Improving security guard visibility and safety with smartphone technology, writes Merrick Edwards, pictured, Business Development Director EMEA, Toughshield (www.tough-shield.com).
Employers have a duty of care to ensure that employees are as safe as possible at all times which can be a more onerous task when those employees are security guards. In an industry where the very nature of the job is likely to include being at risk from the threat of violence, potentially whilst working alone, anything an employer can do to protect its security guards should be considered. If the company is providing security services to another business it also needs to be able to demonstrate that it is fulfilling the terms of the service agreement. This can include a requirement to provide proof of attendance, record shift start and end times and provide real time incident reporting.
Technology
Making use of the latest technology all of these tasks can be made easier and safer. The introduction of new competitively priced rugged smartphones is making it far more viable and affordable to equip security guards with a smartphone. Offering protection against water and dust ingress, knocks and drops and scratches to the screen, rugged smartphones are designed to withstand a range of environments and offer far greater reliability than consumer mobile phones. Combined with a service management or mobile workforce management software solution, rugged smartphones enable security companies to manage their work schedules, automatically allocate tasks to guards and monitor their location, all in real time and all on a device small enough to fit in their pocket.
Near Field Communication
Near field communication (NFC) ‘touch’ technology is a set of short-range wireless technologies that enables smartphone users to obtain data from an unpowered NFC tag, which could take the form of a sticker, card or key fob. To obtain the data the smartphone user simply needs to put the phone in very close proximity to the tag. Using NFC, security companies can effortlessly gather the time and location information of guards on site at any given time, as well as details of any incidents. This not only provides traceable evidence that the security company is fulfilling its duties and providing the agreed security services but can also help to ensure that its employees are safe and protected as alarms can be set up to trigger automatically if guards don’t ‘check in’ at certain locations on time.
Proof of attendance and alerts
Proof of attendance is achieved by placing inexpensive tags at all locations that a security guard must visit – both indoors and outdoors. This tag uniquely identifies the location, and unlike barcodes cannot easily be counterfeited. All a guard has to do to verify attendance is to touch the tag with their smartphone. Who they are, where they are, and the exact time of attendance are all instantly transmitted over the mobile data network to the head office system to be monitored and reported as required. ‘Attendance Alert’ systems constantly monitor site checkpoints and immediately send alerts by SMS and/or email if a guard fails to check in at a certain location within the specified timeframe.
Location and personnel data retrieval
NFC can enable guards to easily retrieve location specific information by simply touching a tag. Doing so may bring up a list of tasks to perform, give them site contact information in the event of an incident, or allow them to review a history of events at that location. This technology can also enable a guard to instantly check IDs by touching a visitor ID badge which will bring up the visitor’s photograph and details to the smartphone, assuming they are captured when they arrive on site. All data is securely stored on a central database, not on the tag, and can be updated helping to keep the guards informed at all times.
Data capture
Locations, times, incidents and visitor details can all be automatically assigned to the right guard and right site when the data is collected by the smartphone. Guards can also use a smartphone to take photographs or make sound recordings to use as evidence or to help them if they are in trouble. Data captured can be automatically sent to the central control room in real time via the mobile phone network enabling managers to assess and respond to situations in real time or make reports of damage and incidents.
Key-holding
Key-holding becomes much easier to manage and control with NFC. Each key can be given its own tag and all fixed data associated with the key can be held in a database. When a key is used, its tag is touched with the NFC smartphone, and the appropriate data is recorded without the need for any paperwork.
Lone worker panic buttons
Should a dangerous situation arise, some rugged smartphones include dedicated lone worker panic buttons that are easy to see and press in the case of an emergency. These allow the user to raise an alert if he or she is in distress and, when configured as part of the mobile workforce management solution, provide an instant communication back to a central control room to raise an alarm, which can include the phone’s location based on its GPS position.
Accelerometers and GPS
If the smartphone also includes an accelerometer, which senses movement and gravity, it can be configured to trigger an alarm without user intervention, which can help a security guard who passes out for example or is pushed to the ground with force. If the phone is dropped or lies still for a period of time this will be detected by the accelerometer, which can set off an alarm. If the user fails to cancel the alarm this would suggest they are in trouble and the workforce management solution could be set up to automatically raise an alert without any intervention from the user.
Home alone
Being a security guard often means working unsocial hours, possibly quite some distance from home. Keeping in touch with their families is vital and this can result in the use of mobile devices supplied by the business being used for personal use. If the company permits this it can result in tax implications for the company and for the security guard or a monthly requirement for the security guard to trawl through mobile phone statements to identify their personal calls so they can pay for them. If the company doesn’t allow it chances are it will happen anyway and the business will incur this cost without realising it. With the launch of smartphones that support dual SIM the security guard is now able to put their personal SIM in their work smartphone alongside the business SIM saving their employer a considerable amount of paperwork and cost.
Companies
By equipping their workforce with a mobile worker application running on a rugged smartphone, such as the Toughshield R500, security companies can realise many benefits. Through more efficient and effective management of security tasks, costs can be reduced and paperwork eliminated; record keeping is made easier; their duty of care as an employer to keep workers as safe as possible is made easier, and finally their customers receive a better service.
About the firm
Toughshield
