What3words is a piece of technology designed to enable users to provide a precise location, anywhere and at any time. Street addresses can’t specify building entrances and often don’t exist for parks and rural areas. This poses danger in an emergency if someone cannot accurately describe where they are. Many companies across the world now use what3words within their business including Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Hermes Parcels, AA and even some of the emergency services UK.

 

How does it work?

Street addresses don’t always point to precise locations, so what3words have allocated a unique 3 word address to every 3m square in the world. These 3 words are assigned at random and will never change. You can either download the app for free on your phone or use their website. The app will be able to detect your location and from there give you the 3 word address for that exact position. You can also search locations anywhere across the world to find out their 3 word address.

An example of precise locations using what3words

When can you use it?

There’s many different ways this technology can be used, including:

  • Planning activities e.g. running, cycling, hiking;
  • Sharing locations;
  • Deliveries to exact locations;
  • Finding destinations anywhere across the world; and
  • Getting help faster in an emergency.

To conclude

As a health and safety company, we believe a piece of technology like this could be life saving in an emergency. It might be that you download the app and never use it, but we think it’s worth having it on your phone so you are prepared should you ever find yourself in an emergency situation.

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