Safeguard Security is now using the Bloodhound smartphone-based guard monitoring system that utilises a Global Positioning System (GPS) locator to provide a guard’s exact location at any time during his tour of duty.It is the first and only security company in Zimbabwe to make use of this system to provide proof that its guards are where they should be at any given time and to plot their precise location and ensure they carry out patrols as instructed.
GPS points are plotted on the guard’s patrol route. When he reaches one of these points he is given further instructions through a message on his phone.
The GPS signal proves that the guard is where he is supposed to be at the time he is supposed to be there. If he arrives at a point ahead of schedule, he will be told he has arrived too early. If he arrives late, he will be asked to explain why.
The system is interactive. When the guard reaches a specific point he will be asked questions or be given specific tasks to do. If the point is at a fuel pump, for instance, he might be asked what the reading on the fuel pump is. If it is a swimming pool, he might be asked to check that the swimming pool pump is intact.
The duties he is given and signs off on are recorded together with the time and the place where he is, thus providing proof that he is at the right place at the right time. Reports can only be generated from the area the guard is in.
It is possible to have multiple layer questions, so that the questions are less predictable, which makes the exercise more interesting for the guard. The task might be just to wait and observe before moving onto the next point.
The system enables Safeguard to add value to the guard services it provides. Not only can the client be assured that the guard is awake and alert but that he is patrolling the premises and being given specific tasks to do at different points on his patrol path.
Safeguard has for some time been developing various guard monitoring systems. In the past it has used tagging and the placing of an electronic baton in a port at different points on the guard’s patrol.
The new system enables Safeguard’s guard monitoring centre to monitor the guard in real time.
Should the guard not reach a point on time or respond to the questions or tasks he is given, a violation message will appear on a computer at the monitoring centre, which will then contact the guard or his supervisor to find out what the problem is.
The smartphones that the guards carry are robust, waterproof and shatter-proof.
They are also programmed with a panic button which can be used in an emergency to alert Safeguard’s rapid response teams. If a phone’s battery charged level is low, a message to this effect is sent automatically to the monitoring centre, which then advises the guard to recharge his phone.
The system has good reporting and analysis capabilities, enabling Safeguard to send the client a report every morning. The client has direct access to the reports and the performance of his guard contract countrywide.
–The Herald