Facility Security: Guard Duties, Responsibilities & Best Practices

Access Control

Guards control who enters and exits the site. This means checking IDs, logging visitors, verifying contractor credentials, and monitoring vehicle traffic at gates. Every entry and exit is documented.

On Reddit's r/securityguards, access control is often described as the most visible part of the job. Guards at reception or gate posts are the face of site security. Clear post orders — written instructions for what to check, who to admit, and how to handle exceptions — are essential. Guards treat post orders as the authoritative "law" of their position.

Guard Tours and Patrols

Regular patrols are the operational backbone. Guards walk predetermined routes through buildings, production areas, perimeters, and technical rooms — checking for hazards, intrusions, damage, and policy violations.

The challenge: patrols need to be verifiable. Clients and insurers want proof that a guard was physically present at each checkpoint at the documented time. Traditional systems used mechanical watchclocks. Today, guard tour systems use NFC tags or GPS checkpoints to create digital, tamper-proof patrol records. Guard tour monitoring gives supervisors real-time visibility into patrol progress and missed checkpoints.

Incident Reporting and Documentation

Every incident — theft, damage, unauthorized access, safety hazard, medical emergency — must be documented. Guards write incident reports (IRs) with time, location, description, and actions taken.

Beyond incidents, guards produce Daily Activity Reports (DARs) — a chronological log of everything that happened during the shift. On quiet shifts, the DAR might be routine entries. On eventful ones, it's the primary evidence trail.

Photo evidence is increasingly standard. Modern systems enable incident capture directly on site — with photo, location, and timestamp in a single step instead of separate forms.

Key Management

Facility security often includes custody of site keys — to restricted areas, utility rooms, equipment lockouts, and emergency exits. Every key handover must be logged: who took it, when, and when it was returned. If a key goes missing, the security team needs to trace the last person who had custody — immediately.

Paper key logs in binder systems fail this requirement regularly.

Digital key management with NFC-sealed key rings creates an automatic, tamper-proof handover record.

Fire Watch and Emergency Response

Guards monitor fire safety equipment, ensure emergency exits remain clear, and act as first responders until fire or EMS arrives. On many sites, the security team is the first line of emergency response.

In industrial settings, this extends to hazmat awareness, evacuation coordination, and alarm response. Guards need to know the site's emergency action plan, muster points, and communication protocols.

Monitoring and Alarm Response

Many facility security programs include monitoring CCTV systems, intrusion alarms, and access control panels. Guards respond to alarm activations, verify causes (false alarm vs. real threat), and escalate when needed.

The combination of physical patrols and electronic monitoring creates layered security — guards verify what cameras and sensors flag, and technology covers areas between patrol routes.

Lone Worker Protection

Guards working alone — night shifts, large perimeters, remote areas — face higher risk if they're injured or incapacitated. Regulations in many jurisdictions require employers to implement lone worker safety measures.

A dead man's alarm detects when a guard stops moving and triggers an alert with their last known location — without requiring separate hardware.

Shift Start

Review the guard logbook for open items from the previous shift. Receive the pass-down report — what happened, what's pending, any special instructions. Take custody of keys. Begin the first patrol.

During the Shift

Run scheduled patrols — scan checkpoints, inspect doors and gates, check technical areas. Staff the access control point. Document everything: routine entries in the DAR, incidents in separate IRs. Respond to alarms and calls. Execute checkpoint-linked tasks (e.g., check fire extinguisher status, read a utility meter).

Shift End

Return keys with documented handover. Complete the DAR. Brief the incoming guard on open items and anything unusual. Log out.

Verifiable Patrols

Digital checkpoint scans with timestamps and location data are tamper-proof and available instantly — no waiting for a guard to return a watchclock for manual data extraction.

Faster Reporting

Incidents captured on a mobile device — with structured fields, photo evidence, and voice-to-text — reduce the time guards spend writing after every event. The tool needs to work fast, work offline, and not crash.

Less Admin Overhead

When shift schedules, time tracking, and key logs live in one system instead of separate spreadsheets, supervisors spend less time on data entry and reconciliation.

Client Transparency

Contract security clients increasingly want real-time visibility into what's happening on their site. A client portal with access to patrol data and reports replaces the monthly PDF email.

Lone Worker Safety

Smartphone-based dead man's alarms replace dedicated hardware devices. Combined with GPS location, the operations center can see where a guard was when an alarm triggered.