Lone Working Check-In Sheet

Who this is for

One sheet per trip out. It says who has gone where, what they are doing, when they expect to be back and who is holding the sheet, then records each check-in as it comes in. The times are the ones the two of you agreed; none of them is printed on the page.

Sole traders and tradespeople visiting properties alone, carers and support workers doing rounds, smallholders and estate workers out of sight of the house, volunteers on their own, and anyone whose family would like to know they are back.

What this helps you track

• Where the person has gone, and what they are there to do
• When they went out and when they expect to be back
• Who is holding the sheet and who to ring if a check-in does not come
• Each check-in, the time it came and how it came
• What was agreed to happen if a check-in is missed, in your own words

How to use it

1. Fill in the top of the sheet before setting off: the name, the task, the address, the vehicle and the time out.
2. Write in the check-in times the two of you have agreed for this trip — the sheet prints none of its own.
3. Name the person holding the sheet and the person to ring if a check-in does not arrive, and write what you have agreed should happen then.
4. As each check-in comes in, record the time it arrived, how it came and anything that was said.
5. Tick each one off, and leave the line blank if nothing came — a blank line is the point of the sheet.
6. Sign it off when the person is back, and keep the completed sheets together.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How often should someone check in?

That is for the people involved, the job and whatever arrangement your organisation works to. The sheet has a column for the times you agreed and prints no interval of its own.

What happens if a check-in is missed?

Whatever you wrote in the box at the top, which is the reason the box is there. Agree it before the trip rather than during it, and put a name and a number against it.

Is this a substitute for a proper system?

No. Organisations with a duty here usually have a policy, an app or a monitored service, and this sheet does not replace any of that. It suits people working alone with no system at all, and works as a paper backup alongside one.

Can one sheet cover several people?

It is built for one person and one trip, because that is what gets checked properly. Print one each; a sign in and out sheet suits a group coming and going from one place.

Do I need to keep them?

Keep them as long as they are useful to you, or as long as whoever you work for asks. They are short, and a box of them is the record that the arrangement was actually operating.