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Practice alarms in Cosafe

Purpose and objectives​

The purpose of this exercise is to understand how the alarm function works in the Cosafe platform. This includes both sending alarms and receiving them. Practicing is essential for improving organizational communication and incident management. Cosafe recommends conducting exercises regularly.

Disclaimer​

Each situation is unique, and the exercise described in this guide may need to be adjusted to specific needs and circumstances. This article is merely an example of how an alarm exercise in Cosafe can be conducted. There are various ways to plan and execute such exercises.

Customers are responsible for independently deciding, planning, and following up on the exercise according to their own needs, internal guidelines, and applicable regulations. Cosafe disclaims all responsibility for how the system is used by the customer, both in exercises and real incidents, as well as any consequences arising from such use. This includes all content that users write, share, or communicate via the app.

Preparations​

  • Plan the exercise carefully and set a date and time well in advance.
  • Inform all participants about the exercise ahead of time.
  • Ensure that all participants are logged into Cosafe. Administrators can verify this in the Cosafe admin panel.
  • To make it 100% clear that this is an exercise, create and use a separate "Exercise Group" and an "Exercise Alarm."

Creating an exercise group​

  1. Log in to admin.cosafe.com.
  2. Click on "Groups" in the left menu → "Create Group."
  3. Name the group: "Exercise Group + (date of the exercise)."
  4. Select the account (account/subaccount) the group belongs to and assign a location (optional).
  5. Click "Create."
  6. Click on "Group members."
  7. Add participants by clicking "Add User."

The exercise group should only include participants who will take part in the exercise, excluding those who are absent (e.g., due to illness, leave, or other reasons).

Creating an exercise alarm​

  1. Click on "Account" or "Subaccounts" in the left menu, depending on where the alarm should be created. If subaccount, chose the subaccount where the exercise will take place.
  2. Click "Alarm" → "Create Alarm."
  3. Name the alarm: "Exercise Alarm + (date of the exercise)."
  4. Choose an icon, color, and alarm sound.
  5. Enable "Predefined Groups", select "Exercise Group (date)", and check "Alarm only to preselected groups" to ensure that the alarm only goes to the users in the exercise group.
  6. Choose which advanced settings to activate in the exercise alarm. See the "Creating an Alarm" article for more details about the different settings:
    • Show a map and allow a change of location
    • Allow users to add customized alarm details to the alarm
    • Show warning if the alarm should really be sent out
    • Block notifications
    • Alarm instructions
    • Autostart checklist
  7. Click "Create."

Testing the alarm​

Each participant must conduct a self-test to ensure that their devices receive alarms and notifications correctly. Inform all participants that they need to do a self-test of the alarm before the exercise. For instructions on how to do that read below and for a more detailed instruction go to our article Test Your Cosafe Alarm. As an Cosafe administrator, you can view the status of your users' alarm tests, see which users have completed them, and see whether the tests were successful or failed.

  1. Open the Cosafe app.
  2. Tap the menu in the top right corner → select "Test Your Alarm."
  3. Read the instructions.
  4. Click "Test the alarm" and choose "Test."
  5. Close the app (do not log out) and wait for the alarm signal and notification that will come within 15 seconds.
  6. Respond in the app if the alarm worked or failed.

If the test fails​

Execution​

Gather participants.​

  1. Ensure that a large screen and speakers are working.
  2. Display the Cosafe app on the screen.
  3. Inform staff about the purpose of the exercise.

Send the exercise alarm:​

  1. Have all participants close the app (without logging out) otherwise they won't hear the alarm signal.
  2. The exercise leader logs into the Cosafe Desktop App on the large screen.
  3. Click "Alarms" → "Exercise Alarm (date)."
  4. Depending on which advanced settings are activated, different instructions may appear before sending the alarm:
  • If "Allow users to add customized alarm details to the alarm" is enabled, the sender can add details to the alarm, but it's optional → Click "Proceed."
  • If "Show a map and allow a change of location" is enabled, the sender can verify the map location → Click "Send Alarm."
  • If "Show warning if the alarm should really be sent out" is enabled, the sender must confirm before sending → Click "Confirm."

The alarm is sent, and the participants act according to your set scenario.

Responding to the alarm​

Once the alarm is sent, participants can access the alarm thread through the following three options:

  • Clicking on the notification that appears on the screen.
  • Opening the app and tapping the red banner at the top of the screen "Alarm in progress - Go to Messages."
  • Opening the app and navigating to "Messages" and selecting the thread with a red border, which idicates that it is an active alarm. If multiple alarms are active at the same time, the alarm's name will be clearly highlighted in red within the message thread.

Depending on which advanced settings are activated, the first message in the alarm thread will be affected accordingly:

  • If "Alarm instructions" are enabled, they will be visible in the alarm thread. If alarm instructions are added in multiple languages, they will change and be displayed in the language selected in the participant's personal language settings.
  • If the sender added alarm details, these will be shown under the alarm instructions. This will be displayed in the language the sender wrote the details in.
  • If "Block notifications" is enabled, click the yellow bar in the thread for more info.
  • If "Autostart checklist" is enabled, the checklist will be added to the alarm thread.

Important considerations!​

  • Maintain radio discipline – do not write "I have read!" as Cosafe automatically confirms reading receipts.
  • Communication takes place in the alarm thread and should be kept factual and informative.

Ending the alarm​

  • Only authorized users and the sender can end the alarm.
  • Click the three dots in the top right corner of the alarm thread.
  • Select "End."
  • Confirm by clicking "End."
  • Save the alarm thread for evaluation

Evaluation and feedback​

  • Discuss how the exercise went.
  • Note any areas for improvement.
  • Identify any participants who did not receive the alarm.
  • If needed, adjust alarm settings, groups, etc. for other alarms in admin.cosafe.com, based on lessons learned from the exercise.
  • Gather feedback from the staff.
  • Delete the exercise group and exercise alarm after evaluation to prevent confusion in future incidents.
  • Schedule a review session with Cosafe for further evaluation.

The exercise is now complete! Plan the next excercise to keep knowledge up to date. For any questions or support, contact support@cosafe.com or 08 409 400 20.