Glossary
Definitions of the terms you will see in Quantavist. These match the labels shown in the customer app.
A
Alert
A safety observation that requires follow-up by your HSE team. Alerts are raised when Quantavist detects a potential issue (for example unsafe working at height or plant–person proximity) or when someone creates one manually.
Each alert has a status (such as Unassigned or Actioned), an alert level, a location, and an audit trail of everything that happened to it.
Alert level
The risk rating for an alert, derived from standard HSE risk assessment matrix methodology. It reflects the combined assessment of:
- Likelihood — how likely it is that harm will occur
- Consequence (severity) — how serious the harm would be if it did occur
Quantavist maps these two factors to one of four levels, shown as coloured badges on alert cards and detail pages:
| Level | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Low | Lower risk — typically minor consequence and/or very unlikely likelihood |
| Medium | Moderate risk — mid-range combinations of likelihood and consequence |
| High | Elevated risk — significant consequence with meaningful likelihood, or serious consequence at lower likelihood |
| Critical | Highest risk — severe or catastrophic consequence combined with likely or almost certain likelihood |
This follows the same logic as a conventional 5×5 risk matrix (likelihood on one axis, severity on the other), where higher cells indicate greater risk. Quantavist expresses the outcome as these four levels rather than the intermediate bands (such as "Low Med" or "Med Hi") some matrices use.
How levels are set
- Automatically detected alerts — the system assesses the observed hazard and assigns a level based on likelihood and consequence.
- Manual alerts — AI analysis may suggest a level when photos are provided; you can confirm or adjust it before creating the alert.
Alert level indicates how much risk the observation represents, not how urgently your team has responded. Status (Unassigned, Actioned, and so on) tracks workflow progress. Alert level affects how prominently an alert is surfaced in lists and analytics; it does not change which actions are available — status and permissions do.
Alert short code
A short reference for an alert, made from part of its internal identifier. For example, an alert might be referred to as 5WNU in conversation or notifications.
Use the short code when discussing alerts with colleagues. Open the full alert from the alerts list or a notification to see all details.
Assigned to
The person currently responsible for working an alert. Shown on the alert detail page under Assigned to.
An alert can be unassigned, assigned to someone else, or assigned to you. The assignee is expected to accept the assignment before taking further action.
Accepted
See Alert status (status model). In the app, the status previously assigned users reach after they Accept an assignment. The UI label is Accepted, not "acknowledged".
C
Consequence
The severity of harm that could result if a hazard materialises — for example negligible injury, minor injury, serious injury, or fatality. In risk assessment, consequence is plotted on one axis of the risk matrix. See Alert level.
Corrective action
The work recorded when an HSE user actions an alert: what was done on site, which subcontractor was involved, and any supporting photos. Summarised in the Corrective action section on the alert detail page.
D
Discarded
A closed alert status meaning the observation does not require further safety action — for example because it was a false positive or authorised work. See the alert status model.
E
Engineer fix
See Fix request.
Expired
An alert status applied automatically when an alert has had no activity for a configured period (typically five days). Expired alerts can be restored to their previous status. See the alert status model.
F
Fix request
A request for an on-site engineer to provide corrective evidence before or while an alert is being actioned. In the app this is often labelled Fix, Fix request, or Engineer fix.
A fix request has its own status (for example Assigned, Seen, Submitted) and is linked to the parent alert. An outstanding fix can block the HSE user from actioning the alert until it is submitted, approved, or cancelled.
H
HSE comment
The written record an HSE user provides when actioning an alert — describing what corrective measures were taken. Required when marking an alert as actioned.
I
Tasks
Your personal list of items that need attention — including alert assignments, fix requests, and other notifications. Access from the main navigation.
L
Likelihood
The probability that harm will occur from a observed hazard — for example very unlikely, unlikely, possible, likely, or very likely. In risk assessment, likelihood is plotted on one axis of the risk matrix. Combined with consequence, it determines the alert level. See Alert level.
Location
Where on site the alert applies. Shown as a breadcrumb of zones (areas, floors, or buildings) on the alert detail page.
In conversation, refer to locations by their zone names — for example "Level 3 east core" — rather than internal identifiers.
M
Manual creation
An alert source indicating the alert was created by a person in Quantavist, not detected automatically. The creator's name is shown alongside Manual creation.
P
PPE compliance
An analytics measure of how consistently people on site wear required personal protective equipment.
Shown as PPE compliance rate on Risk analytics. Overall PPE requires every checked item to be present; one or more missing items produces one overall violation. Hard-hat and high-visibility-vest breakdowns identify the missing item. It is not the same as alerts: PPE compliance estimates site-wide PPE discipline from observations, while alerts are individual safety observations that need follow-up. See PPE compliance.
R
Role
Your permission set in Quantavist, which controls what you can see and do — for example whether you can discard alerts, verify actions, or manage fix requests. Roles are assigned by your organisation's administrators.
If an action is unavailable, you may lack the required role or the alert may not be in the right status.
S
Shift
A recurring scheduled work period on site with a roster of assigned people. Shifts can automatically check in rostered users when the shift window starts and check them out when it ends.
Shifts are managed from the Dashboard and Shifts page. See Duty and shifts.
On duty / Off duty
Whether a user is available right now. Also shown as checked in or checked out on the Users page. On duty controls whether web push notifications are delivered. See Duty and shifts.
Site
The top-level facility you operate in Quantavist — for example a construction project or industrial plant. A site contains zones and users.
You may have access to one or more sites depending on your role.
Source
How an alert was created:
| Source | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Quantavist Intelligence | Detected automatically from camera analysis |
| Manual creation | Created by a user in the app |
Subcontractor
The contractor responsible for on-site corrective work. You must select a subcontractor when actioning an alert. Subcontractors can be managed in settings if you have permission.
T
Time to effective action
The time from when an alert is detected (created) until the corrective action that was later verified.
In other words: how long it took to take the action that successfully closed the loop — not merely the first attempt to action the alert.
- Measured only for alerts that reach Verified
- If an action is rejected and reworked, the clock runs to the successful action (the one that proceeds directly to Verified), not an earlier rejected attempt
- Does not include time spent waiting for verification after that successful action
- Distinct from Time to action, which measures a single workflow stage (acceptance → first action or fix request)
Shown as a headline KPI on Response analytics and in weekly safety reports (often as a median). See Analytics.
V
Verified
A closed alert status meaning an independent reviewer has confirmed the corrective action was appropriate. See the alert status model.
Z
Zone
An area within a site — for example a floor, wing, or work zone. Zones form the location breadcrumb on alerts and are used to scope permissions and analytics.
Related pages
- Alert status model — statuses, transitions, and actions
- Analytics — response metrics (including time to effective action) and per 1k man-hours
- PPE compliance — PPE compliance rate (separate from alerts)
- Duty and shifts — check-in and shift management