UCalgary's Safety Apps

WorkAlone is a feature in the UCSafety app, which provides individuals working alone on campus (with consistent cellular service), the ability to regularly check-in and if required, trigger an emergency response.  

WorkAlone is meant to be used by graduate students, faculty, post-doctoral fellows and employees.  

For more information about this feature and how to use it, view the WorkAlone Quick Reference Guide. 

StudyAlone is a feature in the UCSafety app, which provides students alone on campus, the option to regularly check-in with a personal contact, and if required, trigger an emergency response.  

For more information about this feature and how to use it, view the StudyAlone Quick Reference Guide. 

Yes, if/when you have consistent cellular or Wi-Fi service. 

The UC needs to know who to contact in an emergency if you are ill or injured. This person should be able to provide personal medical details as needed in case of an emergency.  

Your emergency contact may be temporarily unavailable due to vacation or illness, etc. Please ensure your emergency contact information is reviewed and updated for each WorkAlone session.

No, once a frequency is chosen for a WorkAlone session, it cannot be changed.  

To change your check-in frequency, you will have to end your session and restart another. For more information, refer to the WorkAlone Quick Reference Guide. 

WorkAlone: If you have not responded within 5 minutes of your check in time during a WorkAlone session, the 24/7 monitoring service, Telelink, will try to contact you and your Supervisor/Designated Contact will be contacted to perform a wellness check. Based on the situation, Campus Security will be notified if any emergency response is required. 

StudyAlone: If you have not responded within 5 minutes of your check in time during a StudyAlone session, the UCSafety app will notify your emergency contact to do a wellness check. Based on the situation, your emergency contact can initiate an emergency response on your behalf. 

No. You can edit this information each time you start a new WorkAlone or StudyAline session. Remember to change it prior to starting a new session, in case your contact is out of town, unavailable, etc. 

WorkAlone: Clicking Emergency contacts our 24/7 monitoring service, Telelink. Telelink will try to contact you to verify your health and safety. If Telelink is unable to reach you, a message will be sent to your supervisor/designated contact person requesting they do a wellness check with you.  

StudyAlone: Clicking Emergency contacts your personal emergency contact and sends them a message requesting they do a wellness check with you.  

When you are contacted, be honest about the error so that they know you are okay.  

You may go back to the check in page and click on “check in” to re-instate your WorkAlone or StudyAlone session, or click on “cancel” to cancel your session to stop further escalation by Telelink.  

If an individual forgets to finish their WorkAlone session, this means they forgot their last check-in.  

If you do not complete your check-in within 5 minutes of your notification, the escalation process is initiated.  

Telelink will be monitoring all active WorkAlone sessions 24/7. Telelink will receive an automatic recording indicating you did not check in.  *Costs incurred due to Telelink’s involvement with missed check-ins may be charged back to the department* 

The app does not track a worker’s location. Campus security is only aware of the worker’s location based on the location details provided when a worker begins a WorkAlone session. (i.e., Campus, building name, room number, other important location details). 

Unfortunately, due to the personal information required to use the WorkAlone feature, only personally owned or UCalgary cellular phones assigned to individuals can be used.

Provide a detailed description of your location(s) in the “Other important details” section. 

First, specify the building where the worker will begin their WorkAlone session.  

Next, under “Other important details,” outline all other areas/buildings where the worker will be moving to. Provide a rough estimate (where possible) regarding where the worker will be during the beginning, middle and end of the WorkAlone session. 

Alternatively, you can start a new session each time you change locations. 

No, the app is only intended for use by individual with a UC username.   

On the main app landing page, you will notice an orange bar across the top of the screen that says, “WorkAlone Session in Progress”. 

Some locations may have poor Wi-Fi signal (such as basements). This may decrease the timliness of notifications.  

No. All supervisors, lone workers and personal contact numbers must be cell phone numbers and not landlines.  

After a few months of inactivity, Android users will need to go back to their configuration settings and re-subscribe for notifications. 

Please navigate to About/Preferences > Notification Settings > Trouble receiving notifications? Tap here to launch our troubleshooter.

This will reset your Push Token and send a Push Notification to your phone to ensure that they are working. 

If you do not receive a Push Notification after following these steps, please reach out to support@apparmor.com. 

You must enable push notifications to receive real-time alerts in the event of an emergency. Please enable push notifications as you login, or in your settings under “Apps”, to allow the university to send you alerts in the event of an emergency on campus.

If you work on campus as a tenant, vendor, or contractor, contact the Emergency Management team at emergencymgmt@ucalgary.ca for specific download instructions. When contacting Emergency Management, please include where you work and what team you are part of so that you get the appropriate alerts for your area. 

The UCalgary Alertus Emergency App is an important tool to help keep you safe in the event of an emergency affecting the University of Calgary by sending you timely notifications that can save lives and prevent injuries. The app is part of the university’s emergency management plan and a big part of creating a safe and healthy living and learning environment for everyone on campus. Get the information you need quickly and easily in case of an emergency situation.

Students, faculty and staff should follow the download instructions available above.

Enabling location services in the app and completing your profile helps Campus Security reach you in an emergency. However, it is your decision to enable it.

Under Settings, you can update your profile to include more information, like your full name and phone number. You can enable location services when you login for the first time or by managing your app permissions in your device settings. This information is not used to track app users – it’s simply to help individuals in the case of an emergency.

You may have simply uninstalled the app unintentionally. Use the download instructions above to install the app on your mobile device again. If you are an iOS user, you may have enabled the “Offload App” feature in your settings. If so, it may essentially be inactive – try finding the icon and tapping on it then waiting for the automatic download to complete.

On the first Wednesday of every month at 11:55 a.m., Emergency Management tests the app to ensure alerts are working. This is to ensure, in the case of an emergency, we are ready to alert the campus community.

For more information, visit the Alertus Monthly Testing webpage

If you do not receive the verification email, check your junk or clutter folders. If you still don't see the message, it is possible the message is being quarantined. If the message is being quarantined, you must "release" it. 

If your app and notifications are set up properly but are still not receiving notifications, go into the app settings and press the "Send Test Alert" button. If you don't get a push alert, un-register/re-register or re-install the app. 

Contact the Emergency Management team at emergencymgmt@ucalgary.ca