AIMS ZERO
Designing Safety for Lone Workers
Safety in the Background
In 2021, I worked on the design of AIMS Zero, a safety platform built to protect lone utility workers operating in remote, high-risk environments. The goal was to design a reliable and intuitive app for the Apple Watch and iPhone, that would assist in high-risk environments using location-aware alerts.
AusNet approached us with the idea: could a device or app help improve field safety for their lone utility workers? It was an interesting concept, but one that came with some unknowns. Would workers trust it, or even be interested? Would it hold up in remote, no-signal regions? Would it fit into their day without getting in the way?
MY ROLE
Designing for Apple Watch and iPhone
I helped define core interaction flows for the watch and iOS app, including hazard detection, duress triggers, and location-based check-ins. Given the device’s limited screen size and outdoor usage, we focused on minimal-tap interactions that could be used in bright sunlight, or in low-connectivity environments.
Mapping End-to-End Journeys
Working with the product team, I mapped user flows across both the field experience and the supervisor dashboard, from initial hazard detection to incident escalation. This helped align stakeholders on where the system needed to support automation, visibility, or fast human response.
Wireframing and Prototyping
Created wireframes for key screens in Figma and built interactive prototypes for the watch and the app. These prototypes were used in internal demos, stakeholder reviews, and usability tests with customer field team.
Responsive Dashboard Design
I contributed to the responsive design of the supervisor portal, ensuring critical features like worker status, location tracking, and alert filtering worked smoothly across desktops and tablets. Particular care was given to clarity, contrast, and information density for fast scanning.
Collaborating with Engineers
Throughout the build, I worked closely with frontend developers to align on interaction details and edge cases. We paired regularly to ensure designs were feasible, especially in handling connectivity drops, fallback states, and error recovery.
Incorporating Field Feedback
We tested prototypes with internal safety teams and used their feedback to refine navigation, language, and system defaults. I helped prioritise changes that reduced false positives, clarified alert states, and made the interface easier to use under stress.
The Challenge
In 2021, 169 Australian workers lost their lives due to traumatic workplace incidents, with utility workers among the top sectors at risk. Many of these workers operated alone in remote regions, bushfire-prone zones, and areas with no reliable mobile coverage.
Studies show that up to 30% of serious field incidents involving lone workers go unreported, often due to lack of signal or manual check-in fatigue.
We set our challenge with those questions in mind - To design a platform (wearable/phone app + web dashboard) that could survive rugged real-world conditions, work offline, and deliver safety with minimal interaction or disruption.
The Approach
Designing for the unseen
We set out to build a watch app that workers wouldn’t need often, but when they did, it had to work well. The design had to be less-interruptive, and reliable. That shaped every decision we made.
Keep it simple, make it work
Many of our users weren’t familiar with smartwatches. So we avoided deep menus, small tap zones, or ambiguous icons. Every action, like checking in or raising an alert, had to be quick and clear, and usable even in harsh conditions.
Two sides, one system
We were designing for both the field and the office. The wearable and the app needed to feel effortless. The dashboard had to give supervisors real-time visibility and control.
Building inside the sprint
With other ongoing projects, we had to work around existing dev constraints. That meant rapid prototyping, and close collaboration with dev teams to get the essentials right.
HOW WE GOT THERE
Insights: Two Field Visits
To ground our design process in reality, myself, another UX designer, and a developer conducted two on-site field visits with asset managers from AusNet, our industry partner. The goal was to observe lone workers in their actual environment and understand their daily workflows, the challenges they face, and their real-world safety behaviours.
By shadowing them during their daily tasks, we moved beyond process documents and saw the practical challenges they faced. These are the five key insights that directly shaped our design priorities.
Productivity Is Key
Field workers are primarily measured on completing their tasks efficiently. We observed that safety check-ins, was often bypassed until a more convenient time
The Vehicle vs. The Field
In the truck, the phone is often mounted and accessible which is ideal for reviewing job details. The moment they step out, their focus shifts to the immediate environment
Hazards Have Different Urgencies
We learned that workers categorise risks into several types, each in varying orders of severity
Supervisor Visibility Gap
Supervisors lack real-time visibility into worker safety. They can't tell if the worker is safe or in trouble
Poor Connectivity
We observed workers moving in and out of cellular black spots throughout the day. A system that relied on a constant connection would be unreliable and, therefore, untrustworthy
BRAINSTORMING
Observation-Implication Map
We wanted to translate the high-level insights into an actionable design strategy, and thus I created an Observation-Implication Map. This exercise helped us systematically connect each specific field observation with a concrete design implication. This ensured that our design priorities were not based on assumptions, but were direct responses to the real-world needs and challenges we had witnessed. It formed the evidence-based foundation for our brainstorming phase.
We held a team-wide brainstorming session to generate dozens of 'How Might We' statements based on our field research, to reframe each user problem as a design challenge. This exercise helped us convert problems into opportunities and built a foundation of shared ideas.
Two Devices, One Experience
From our initial conversations with AusNet, they were thinking of a safety system that combined a wearable for the field with a mobile app for broader awareness. It sounded promising. But we still had to ask -
- Was this dual-device setup actually useful to workers?
- Or would it create more complexity without delivering real safety benefits? We didn’t want to assume.
What became clear from early research was that solving this problem meant supporting two very different contexts: the field, where the risk is highest, and the vehicle, where workers plan and coordinate their day. A single-device approach would miss half the story.
Then there was the idea of the supervisor dashboard. But the core of our focus was validating whether a two-part system could feel seamless and necessary in real-world conditions.
To get clarity, I created a quick SWOT analysis to reaffirm our understanding.
The strengths of a dedicated wearable for real-time safety were clear, but it couldn’t do everything. By pairing it with a mobile app to handle tasks like data entry and map interaction, the weaknesses became manageable. With this, we moved on to mapping a few of the core user journeys.
JOURNEYS
The Core Scenarios
Our research and HMWs made it clear that a "one-size-fits-all" solution would fail. The system needed to adapt to the worker's context. We designed several core journeys to map out how the AIMS Zero app and wearable would work in tandem to create a seamless, intelligent safety net. The following journey map illustrates our proposed solution for the most common everyday scenario: proactively alerting a worker to a known hazard.
DESIGN
Key Interactions
To bring our proposed journeys to life, we kicked off a fast-paced 3 week design sprint. Each week was structured around focused collaboration with key stakeholders, especially the Product Owner and AusNet’s Asset Managers.
I started by sketching the core user flows, which we’d review and refine together. From there, I turned those ideas into lo-fi wireframes and Figma prototypes. Keeping things intentionally low-fi helped us move quickly and test the critical parts of the experience.
These weekly prototypes became our main way of aligning the team and validating the direction. By the end of the sprints, we had a solid, tested foundation, ready for a follow-up week focused on user testing.
TESTING MOCK-UPS
Findings & Iterations
Once we had our first low-fidelity concepts in Figma, I put them in front of our 2 asset inspectors. With assistance from another UX designer, I ran moderated usability sessions with clickable Figma prototypes.
Below are some of the findings and resulting design iterations.
Users felt that the hazard icons could convey more information. One user pointed out that they mainly care only about the dogs and the angry customers. I redesigned the hazard icons to be more recognisable
Users wanted more information on the details page, including customer name, and contact information. I modified the concepts to accomodate the feedback
Users wanted a quick and easy way to capture new hazard information. I suggested the option of taking photo of the hazard and users liked the idea
FINAL DESIGNS
Introducing AIMS ZERO
Based on what we learned from usability testing, we moved into high-fidelity design, turning our wireframes into a polished, accessible product. We used our design system to keep things consistent across mobile and wearable. These key screens reflect the improvements we made through research, feedback, and iteration.
To fix the confusion around generic icons, we added a color-coded system: red for high-risk hazards, orange yellow for lower-risk hazards. This makes it easy for workers to gauge risk at a glance
To reduce notification fatigue, we let workers customise their alerts, enabling them to choose which hazard types they want and setting different proximity warnings for walking vs driving. This way, alerts stay relevant and actually useful
Users can check location-specific hazards and network updates before they arrive, then easily confirm or update that info on-site. This turns workers into “sensors in the field,” helping keep data accurate for everyone. The map-first view gives a clear snapshot of jobs and risks, while search and emergency tools make it easy to plan the day and feel supported on the go
Given the variable and often harsh lighting conditions of field work, accessibility was a core design need.
WCAG 2.1 Compliant Text: All text elements were designed and tested to meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 AA standards, with most achieving AAA compliance for maximum readability at a glance.
High-Contrast Graphics: All critical graphical elements, including map pins and status icons, were designed to meet a minimum 3:1 contrast ratio, ensuring that vital information is always clearly distinguishable.
Impact
The AIMS Zero mobile and wearable apps were successfully adopted by AusNet Services, providing a vital safety net for their field teams. The strong results validated our user-centered design approach.
In the initial rollout, the app saw a 98% adoption rate, with field workers appreciating its ease of use and flexibility. It delivered an average of 125 proactive hazard notifications each week, helping boost situational awareness and prevent potential incidents.
Most importantly, the system triggered back-to-base alerts for two real-world lone worker fall incidents, allowing rapid response and support. By enabling instant feedback on hazards, the app has also saved over 3,000 hours of manual updates — turning field workers into active participants in their own safety.
These outcomes contributed to AIMS Zero winning the Workplace Health and Safety Solution of the Year award in 2021.
Reflection
This project taught me a lot about designing for high-stakes environments and real-world constraints. A few key takeaways:
Design for the real world
The biggest lesson was the importance of focusing on the hardest parts of the user journey, for example, during moments when workers are offline, distracted, or have their hands full. Designing for these edge cases made the product more resilient and dependable in the field.
Value in phased approach
We initially planned a broader solution, including a supervisor dashboard. But prioritising the core field experience first helped us deliver a reliable, high-impact product quickly. I later shared research insights with the designer leading the dashboard work, who did a brilliant job at transforming the insights into a beautiful dashboard.
Context, context and context
Designing across both mobile and wearable platforms pushed me to consider not just interface consistency, but situational relevance. It reminded me how much environment, motion, and value for safety can affect usability, and why close collaboration with end users is essential throughout the design process.
