Daily Occurrence Book Report: A Guide on what to Record

You have a daily occurrence book (DOB) and a security guard. Now, only one question remains: what does the security guard record in the daily occurrence book report?

Sometimes a daily occurrence book is jam full of information, at other times it is empty. Is this because of different levels of activity on site or is it because the security guard does not know what to record?

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Guide what to record in daily occurrence book

Why bother to record anything in a daily occurrence book report?

There are two reasons to record events in daily occurrence book:

1. Value

At first sight a daily occurrence book appears to be a reflection of site activity. However, it is also a measure of a security guard’s value. An empty daily occurrence book suggests little happens on site. As a result, the person paying for that security guard may remove them. It is therefore important to remember a daily occurrence book plays an important part in evidencing the value of a security guard.

2. Legal

A daily occurrence book may be referred to in a court of law. As a result they are often considered as important as a police officer’s note book. For this reason, no matter how innocuous the activity may appear at the time of recording, it is better to add rather than miss entries.

Two Rules

Every daily occurrence book report should include two types of information:

The expected
The unexpected

1. The Expected

Below is a list of entries expected in a daily occurrence book:

Repeating duties: Security patrols, lock-up and unlock, fire drills etc.
Visitors and deliveries made to site
Audits and inspections: CCTV camera and fire extinguisher checks etc.
Assignment Instructions: Review and testing of assignment instructions
Shift change over remarks: For instance, equipment checks and any ongoing issues that need to be resolved by the next shift
Shift time: Start and end time of shifts

These events may appear mundane but if they are not recorded the reader will assume they have not occurred.

2. The Unexpected

The daily occurrence book should include unexpected security and safety events. Examples of these events are:

Incidents: Building faults, near misses, trespass, theft etc.
Security precautions: Additional security precautions taken for example, liaising with the nearby café about recent hostile reconnaissance activity or protests in your area.
Support: Support provided on site for example, helping a distressed driver with their vehicle parked on site.

If you are using a digital daily occurrence book it will allow you to add media to your entries: Pictures, videos and sketches are all helpful descriptive devices.

SIRV’s digital daily occurrence book integrates patrols, incidents and inspections in one place.

Here’s what the SIRV digital daily occurrence book looks like:

No ELBOW

If you are using a paper daily occurrence book this acronym will help with how to enter information correctly.

No:

Erasure
Leaves torn out
Blank spaces
Overwriting
Writing between lines

Conclusion

Giving a security guard a daily occurrence book but not providing training is like handing someone a tool without showing them how to use it. This guide helps the security guard know how to use their tool, the daily occurrence book and evidence why they are needed on site.