The guard attends, looks for the worker, and reports back to the monitoring centre operator, who records the outcome and keeps the employer's contacts informed.
The gap it closes is a real one. Every monitored lone worker program relies on an escalation list: the people the employer wants notified when a worker cannot be reached. Most of the time that list works. Occasionally it does not. The supervisor is on a flight, the backup is on vacation, the store manager's phone is on silent at 11 p.m. The worker is still unaccounted for, and the operator has run out of people to notify.
Until now the answer was to keep trying the list. With the Guard Wellness Check, the answer is to send someone.
Where the guard fits in the escalation
The guard is the last step, not the first. Everything before it is the standard CheckMate sequence, and the timings between steps are set by the employer. Every step is logged with a time stamp.
The check-in is missed
The worker does not confirm within the window the employer set. An alarm opens at ProTELEC's monitoring centre in Winnipeg with the worker's name, schedule, last known location and emergency contacts on screen.
The operator tries the worker
A trained operator calls the worker directly. Most missed check-ins end here: a forgotten tap, a dead battery, a shift that ran long.
The operator works the contact list
If the worker cannot be reached, the operator notifies the designated emergency contacts in the order the employer set, sharing the worker's GPS location and the alarm details.
No contact can be reached
Every name on the list has been tried and nobody has answered or been able to act. Without the add-on, the operator keeps trying the list. With it, the operator moves to step five.
A guard is dispatched for a wellness check Add-on
The operator dispatches a licensed security guard to the worker's location. The guard attends, checks on the worker in person, and reports back to the operator. If the guard finds a situation that needs emergency services, that decision sits with the people on site, as it would for any bystander; CheckMate operators do not call 911.
The outcome is recorded
The operator logs what the guard found, closes or escalates the alarm accordingly, and continues to keep the employer's contacts informed. The whole sequence, including the guard attendance, is in the compliance record.
For the full escalation and what monitoring includes, see the lone worker monitoring guide.
What it is, and what it is not
Lone worker safety is a field where a wrong assumption costs a lot, so this is worth stating plainly.
✓ It is
- A licensed security guard attending the worker's last known location in person
- Dispatched by the CheckMate operator working the alarm, not by an app or a timer
- Used only after the worker and every designated emergency contact could not be reached
- Reported back to the operator and recorded in the compliance file
- An optional add-on you choose per user or per location
✗ It is not
- Police, fire, ambulance or 911. CheckMate operators never dispatch emergency services
- Automatic on every missed check-in. Most alarms close at step two
- A replacement for your emergency contact list. Your contacts are always tried first
- A medical or law-enforcement response. The guard confirms the worker's status and reports
- Included in standard pricing. It is quoted separately
Who it is for
The add-on came out of conversations with employers who could not guarantee that someone on their own team would always be able to attend. It suits:
- Retail and commercial locations with staff opening or closing alone, where one add-on covers the location rather than each worker.
- Multi-site organizations whose supervisors cover several locations and cannot be on the road to all of them at once.
- Teams without an on-call supervisor, especially on evenings, weekends and overnight shifts.
- Organizations moving from an app-only tool that wanted a response, not another notification, when their own contacts fell through.
It is less relevant for organizations with their own staff who can attend any time, such as a municipality with a 24-hour operations crew. If your escalation list already ends with someone who will always go, you may not need it. Availability of guard response depends on the worker's location; ask us about your sites.
How it compares to other lone worker responses
| When no contact can be reached | App-only check-in tool | Monitored service | CheckMate with Guard Wellness Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who noticed the missed check-in | Whoever saw the notification | A trained operator, 24/7 | A trained operator, 24/7 |
| What happens after the list is exhausted | Nothing, until someone checks their phone | The operator keeps trying the list | A licensed guard attends in person |
| Who decides on emergency services | Your contacts | Your contacts | Your contacts and the people on site |
| Record of the response | Assembled by the employer | Logged by the operator | Logged by the operator, including the guard attendance |
Our side-by-side of CheckMate vs OK Alone and the wider Canadian lone worker app comparison show where an in-person step sits among the options on the market.
What it costs
The Guard Wellness Check is billed as a monthly add-on, per user or per location, plus a fee for each guard attendance. It sits on top of standard CheckMate monitoring, which is priced per user per month with the live operator response included; see the pricing page for those rates. Ask us for current add-on rates and guard availability for your sites.