Supervised guard tour systems and methods

• US 20040046654A1
• Filed: 06/12/2003
• Published: 03/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: U.S. Security Associates Holding Corp. (Allied Universal Manager LLC)
• Original Assignee: US Security Associates Incorporated (Allied Universal Manager LLC)
• Inventors: Adams, Wesley C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,286,048 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/506
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/24 Self-calibration, e.g. compensating for environmental drift or ageing of components

Abstract

The present invention comprises systems and methods for addressing exceptions (i.e., alarms) associated with a guard tour according to a predefined hierarchy. The exception is generated automatically based on data associated with the guard tour, as typicdally collected by an ETTS. The present invention receives tour data, and based upon predefined customer preferences and current conditions, generates a procedure to be followed to optimally resolve the exception, typically based on to various parameters, including customer, exception type, day, date, and time of day. In response to an exception, a contact list is generated, the contact list being associated with one or more of the parameters. Based on the nature of the exception, the present invention has the ability to prevent an operator from clearing the exception until it has been resolved in a predefined manner. For instance, a certain response from someone contacted by the operator may be required before an acceptable reason code is accepted by the system.

Claims

1. A method for processing and resolving exception alarms associated with a guard tour at a premise, comprising:

collecting tour data associated with a guard tour at a premise;

analyzing the tour data to identify an exception associated with the guard tour;

if an exception is identified in the analysis of the tour data, then

generating an exception alarm,

generating an exception handling procedure based on the exception and at least one other criteria, and

receiving a reason code inputted by a user, and based on the reason code closing the exception alarm or escalating the exception alarm.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one other criteria is selected from a group comprising the time, location, day of week, date, customer defined criteria, and other identified exceptions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the exception handling procedure comprises a list of people to contact in a specified order.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the tour data comprises retrieving the tour data from a remote computer.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising classifying the exception and storing the classification in a manner so that the classification is related to the exception.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating at least one report based on a plurality of exceptions identified.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the tour includes a tour plan that is randomly selected from a plurality of possible tour plans for the premise.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the tour data includes determining if the tour data comprises one or more of missing checkpoints, improperly sequenced checkpoints, improper timing parameters for completion of the tour or passing individual checkpoints, and maintenance exceptions.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein escalating the exception alarm comprises contacting a next person listed in the exception handling procedure.

10. A computer system for processing and resolving exception alarms associated with a guard tour at a premise, comprising:

a collection module that periodically retrieves tour data associated with a tour at a premise;

a comparison module that analyzes the tour data to identify an exception associated with the guard tour;

an exception processing module that performs the following steps if an exception is identified in the analysis of the tour data,

generating an exception alarm,

generating an exception handling procedure based on the exception and at least one other criteria, and

receiving a reason code inputted by a user and based on the reason code closing the exception alarm or escalating the exception alarm; and

an exception reporting module that generates reports based at least in part on the exception.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the one other criteria is selected from a group comprising the time, location, day of week, date, customer defined criteria, and other identified exceptions.

12. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the exception handling procedure comprises a list of people to contact in a specified order.

13. The computer system of claim 10, wherein escalating the exception alarm comprises contacting a next responder listed in the exception handling procedure.

14. The computer system of claim 10, wherein analyzing the tour data includes determining if the tour data comprises one or more of missing checkpoints, improperly sequenced checkpoints, improper timing parameters for completion of the tour or individual checkpoints, and maintenance exceptions.

15. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method for processing and resolving exception alarms associated with a guard tour at a premise, the method comprising:

collecting tour data associated with a guard tour at a premise;

analyzing the tour data to determine if an indication of an exception associated with the guard tour;

if an exception is identified in the analysis of the tour data, then

generating an exception alarm,

generating an exception handling procedure based on the exception and at least one other criteria, and

receiving a reason code inputted by a user, and based on the reason code closing the exception alarm or escalating the exception alarm.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one other criteria is selected from a group comprising the time, location, day of week, date, customer defined criteria, and other identified exceptions.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the exception handling procedure comprises a list of people to contact in a specified order.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 15, further comprising generating at least one report based on a plurality of exceptions identified.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein analyzing the tour data includes determining if the tour data comprises one or more of missing checkpoints, improperly sequenced checkpoints, improper timing parameters for completion of the tour or individual checkpoints, and maintenance exceptions.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein escalating the exception alarm comprises contacting a next responder listed in the exception handling procedure.