The guard who had never seen the site
A guard covers a Sunday day shift at an office building he has never worked. Nobody told him that the loading bay door needs checking every two hours, that the client wants visitors signed in on the tablet at reception, or which of the three alarm panels is live. The regular guard left a note, which he did not find. The client's facilities manager arrives on Monday to a visitor log with gaps and a complaint about the loading bay door left open.
Back at the office, the operations manager is sure the guard had been inducted, because he worked the site once. It turns out that was a mobile patrol visit two years ago, not a static induction. The induction form, if there was one, is in a ring binder at the site.
Why induction records are unreliable
Inductions are done by the site supervisor or the regular guard, often at the start of a first shift. They are recorded on paper, sometimes, and the paper stays on site. The office rota knows nothing about them, so every cover decision relies on memory.
| What should be recorded | What usually happens |
|---|---|
| Who was inducted and when | A signature on a sheet at site, if anyone remembered |
| Who gave the induction | Not recorded |
| Which version of the assignment instructions | Not recorded |
| Client-specific training, such as their systems | Mentioned in passing |
| Refresher after a long gap or a change | Rarely done |
The cost when guards are not inducted
Uninducted guards make the mistakes clients remember: missed checks, wrong procedures, visitors let through, alarm panels misread. Clients lose confidence, and in guarding that is how contracts are lost at renewal. If there is ever an incident, you want to show that the guard on duty had been briefed on the site's instructions, and a missing record makes that hard. Guards themselves feel set up to fail when they are sent somewhere unprepared.
What your contracts, policies and standards require for inductions is for your company and its advisers. We build the record.
A site induction record tied to the rota
- Each site has an induction checklist built from its assignment instructions: key areas, patrol routes, alarm and access systems, client contacts, emergency procedures.
- The supervisor or regular guard runs the induction with the new guard using a phone form, ticking each item as it is covered.
- The new guard acknowledges the current version of the assignment instructions on the same form, and the version is recorded.
- The induction is logged against the guard and site with date, who delivered it and any notes.
- The rota and cover tools read the induction record, so guards without it are not offered that site, or are shown with a warning if your policy allows a supervised first shift.
- When the assignment instructions change, guards inducted on the old version are flagged for a refresher, and a short acknowledgement of the change can be sent to their phones.
- Inductions older than the period you set, or with a long gap since the guard last worked the site, are flagged for refresh.
- The client can be shown a list of inducted guards for their site.
- Supervisors see who needs inducting before the rota goes out.
- Every induction record stays with the guard if they move sites.
How it works on a normal week
A new guard joins and is rostered on three sites. The rota shows each one needs an induction, and the supervisor schedules them. At each site, the regular guard walks the new guard round with the checklist on their phone, and the record appears in the office. When Sunday cover is needed, only inducted guards are offered it. When the client changes the visitor procedure, guards on that site get the updated instruction to acknowledge before their next shift.
When a client asks at a contract review who is trained on their site, the answer is a list with dates.
Signs your induction records are weak
- Induction forms are kept in a binder at site.
- The rota does not know who is inducted where.
- Cover guards are sent to sites they have not been briefed on.
- You cannot say which version of the instructions a guard read.
- Clients complain about guards not knowing their site.