Site security guards
Does anyone contract out security guards for their site? We did this at my first job, and I found that during third shift and over the weekends they were doing some goofy stuff.
We ended up switching security companies several times because it was so hard to find good workers. If your company does contract out a security company, how do you make sure they're following best workplace practices (even when nobody is around)?
Comments (10)
Yes, we have in the past and with the current material shortage it's going to be more commonplace. It is definitely hard to find reputable providers but when you find one hold on to them.
We have contracted guards and have similar issues. However I do come in on off shift hours to verify compliance of there job to having them fill out a rounds work sheet and if they lie on the form we have cameras everywhere. that's how I caught them smoking by chemicals.
We do. We just got rid of one cause we caught him sleeping on the job. I'm not entirely sure what they do all day to be honest. They do help with incident investigation and reviewing camera footage though.
Our site has contracted security services at entrance points only. We have our own emergency response team perform roving security. I meet weekly with our contracted security supervisor. I meet quarterly with the contracted security regional manager. We have security officer post orders (SOPs/Expectations) which pair nicely with our site security plan which we review annually with the contractor. We perform an annual self-assessment of our security controls and a 5-year security audit with our internal regional security manager. In addition, we perform quarterly unannounced breach attempts to ensure our guards are attentive and understand how to respond to specific scenarios. All new security officers train for 1-2 weeks prior to being allowed to work on their own and we provide timely feedback to key stakeholders on their performance. While it is true turnover is high in the security industry, if you manage the contractor against your expectations you'll be satisfied.
What observed at a prior employer was a system that allowed the security guards to “check in” at specific locations on their rounds. When I was there on nights and weekends I didn’t see anything out of sorts, but there wasn’t much liveliness either. It’s to be expected though. Most guards are making minimum wage and are there to make the facility look secure and call the local PD if there’s an issue.
There are exceptions though. I’ve observed that the Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) security force in Pasadena CA take their jobs very seriously.
We have guards, but they are employees. I recently priced out contracting these services but it would've cost $20,000 more per year than having our own employees do it. One of the best investments we made was a $200 security scanner. They use this scanner to scan 6 different points on site every hour.
Hopefully, their supervisor is someone who can set them straight if you do notice they are doing the wrong things. Watch the cameras for their behavior haha.