Chaos descended on South Africa in July 2021 when the imprisonment of former
president Jacob Zumba sparked the vandalising and looting of business properties and
retail centers in Johannesburg and Durban, leaving in its aftermath at least 72 people
dead and an estimated R72billion in business losses.
As South Africans, already hard-hit by the effects of the global pandemic, reeled from
the worst violence witnessed since apartheid, the reality of violence, crime and mass
hysteria were brought home to every South African.
Amidst the panic, many unsung heroes emerged following the initial vigilante attacks
with the South African Polices Services unable to cope with the situation on the ground
and the call to deploy South African National Defense Force troops coming too late,
many citizens, together with community leaders and the private security companies
were left to defend their own homes and business.
How Can Private Security Advance with the Times?
There is no doubt that the private security sector in South Africa is growing rapidly —
providing jobs to over two million people in the African nation that sees unemployment
at over 32%.
“As a technology manufacturer for the private security industry, at OnGuard, we make it
our duty to remove the human error often associated with the security and the
monitoring of lives and assets. And we have done just that with the Onguard Mobi
Patrol Management System,” says Sales and Technical Manager Jamie Bell.
“Our clients in the security industry want direct communications with their guards whileon patrols together with time and attendance available on one device – the OnguardMobi RG360 does this.
“Our security and monitoring guard tour systems are custom designed to provide detailed analysis, data recording, and real time communications between the patrollingsecurity guards and security managers and supervisors with the RG360 handheld patrolsystem app.”
With the looting and violence witnesses during the attacks on shopping malls,
businesses and warehouses, not only was there massive economic fall out for the
country but the security industry itself came under scrutiny for its response during the
violence, with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) investigating the
conduct of security companies during the violent unrest.
“Real time reporting puts a focus on accessing data in real-time to communicate to first
responders. Its keeps guard patrols on track and on budget and on right side of the law
in highly volatile situations. Technology is essential in supporting human participation in
a real time crime reporting system,” says Jamie Bell.
Guard Patrol Real Time Reporting
Carried by the security guard, the Onguard Mobi RG360 is a small and compact
handheld device packed with features; this patrol system also has a price point that is
just right making it available for on the ground surveillance and offering the most
important benefit of all, to drastically improve the efficiency of reaction times with
incidences occur, whether it’s a crime scene, vandalism or identification of criminals in a
mob.
Designed to be compatible with Android mobile phone systems, the RG360 takes a
photo for live incident reporting while on patrol and is designed to store the data offsite
on intelligent hardware and software systems.
With on onboard Stay Awake feature and time and attendance reporting, it can manage
up to 100 patrol points, with guard instructions delivered at each patrol point.
Keep your Property and Warehousing Safe
Perfect for the warehouse environment. When a guard is out on patrol, he can reportlive incidents to the control room. Take photos and receive instructions of what should
be done at the specific point.
“When you use technology to empower the security guard on the ground with direct
communication you start to see what I call a bionic guard – it makes them more effective
on duty and at the site. It keeps security companies ahead of the curve.
Over the years, we have developed and brought many new products to market. Where
we are different from our competitors is we focus on proper research and development
before we introduce the product.
We find that competitive manufacturers are often too quick to market and the product
ends up falling over, and this takes away the trust of the buyer. OnGuard customers
know we have a reputation for trusted market research and development in bringing a
new product out, as well as the service history of supporting the client through the
onboarding and lifespan of the technology.
OnGuard Mobi gives supervisors the technology needed to keep track of tour guard
routes and their activities. Supervisors will be more in touch with their tour guard teams
than ever before. Our clients confirm that the RG360 increases productivity by enabling
the supervisors to create and send reminders to the guards, removing the need for all
paper based systems.
Along with enhanced reporting, more accountability and better security management,
OnGuard Mobi improves every aspect of the guard tour, including incident reports with
detailed photos, GPS locations and voice recordings. The direct communication that
they have with their control room is guaranteed to improve the efficiency of the patrol.
“Much like our Identiscan access control technology our OnGuard Mobi is a security
guard patrol system built into a touchscreen mobile phone which allows supervisors to
keep track of guard’s routes and activities when they are also carrying these mobile
devices, which offer multiple functions for specific security functions.
Benefits of Guard Protection with RG360
Android Technology:
OnGuard Mobi is designed to work on an Android system, and mobile phone
connectivity is a necessity to make it a reliable patrol system. To track the movements of
the guard tour, NFC points are set up along the patrol route. Each time the guard
passes one of these points, the supervisor will be notified. The control room can then
check that the guard is taking the right route.
Bluetooth Reliability:
Bluetooth is not just used for its reliability but also for its energy saving capabilities. The
Bluetooth will need to be on at all times, in order for it to track the guard’s movements.
Unlike other systems, which might have required the guard to physically clock at a
patrol point, with OnGuard Mobi’s Time and Attendance System, the guard will simply
have to walk past the point for it to be registered back at the control room. Should it not
be registered that the guard has passed a patrol point, an incident report can be made
and back up can be sent to the location.
Check in Points:
As mentioned, the route that the guard tour will take is set up to have check in points all
along the way. Naturally, there would be a concern that would be criminals could
vandalise the check in points to disrupt the security guard tracking system. We set up
each point in a place where it will be discreetly out of sight. Each check in point has a
battery lifespan of up to 5 years.
For the last 10 years, OnGuard has been developing technology to streamline
guard patrol and security management systems. You can call our trained and experienced consultants to find out more about our systems and to find out more about OnGuard Mobi RG360.