IoT technology can provide real-time views into security guards’ locations at all times across a well-known country club.
Name of organization: Sandhurst Club
Industry: Recreation
Location: Australia
Opportunity or Challenge Encountered: Sandhurst Club, a 35-minute drive outside of Melbourne, has an extensive array of facilities and amenities. Its point of pride is that it is the official home of the Professional Golf Association of Australia. Sandhurst actually has two championship golf courses, along with gym facilities, a swimming pool, three restaurants, and outdoor space. It also serves as home for one of the country’s largest lifestyle and residential communities, with 1,319 homes. The security of its guests, residents, and facilities is a top priority, and the club’s management sought to expand its security without breaking its budget. The Internet of Things opened up a way to accomplish this.
How This Opportunity or Challenge was Met: Last year, the club contracted with Quad Security to provide dedicated security services to Sandhurst club. To meet its client’s need for cost-effective yet thorough security, Quad implemented Lighthouse.io, is an IoT powered workforce management solution that provides tools for visualizing and optimizing the quality and cost of operations across facilities. The solution provides real-time views of the locations of security guards, to ensure the right coverage when needed.
The goal of the implementation was to help ensure that required security patrols are being completed each day, provide improved real-time and historical visibility of security guards and activity, improve response and resolution times for reported security issues, and eliminate inefficient paper-based records and centralize reporting.
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The solution consists of a network of 24 beacons deployed throughout the club. Security guards have a mobile app to record patrols, manage tasks, report issues, complete inspections and communicate with their managers. The beacons, as described in the case study, are “small battery powered IoT devices that broadcast signals using Bluetooth Low Energy.” The guards’ mobile apps can listen for signals from the beacons, which “allow the mobile app to understand exactly where it is, trigger relevant workflows, and collect data for reporting purposes.”
The solution also includes administrators’ access to live maps to quickly identify a guard’s location and assign to tasks. Heat maps to help ensure that required patrols are being completed. The system provides a real-time activity feed from the field.
Benefits from this Initiative: The IoT solution has provided greater transparency around the provision of security services, improved response, and visibility of security-related issues, and has eliminated inefficient paper-based processes and record keeping, the case study reports. The platform “helps me better manage security services and eliminate manual processes,” William Schwab, security manager for Quad Security, is quoted as saying. “I’m alerted to issues in real-time and the reports give me the confidence that guards are completing their patrols as required.”
Next on the agenda is the adoption of a GPS-based capability to further improve the visibility and coverage of the club’s security patrols. The club’s management is reportedly also considering adopting a similar system for real-time awareness of the locations of cleaning and maintenance services.
