HOW TO SURVIVE THE NIGHT AS A SECURITY GUARD

February 28, 2018

SURVIVING THE NIGHT AS A SECURITY GUARD

 

1.Staying Awake

It’s always been hard staying awake on a long hour shift especially night shifts. Your body tends to act differently as you don’t have much to do besides patrolling and trying your hardest not to fall asleep. So how do you handle these feelings when your eyelids start to droop and your head starts to bob back and forth?

There are some common sense tips to keep you ready for this situation,  a common example of this would be eating right, getting good sleep before your shift starts etc. But sometimes all these don’t help out when your body decides it’s time for sleep even when you try your hardest to fight it.

However, there’s one tip you can try to stop yourself from this, which is to take a pinch of coffee grounds in between your lower gum and cheek, just like chewing tobacco. This way the caffeine gets into your system faster than drinking a normal coffee. Although be warned as the taste isn’t very pleasant especially for non-caffeine or coffee drinkers. But it works.

2. Dealing with Frozen Locks.

If you live in a very cold climate country where there is a lot of ice, snow and bitter cold during your daily shifts. This can be really frustrating especially when your hands are numb and you have an icy door to unlock.

Best advice would be to carry a lighter and a piece of the paper/newspaper you can wrap around the lock and melt it before you unlock it. But be aware this can be only done outdoors and not indoors in other to avoid causing a fire. And also check your surroundings to avoid any flammable objects catching fire, as your job is to protect life and properties not destroy them.

3.  Checking Doors

Also checking doors is part of the night security patrol jobs, which is why it’s` important to know what you are doing before conducting your daily door checks. Just remember to feel, push and pull the door rule.

When you get close to a door, try to place your palm on the door handle to feel if there is any heat. And if the door feels warm or hotter than the rest of the facility, then it could be a sign of fire outbreak from the other side. So that gives you the idea of what might be happening on the other side before opening the door.

Secondly, push and pull the door while turning the knob, even if you know which way the door is meant to be opened, as sometimes new doors tend to open in a different direction or maybe you are tired and forgot which way to turn the knob to open it. We are all likely to forget sometimes especially when we have a very long night. So, in a nutshell, the push-pull method will always ensure the door is completely secured so that you can carry on with the rest of your duty.

4. Be vigilant

This last advice is worth any possible problems encountered during your shift. It’s called being vigilant or hyper-vigilant on duty. This doesn’t mean you should panic every time you hear a sound in the warehouse/facility at 1:00 am in the morning, it just means you don’t overlook any potential danger or threats. Just try and be focused and be aware of everything around you.

Don’t let any unusual sound or activities go unattended or ignored while you are at work. If you hear any sound/noises at 02:00, or 03:00 inside the facility, make sure you investigate it, ensuring your safety,  as well as the safety of the facility.

Listening to sounds will give you a heads up in case of thieves entering the facility. But the best advice is to always check as sometimes it might be nothing serious like rats or falling objects etc. The best case scenario is that you stop any form of crime by saving your clients thousands of pounds. Especially if you work in a building that houses high-value products or equipment.

Some of these tips might sound a bit strange or eccentric to some people, but learning from these can save you some headaches and a better understanding of what to do in situations like these. Don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues for some advice if you are new to the job role. And don’t be scared to come up with your own tips and tricks just to make sure you have a nice shift.