Guard patrol rounds with QR and NFC checkpoints
Guards walk set routes and scan a QR label or NFC tag at each checkpoint, with the phone's position, even without signal. Rounds are planned by schedule and duty rota, and missed, late or half-done rounds reach reception at once.
PLANSScale only
The problem it solves
- The night guard signs the patrol register at 6 a.m. for rounds nobody can prove were walked.
- A leaking pipe or an open fire exit is noticed on a round but reported the next morning, if at all.
- The guard on the basement round changed shifts and nobody told reception.
- There is no record of which checkpoints are skipped most often.
How it works
- A VMS administrator adds checkpoints with a location, instructions and, if wanted, a position and radius, then prints a QR label for each. NFC tags can be written from the app instead.
- Routes list checkpoints in order, the guards who walk them, the time allowed and the schedule, for example every 2 hours from 22:00 to 06:00.
- Rounds are planned every hour from the schedule. With a duty rota, each round goes to the guard on duty, who is reminded 10 minutes before.
- The guard presses Start and scans each checkpoint. Scans made without signal are kept on the phone and sent later, once each.
- Something wrong at a checkpoint: the guard ticks it, writes what and adds a photo. Reception is told at once and can write it up as an incident.
- A round not started in time, not walked, or finished with checkpoints missing is flagged. Reception is told and can hand it to another guard.
Everything it does
Checkpoints
- Name, location, instructions shown in the app, active or not
- QR label printed from the checkpoint; New QR code replaces a copied label
- NFC tag: the code written on the tag, or the tag's serial kept when it cannot hold the code
- Optional position with a radius (50 metres to start with): scans farther away are flagged Away From Position
Routes and schedule
- Ordered checkpoints and the guards of the route
- Planned Rounds: on to start with, from 22:00 until 06:00, every 2 hours, every day of the week
- Time Allowed: 30 minutes; Flag Late After: 10 minutes
- Without planned rounds, guards start a round when needed; a guard can also start any route at any time
- A planned round can be started from 15 minutes before its time
Duty rota
- Visitors > Patrolling > Duty Rota: a guard on a route for one date, or on weekdays, within a shift. The shift is 22:00 to 06:00 to start with and may run past midnight
- The guard must be one of the route's guards; a one-day line wins over a weekly one
- Planned rounds in the shift go to that guard; only they are reminded and can start them
- Reception hands a round to another guard by changing Assigned To; that guard is told
Rounds and scans
- Statuses: Planned, Running, Done, Incomplete, Missed, Cancelled
- Each scan: checkpoint, time, QR or NFC, distance from the position, sent later from a phone without signal, note, issue and photo
- GPS track of the round from the app (up to 2,000 points)
- Filters: Today, Running, Done, Missed / incomplete, With issues, Scanned away, Not started in time, Assigned to me
- Analysis by route, guard, status and day, as a pivot
- With the incident register: an Incident button on an issue found on a round, linked both ways
Who uses it
GuardStarts rounds, scans checkpoints, reports issues with a photo and finishes the round.
ReceptionFollows rounds, gets missed rounds and issues, and hands rounds to another guard.
Security managerSets the duty rota and reads the analysis by route and guard.
VMS administratorSets up checkpoints, labels, NFC tags and routes.
Where you use it
- Web: Visitors > Patrolling (Rounds, Duty Rota, Checkpoints, Routes)
- The Guard app: Patrol, with QR and NFC scans, scans without signal and the GPS track. Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Guard web page: Patrol with QR labels or typed codes and the browser's location; NFC works only in the app
- NFC tags have not been proven at a customer's site yet; QR labels work everywhere
What you control
Settings
- Planned rounds per route: on, 22:00 to 06:00, every 2 hours, all days
- Time allowed for a round: 30 minutes
- Flag late after: 10 minutes
- Checkpoint radius: 50 metres, when a position is set
- Duty rota shift: 22:00 to 06:00 on a new line
Notifications
- Patrol Round Due: 10 minutes before a planned round, to the guards of the route or the rostered guard; app notification and in the app
- Patrol Round Assigned: to the guard reception handed a round to; app notification and in the app
- Patrol Round Missed / Incomplete: to reception; app notification and in the app, and the first of WhatsApp, SMS or email
- Patrol Issue Reported: to reception at once; same channels
- Reception also gets a to-do for a missed round or an issue
Questions
What if there is no signal in the basement?
The Guard app keeps the scans on the phone and sends them when it is back online. Each scan is counted once.Do we need NFC tags?
No. Printed QR labels work in the app and in the browser. NFC tags work only in the app, on phones that read NFC, and are not yet proven at a customer's site.How do we know the guard was really at the checkpoint?
Give the checkpoint a position. Scans farther than its radius (50 metres to start with) are flagged as Away From Position.Who hears about a missed round?
Reception, at once, with a to-do. A round not started 10 minutes after its time is flagged so it can go to another guard.Which plan has patrol rounds?
Scale. On Growth they can be added as an add-on.Related features
SECURITY OPERATIONSIncident register and reportsGuards and the office record anything unsafe or wrong with its type, severity, place, people, vehicle and photos or videos. Each incident has an owner, a follow-up date and a police reference, and ends with a printable report.GATE, KIOSK AND GUARD TOOLSGuard screen and Guard appOne screen shows the guard who is expected, who is waiting and who is inside. One box takes a pass code, a QR, a mobile number or a name. It runs in a browser on any computer, tablet or phone, and as the Guard app.GATE, KIOSK AND GUARD TOOLSGuard panic alertA guard holds one button for panic, medical, fire, intruder or other help. Every guard of the site and reception are alerted at once. Another guard presses I am responding, so the sender knows help is coming.SECURITY OPERATIONSEmergency broadcast and muster listSend one emergency message to staff, guards, hosts and the visitors inside, on every channel at once. It shows on the apps, the gate screen and the kiosk until the all clear. Print a muster list of everyone inside for the roll call.ACROSS SMARTMY VMSNotificationsSmartMy VMS tells the right person the moment something happens: a visitor waiting, a guest arrived, a gate pass approved, a round missed, an emergency. Each event has its own recipients and channels: app notification, in-app, email, SMS and WhatsApp.
See it on your own gate.
Tell us how many gates you have, who comes through them and how visitors are approved today. We will show you SmartMy VMS set up that way.