Summit Security Blog | Security Guards, Patrol, Parking Management, Online Incident Reporting Software | San Diego, North County, CA

When you choose a contract security provider what makes you pick one over the other?  Too often it’s because you like the sales person, when it is difficult to see what is different.

Companies like Summit Security make the difference by providing security service options that fit any security needs at your site AND provide a professional experience.  Summit Security makes a difference by:

- Online Reporting Through Smart Phones with Photo Verification

-Electronic Daily Activity Reports

-Automatic Email Notification

-Enhanced Supervision

-24/7 In House Dispatch Center

- Fire, Life, Safety Training

-Longstanding Management with CPP Certification

Tick the boxes of what your security company provides.   The difference will be obvious…and so will be the choice!

I could recite the standard complaints clients have given regarding their contract security providers accountability in my sleep.  After 15 years in this industry I have unfortunately heard them all.  But let’s face it, sifting through paper reports to cull out exactly what security officer observed and reported in the field is the poorest form of communication in security.

But technology provides contract security providers like Summit Security with a much more professional and accountable tool. By deploying real-time online reporting software, contract security companies can provide their security officers with opportunities to show their clients exactly what the officer is observing. Using this technology through smartphones, security personnel can take photographs, accompanied with text and in some cases audio files, to report their activities and observations throughout their shift.

Clients can sign on to computers and follow in real time the reports created on their property.  This level of accountability creates the true partnership that contract security providers like Summit Security want  with their clients.

Through the date and time stamped photos and texts clients can avoid the standard accountability phone calls to their security provider like, “what time did the guard actually arrive on site?” or “where was the guard on the property when the complaint came in?”  Now they have proof through the online reporting of the officer’s movements and what they observed through photographs accompanied with notes, to flesh out the picture of what was happening onsite.

Contract security providers have an obligation to provide their client with the best accountability tools the industry has to offer.  Transparency in their operations is a natural consequence of this high tech reporting solution.  A good point to consider if your security contractor insists you pay addition fees before they will provide this technology or worse yet, refuses to provide it at altogether.

Today we hear “cutting edge technology” and our minds race to the devices and gadgets of all shapes and sizes that we use in our daily lives. But the indisputable winner has to be the telephone, or more accurately, the smart phone. From its humble beginnings the telephone has grown to be the technology at the center of everything we do. It wakes us up, gives us the weather, driving directions and enables us to communicate with anyone anywhere in the world.

In security it can also be the lifeline of how we conduct business. Companies like Summit Security depend on the smart phone as a tool for real-time reporting. Summit’s real-time reporting software, RealtimeDAR, allows security guards to report on their smart phones with text, photo and audio files. Our guards can report literally everything they observe as they make their rounds.

Summit’s clients benefit by having instant access to the real-time reporting online 24/7. The transparency it provides gives clients a clear picture of their properties plus 100% accountability from their security company. Both are critical pieces of communication for a successful partnership.

The smart phone has surpassed its humble beginnings and the biggest winners are the clients who use “smart” security companies who know how to capitalize on this ever growing technology.

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Summit Security is proud to announce its recognition by the San Diego Business Journal as one of the Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies with corporate offices in San Diego. Summit would like to thank all of our Clients for their part in helping us grow to this place of prestigious recognition.

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Have you ever opened something and beem surprised at what you found inside? That can be a pleasant experience and sometimes… not so much!

Security operations can mirror both of those experiences. Depending on the circumstances, you can be happy with what you find and sometimes not so happy with the way things are going.

Using online reporting software eliminates the negative part of that scenario…. the bad surprise—because there are no surprises with online reporting. Summit Security keeps operations transparent so that clients, managers and the operations department can log in anytime and view all property data and reporting with secure date- and time-stamped photo, text and audio files. Authorized users can sign on 24/7 from any computer with Internet access and see exactly what the security officer is doing in the field.

Transparent operations ensure the reporting data is available to everyone in real time… no more surprises!

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The #1 commitment security providers make to clients is to provide consistently good security service using  well-managed guards.

But the reality is, security companies with hundreds of employees in the field tend to manage by reacting to poor performers. Just reacting to problems and keeping your fingers crossed about the “other stuff” is the worst form of field management. The client is usually the one bringing the poor performing security officers to the attention of management and high performers go unrecognized.

By using online security incident reporting software like RealtimeDAR, security companies like Summit Security can audit every security officer’s job performance and reporting in REAL TIME. Mistakes can be caught and addressed early before they become an issue for the client. Top performers are recognized for their excellence. The results are PROACTIVE and strengthen the security provider’s #1 commitment to their clients…  managing security guards to provide the best service possible!

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Why do we insist on taking pictures at every special event in our lives? Because it’s the next best thing to being there. Plus, it gives us a way to share information that we would never be able to explain. (Remember the old proverb… a picture is worth 1000 words.)

Well, thanks to technology like RealtimeDAR, the power of pictures can be used in online security reports by security officers at your properties. Photos with accompanying text and audio files can be created by security officers using hand held PDAs. This paperless reporting solution is the best way to see what your security personnel are observing at your sites.

So don’t limit yourself by insisting on photos only at special events. Make sure your security provider uses a paperless online reporting solution like RealtimeDAR that offers photo, text and audio files and get “the picture” about what is happening at your location!

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Like all businesses, security companies should be concerned about their eco-footprint. Security customers should expect that their provider’s operating procedures promote a green-friendly environment at their property.

Ask your potential security vendor if they offer paperless reporting solutions for their security officers in the field like RealtimeDAR.  While many security companies will send you proposals and brochures via email (which is a must for any green company), often their concern for going paperless stops there. Many  still only provide paper reports to be filled in by security officers or patrol drivers at your site. That’s a LOT of paper. Look for security providers who can offer you an online paperless process as an alternative to the old paper forms.

Make sure to ask if your security vendor has a paperless process for real-time reporting in the field. Real time reporting through the Internet can alert you to incidents and problems at your property that may require immediate attention. This not only saves paper, but also time, because you are not waiting to read a handwritten report to find out what occurred on your property.

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Yes, “Working Vacation” is an oxymoron, but let’s face it, many of us find it difficult—if not impossible—to leave the office behind on our vacations. In some cases, we actually leave knowing we will have to put in some “work time” in the middle of our “play time.” Do you find yourself trying to keep tabs on what is going on back at your properties.

If so, you’ll want to hire a security company that offers online security incident reporting in order to get accurate and timely information even when you are miles away from the office. Companies like Summit Security offer 24/7 online access to all the security information at your site from any computer with Internet access.

With the latest online reporting technologies, like RealtimeDAR, you can gain access to your security reports by logging in from any computer, anywhere in the world! All field reporting by security officers is pushed to the website instantly—in real time—with pictures, audio files and text, giving you all the information you need at the click of a mouse.

Look for an online security incident reporting solution with your next security provider so you can relax on your next ”working vacation.” Enjoy your well-deserved R&R and peace of mind knowing that everything you need to know is only a click away!

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Definition: Always finding the perfect parking spot right next to the entrance no matter how busy the street or how large the parking lot. (Also known as “parking karma.”)

Reality: Never happens! Well to be fair, almost never, especially if you are trying to find a spot in open parking.

But there is hope if you live in a community or work in a building that has assigned parking. The challenge is making people keep their assignments…

Security companies like Summit Security offer parking management programs for communities and businesses to help control the offenders. Parking enforcement with online incident reporting, logs, tickets and, when necessary, tows, helps violators realize that parking his or her car in a spot where it doesn’t belong is not only rude, but it can be expensive.

So before you give up and start singing “Que Sera Sera,” consider contacting your security provider to ask about the parking management programs they provide to help with illegal parking at your location.  After all, every visitor should be able to pull into a parking lot and find a place to park, even if they aren’t Doris Day!

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