Ricarda Schmidt

Ricarda Schmidt has been writing about digital workforce scheduling, guard tour systems, and mobile workforce management solutions since 2017. As part of the COREDINATE® team, she covers the security industry, facility management, and hospitality — from lone worker protection and compliance documentation to maintenance planning and building management. Her articles are based on industry research, customer insights, and close collaboration with service providers across Germany.

A COREDINATE CORE M6 handset showing the shift overview next to a 24-hour dial with the 07:00 to 19:00 day shift highlighted.

Reading time: 9 minutes

Working Time Regulations and 12-hour shifts in security guarding

Picture of Ricarda Schmidt Ricarda Schmidt: Nov 06, 2026

Twelve-hour shifts can be lawful in security guarding in Great Britain. The Working Time Regulations 1998 set no general daily maximum for adult...

Security Guard Security Service
Twelve blank licence cards on a teal background, one new card offset in violet, beside a COREDINATE CORE M6 handset showing the app home screen.

Reading time: 5 minutes

SIA licence check and BS 7858 screening for seasonal security staff

Picture of Ricarda Schmidt Ricarda Schmidt: Nov 06, 2026

If you take on short-term starters for winter contracts such as Christmas markets, retail parks and festive events, every one who will do licensable...

Security Guard Security Service
Shift coverage dashboard widget with one running shift, coverage 0 of 2 and the expanded list of assigned employees

Reading time: 4 minutes

COREDINATE 9.34: Shift Coverage Widget and New Shift Planner

Picture of Ricarda Schmidt Ricarda Schmidt: Nov 05, 2026

Version 9.34.0 adds the dashboard widget “Shift coverage”: running shifts live at a glance and replacements for missing employees found straight from...

Functions
Two security officers passing each other at the entrance of a British red brick commercial building on a wet morning

Reading time: 9 minutes

Security assignment instructions: what must be in them

Picture of Ricarda Schmidt Ricarda Schmidt: Oct 27, 2026

BS 7499 and BS 10800 came into effect in new editions on 31 August 2026, and BSI withdrew the 2020 editions the week before. If your assignment...

Security Guard Security Service Guard Tour System
Operations manager seated at a desk in a first-floor office above an empty British street at first light, seen from behind

Reading time: 10 minutes

UK security charge rate: a cost model

Picture of Ricarda Schmidt Ricarda Schmidt: Oct 13, 2026

Nothing has been decided for April 2027. The government asked the Low Pay Commission on 16 March 2026 to recommend the rates that apply from 1 April...

Security Service Business Management Guard Tour System
Security officer takes a rugged work handset from a four-bay charging rack in a gatehouse at shift change

Reading time: 11 minutes

Guard tour system cost: how to compare vendor quotes

Picture of Ricarda Schmidt Ricarda Schmidt: Sep 16, 2026

UK vendors price guard tour systems per device, per handset, per user tier, per guard or as a one-off reader purchase. This article converts those...

Functions Security Service Business Management Guard Tour System
Lone security officer walking a wet service road between warehouse units on a British industrial estate before dawn

Reading time: 9 minutes

Lone Working Risk Assessment for Security Officers

Picture of Ricarda Schmidt Ricarda Schmidt: Sep 10, 2026

The Health and Safety Executive names security staff twice in its own lone working guidance: once as an example of people who work outside normal...

Security Guard Security Service Lone worker protection
Security company director reviewing operative licences and deployment records before a contract starts

Reading time: 5 minutes

SIA offences: the real cost of supplying unlicensed staff

Picture of Ricarda Schmidt Ricarda Schmidt: Sep 01, 2026

The Approved Contractor Scheme is voluntary. The licensing regime underneath it is not, and it carries a maximum sentence of five years. The gap...

Functions Security Service
Operations manager of a security company reviews a site map and duty roster at night while choosing security guard management software

Reading time: 5 minutes

Security guard management software: what to look for before you choose

Picture of Ricarda Schmidt Ricarda Schmidt: Aug 25, 2026

Five criteria decide whether security guard management software survives a client audit: audit-proof records, clear data hosting, offline capability,...

Functions Security Service Guard Tour System
1 2 3 4 5 Next