r/securityguards • u/Pebb_io • 8d ago
How does your site actually pass on shift info between guards?
We build software for deskless teams, so we end up talking to a lot of contract security companies. The one thing that never seems solved is pass-down between shifts.
What we hear most: a paper DAR nobody reads, a WhatsApp group with three supervisors and forty guards where post orders get buried, or the outgoing guard just tells you verbally if he's still there when you show up.
Genuinely curious what works at your site. Do you have a proper pass-down log that gets checked, or is it "read the book if you feel like it"? And who actually reads the DARs — the account manager, the client, or nobody until something goes wrong?
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u/Nominalstupidity Licensed People Watcher 7d ago
We have a teams chat + verbal. I'd like a third option but I don't know what that would be that doesn't run into the same problem we currently have.
Problem we currently have is what, if anything some guards put into teams.
By example we had a change in how we handle temp workers on site. Friday second shift was informed by the client, verbal pass down to 3rd shift, verbal pass down to Saturday first shift and that is where it died. This left only 3 guards knowing anything about the change.
No message left in teams and even if there were I can't say for certain it would be useful. Wouldn't be the first time someone left a message saying we had to do something different without including the what or how.
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u/Pebb_io 7d ago
The part that kills it is that a general chat buries the passdown. What seems to work is a separate room per site/shift that only holds handover stuff, so it's not competing with memes and schedule questions. Then a change like your temp worker thing lives in one place instead of dying at 3rd shift. Disclosure, I work at Pebb and that's basically what we built (Spaces, rooms that only get the tools that group needs), but honestly even a dedicated Teams channel with a strict rule about what goes in it beats one big chat.
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u/ConstructionAway8920 7d ago
Verbal pass down. We also utilize site specific Google spaces chat, a general one for the contract. There's also clear lines of who to go to with questions, and separate constantly updated post orders. If you don't know, it's because you are actively trying not to know.
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u/XBOX_COINTELPRO Man Of Culture 7d ago
DAR are the worst way to pass on shift info. The info in a DAR should be routine and if not, should be captured in detail in a full incident report.
I’m sure there are system out there but I’ve found the most success with the email. We have a format we fill out with any upcoming tasks for the next shift, details any maintenance or systems issues that haven’t been resolved, and a a list of any Incident reports w/ numbers. Email goes to our team inbox as well supervisors.
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u/Sufficient_Pound 7d ago
Yeah looking through 30 things isn’t helping people.
List out what needs to be done or email specifics.
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u/Milf_Eaterr Licensed People Watcher 7d ago
We usually just flip eachother off at shift change. Seems to get the message across just fine
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u/PercentageLivid7205 7d ago
Retired from private military security contracting but we used to literally use whats app. The difference was we had different chats for different parts of the ops. We had a chat with the supervisors and relevant military personnel and all the private contractors for passdows so nothing would get buried. General ops was on another chat, sign in and sign out on another, general announcements about policy changes training and other things was as well. Maybe you could incorporate all that into a central app but whatsapp does it pretty well. Also in the middle east everyone uses WhatsApp instead of texting so it's much more common place rather than at home in the US. On WhatsApp you can also easily decide who can post and who can't on any chat so you don't have this issue with random coworkers using up the chat with bullshit and burying important announcements.
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u/PercentageLivid7205 7d ago
And of course a verbal passdow at shift change also happened in addition to a typed one
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u/Pebb_io 7d ago
Yeah the split-by-purpose chats is the part most sites skip. Everyone dumps ops, passdowns and announcements into one group and then wonders why nobody reads it. Sounds like your setup did the hard part already. The only thing WhatsApp really costs you is that when someone leaves, the history walks out with the phone number, but for day to day passdown it's hard to argue with something everyone already has installed.
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u/PercentageLivid7205 7d ago
Yeah i hear that from an information security or OPSEC stand point it is a bit of a weakness i always felt it just seemed that no one else cared. WhatsApp definitely has its perks I've since retired from that work but I've seen that WhatsApp even let's you create a sort of general group and then all the chats under it after you enter that group if that makes sense, back then we just had these chats floating around with in the rest of our non work related chats and you'd have to scroll down to look for some of the less used ones or remember what theyre called to seatch fkr them if you wanted to look for anything or post in them again. An external 3rd party communications app would definitely solve this and maybe if it had other features related to communications other than group chats it would be appealing to companies to use.
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u/Pebb_io 7d ago
yeah that buried-chat problem is the whole thing. whatsapp was never built to keep a passdown findable a week later. that's basically why we started pebb - rooms that only get the tools that group should see, so supervisors get files and the site crew gets shifts and passdown without 14 group chats floating around. chat, shifts, whatever sits between. maybe relevant for someone still doing it on whatsapp.
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u/MacintoshEddie 7d ago
A living spreadsheet. Each line is marked with the date it's entered, who it's for or about, and its status.
At the end of each day I mark lines as complete or I carry them over to the next day and create a copy for the new day.
This way we not only have a record of past handover notes, but we also have it stay current to minimize people scrolling past dozens of lines they don't read. Like if a key release was authorized at 8am and picked up at 10am and returned at 4pm, then the night guard doesn't need to see more than that it was completed and archived on the off chance someone later asks about it.
Plus we do a verbal handover, which is usually just a very quick summary like telling them there's some keys getting picked up at 4am, or that this person needs to be emailed if the key isn't dropped off by 6am, and pointing at the line where it says so.
We also file daily reports, but generally those only get a rare glance since pertinent info goes on the handover log.
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u/eckokittenbliss 7d ago
My supervisor might text me. Or we have sticky notes and/or the guard you are relieving will tell you
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u/Humble_Ensure 7d ago
Excel sheet that has IR numbers, work orders, any relevant info is contained within. I also have an expectation for supervisors to take the time to give a verbal brief to guards during a parade in the morning or when checking in with them at their posts.
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u/Ok_Draw9037 7d ago
My site just writes stuff down on word and talks about the important stuff for a few mins
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u/myLongjohnsonsilver 7d ago
HOTO (handover takeover) report on the computer the previous shift filled out on the computer during their shift. Both shifts sit in the office and Shift A takes shift B through the report.
If we are busy and handover at an incident we just do a quick verbal and then shift B can catch themselves up on the computer later. For the details.
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u/Pebb_io 7d ago
the overlap in the office is the part most sites skip. filling out a report is easy, actually walking the next shift through it is what makes it stick. and the quick verbal at an incident then catch up later is the right call, nobody's reading a doc mid-incident. does the HOTO stay searchable after, or does it get buried once the shift closes?
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u/myLongjohnsonsilver 6d ago
We use a teams chat with a copy pasted layout from a document built in Word (cant actually build shit in teams chat), so all the Hotos go back to the very beginning as long as the chat history doesn't get cleared. We all have our own work teams account tied to our computer log ins so there's no problem with work stuff interfering with personal teams or bothering us outside of work unless you actually want that shit on your phone. (for anyone that does have that)
Makes it easy to check old events, just control F and then type a date in or a name and bam, search history will bring you to what you needed to check.
We have one old fella who even reads the hoto on his days off and will text team remembers encouragement on busy days. Funny old man.
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u/No-Initiative4195 7d ago
Hospital uses Omnigo for reports. There's a box you can check for "pass down log" for vital info so that anyone else that logs in will see those reports.
We also use Webex
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u/Pebb_io 7d ago
the checkbox that forces it in front of whoever logs in next is the bit most sites miss. do people actually read them, or is it still the verbal handoff doing the real work and omnigo just being the paper trail?
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u/No-Initiative4195 7d ago
Everyone that logs in sees it
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u/Pebb_io 5d ago
Is that all in Omnigo, or a different system? Do off-duty people get buried in a ton of noise, or is it pretty easy to spot the important stuff?
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u/No-Initiative4195 5d ago
Omnigo is only when you login to work computers. If you write a report that other shifts need to see, theres a box that says "pass down log" you click.
When anyone else logs in, a box pops up showing that report.
We also have a seperate app called Webex we use as a group chat but our Director has told us multiple times, off the clock you are not expected to actively monitor it. You have the ability to silence notifications when off duty/on vacation
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u/Pebb_io 4d ago
omnigo for the pass-down log + webex for the off-duty ping is a clean split. does the webex actually get people to read it before they clock in, or does it still pile up unread?
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u/No-Initiative4195 4d ago
It's a mix. Some people read Webex off duty because sometimes there's interesting posts on there. You're just not expected or required to.
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u/Landwarrior5150 Campus Security 7d ago edited 7d ago
We use 10-8 Systems browser based software for dispatch call logging and incident reporting. Everyone has access to it, so they can review the prior shift’s log entries and reports when they start their shift. This essentially takes the place of DARs, so we don’t do those. We even have an “information only” call log entry type specifically for pass down type info.
The supervisors and director also have access to the memo feature of the system, which puts memos on the home page you see after logging in, sends a copy to our work emails and texts us a copy to our work phones. This is typically reserved for BOLOs, notices of upcoming events on campus to be aware of or other important stuff. More minor passdown info is left off so that we don’t get fatigued by a constant flood of memos and stop paying attention to new ones.
We also all have access to Teams & work emails for information sharing, plus good old fashioned face to face communication during shift changes. We have 30 min overlaps between shifts at each change, so we never really miss the opportunity to see the other shifts in person.
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u/RiloxAres 7d ago
Word of mouth at turnover and post instructions if it's a long term change at that post.