DIY guideBuilding safety checks
Test resident pull cords and call buttons
Pull each cord and press each button in turn, check the alert reaches staff for the right room, reset it and log it. Tell staff and residents before you start.
- 20 min to 1½ hr
- 7 steps
- Every step animated
7 steps
Tap a step to watch it again.
Tell the staff who answer the calls, and the residents, that you're testing, so nobody's alarmed.
Each pull cord should hang down near the floor, untied and not looped over a rail, so someone who's fallen can reach it.
Pull it once. The light outside the door and the staff screen or pager should show the call.
Have the staff member tell you which room their screen or pager shows. It must be the right one.
Reset it at the cord's unit or at the station, the way your system's steps say, and check the light goes off.
Do the same for each call button, bathroom cord and pendant, room by room, and log each one.
A cord or button that sends no call, shows the wrong room or won't reset: tag it, have staff check that room in person, and ask Handyman for the call system's technician.
What you need
- A helper at the staff screen or with the pager
- The call system's log sheet
- Tags for a failed cord or button
Call a pro if
- A cord or button sends no call
- The wrong room shows
- It won't reset
- A cord is broken or too short
Handyman says: No alert? I'll find a call system tech.
Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.
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