How a Guard Tour System Improves Incident Response and Security Operations

The detection, speed of response and effectiveness of incident management can have a huge impact on the safety and security of the location to which you’ve been contracted to provide security services. Implementing an effective guard tour patrol system ensures checkpoints are monitored and security measures are properly maintained.

It also can have a direct influence on client satisfaction, especially in an industry where customers are often looking for reasons to find a lower bid elsewhere.

Learn how to improve incident response with technologies built for security guards and security patrols, incident management and resolution through modern guard tour systems.

What is a guard tour system in security?

A guard tour system is specialised software that helps security companies monitor and manage security guards, track checkpoint visits and ensure proper patrol routes are being followed. These systems document when guards scan checkpoint tags or QR codes during their patrol routes, ensuring all required areas are inspected at predefined time intervals. Modern guard tour systems use mobile technology to provide real-time monitoring, alerts and reporting capabilities.

What are the duties of a security provider?

Typically, a security provider is responsible for ensuring the physical safety of contracted locations through consistent security patrols and checkpoint monitoring.

The main duties and responsibilities of security guards and security officers include:

• Monitoring all relevant systems, software and communications to detect potential security incidents
• Staffing field security officers to respond to and resolve incidents in real-time
• Communicating statuses of conflict and resolution with appropriate stakeholders and clients
• Maintain records and reports, including guard tour records and patrol management
• Help identify issues that could be changed or improved on for faster, safer and more efficient incident resolution

What is incident response in security?

Incident response in the security industry involves every action required by a security company to detect, contain and resolve a security threat. In physical security operations, this can involve trespassing, theft, false identification, public safety threats and more.

The 6 steps to incident response process

To ensure security incidents are dealt with quickly and safely, security guard companies must have a firm response process in place. This involves six clear steps.

1. Preparation

Take all steps necessary to address a wide variety of potential security incidents. Each incident should include a mock resolution, with clear responsibilities assigned to specific users. Then, in the case of a security risk, those who need to be involved are aware of their duties, minimising confusion.

2. Identification

Ensure you have the security guards and technologies in place to help detect potential security risks. Having these systems in place support proactive incident response, including checkpoint tags and QR codes for verification.

3. Containment

Take immediate steps to limit risk caused by the incident. This should also include real-time status updates. If the job site you’re contracted to secure is breached, this should include sharing information with your clients as noted in your SLAs.

4. Investigation

Using data and analytic tools, analyse the incident. Determine where the breach was made and how it could have been prevented. Remember, not all breaches are external. This step could uncover gaps in your own systems that may need correcting.

5. Corrective action

This step is where you make the adjustments identified in step four. This can include changes in personnel, processes, work inspections, proof of service, technologies used on site and more.

6. Review

As daily operations get back to status quo, ensure you have a system in place to review your incident response plans periodically so everything is updated and ready, should it be needed again.

With these six steps, you can mitigate risk, improve safety and create safer environments, ensuring your company is operating with effective incident response measures.

What are the advantages of a guard tour patrol system?

Guard tour patrol systems offer numerous benefits for security companies and their clients:

1. Enhanced accountability – Digital records verify that security guards have visited all required checkpoints at the scheduled times
2. Improved incident response – Real-time alerts notify managers immediately when issues arise or patrols are missed
3. Better reporting capabilities – Comprehensive reports with time stamps provide clients with detailed proof of service
4. Reduced liability – Documentation of all patrol activities helps protect against false claims
5. Increased efficiency – Digital systems eliminate paper reports and streamline operations
6. Data-driven insights – Analytics help identify patterns and improve security protocols over time
7. Remote monitoring – Managers can track patrol activities from anywhere using cloud technology
8. Client transparency – Client portals allow customers to view security status in real-time

These advantages not only improve security operations but also provide significant value to clients, increasing satisfaction and retention.

What technologies can support effective incident response

To support incident response, you should first effectively view, manage and automate your security operations. The truth is, technology solutions can get you there more accurately, reliably and faster than manual or paper reports.

But where do you start? If you’re looking to implement software to specifically help support incident response, look for these core functionalities in guard tour systems:

• Mobile technology — Mobile technology is an absolute must for effective incident response. With mobile apps, security officers and their managers can communicate with back-office users and other responders in real-time, capture activity reports and incident forms, assign forms to specific locations, capture photos and video, assign issues to specific users and more.
• Location tracking — Location tracking features increase the ways you can gain visibility over your security operations. You can see which guard is active and onsite, who recently inactivated and use that information to make judgement calls based on proximity to incidents.
• Digital inspections — Incident response software should include a way to conduct location inspections and site audits with the convenience of a mobile device. Examples of data collected can include pass/fail and quality assurance metrics, locations details, officer inspections and more.
• Configurable alerts and triggers — Your guard tour system should support notifications and messages that enable all stakeholders to stay informed via automated alert emails that can trigger based on raised alerts from the field. This should be configurable based on yours and your clients’ preferences through a Client Portal.
• Exception reports — One of the misconceptions about working proactively is that you must constantly micromanage and monitor every contract at all times to prevent incidents or ensure fast response. With exception reporting, instead those efforts are only pulled to contracts where something had deviated from the norm.
• Analytics — Your technology should support custom analytics views that align perfectly with your contract KPIs. This can help you improve service delivery and incident management across all environments, like tracking incidents by location, issue trends, incident reports by category and notification stats.
• Integrated functionality — Any technology you implement shouldn’t only manage incidents. Instead, it should connect with other core areas of your business for maximum efficiency gain. Some examples include time and attendance, scheduling, proof of service and back-office management systems. By housing all of this information within the same software, you can decrease error, eliminate manual data uploads and clean-up and operate from a single source of truth with no additional cost.

What are the benefits of going digital in security management?

This might sound like a lot. That’s why TEAM Software by WorkWave developed tools to bring all of these needs for effective incident response into a single guard tour patrol system.

Meet Lighthouse, TEAM Software’s guard tour system for security companies. Lighthouse operates as your mobile command centre, providing real-time monitoring of your distributed guards and contracted activity.

As a guard monitoring tool, Lighthouse ensures you have the right guards in the right place at the right time to respond to incidents and mitigate risk.

Use Lighthouse to:

• Create, update and assign incidents
• Keep stakeholders – including your clients – informed with automated alerts as new incidents are reported
• Generate comprehensive reports on-demand
• Monitor checkpoint scans in real-time

“What we endeavour with Lighthouse is to garner deeper value for our large accounts and customers through trend analysis and business intelligence. The insights we can pass to our customers through what we learn through data helps us stand apart.” – Joe Sordi, Strategic Security Services

What are the essential features to look for in a guard tour system when resolving incidents?

The biggest piece of advice we can give when searching for a guard tour system for your business is to select a software provider who can provide ample training and support. When paired with key features, this kind of partnership ensures you have the resources and expertise to set things up from the start in a way that equals success.

Key software features to look for also include:

• Real-time positioning and checkpoint monitoring
• Mobile forms and activity reports
• Messages and alerts
• Duress and notifications
• Analytics and reporting dashboards
• Mobile time and attendance tracking
• Intuitive interface for security guards and managers

Do you want to learn more about Lighthouse? Contact us to see how you can use it to manage incidents and gather report data to drive intelligent analytics.