Robots vs Guard Hours

List the posts and duties you cover now

Start with your current rosters rather than a robot brochure. For each post, record its hours, its patrol rounds and every other duty attached to it. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics describes security guards as patrolling property, monitoring alarms and video, responding to emergencies and writing reports, and notes that they usually work shifts of about eight hours on rotating schedules because many buildings stay open around the clock. Mark which of those tasks a robot could take over, which it could support and which it cannot touch. A round-the-clock post also needs relief cover for breaks, leave and sickness, so count the paid hours behind each post, not the hours it is open.

Measure coverage instead of distance travelled

Makers often quote how far a robot travels in a shift, which says little about protection. Define coverage in terms your insurer and client would recognise: the checkpoints on each round, the longest gap between visits to any one checkpoint, the share of the night each zone is observed and the time from an alarm to someone seeing the scene. Measure the same things for your current guard rounds over a few weeks, using patrol logs or tour-system data. Then measure them for the robot during a trial on your real route, including time lost to charging, rain, blocked paths and software faults. Like-for-like coverage figures are the only fair basis for the cost comparison that follows.

Building the cost per covered hour

Put both options on one sheet over the same period, ideally the robot's expected service life. On the guarding side, include contract rates, supervision, training, uniforms and the relief hours found in the first step. On the robot side, include the purchase or subscription, monitoring staff, maintenance, network coverage, insurance, charging infrastructure and time spent re-teaching routes. Keep the people who still respond to alarms on both sides of the sheet. Divide each total by the hours of measured coverage it delivers to get a cost per covered hour. If you buy response patrols from a contractor, ask whether its service follows BS 7984-3:2020, the British Standard code of practice for mobile security patrols.

What a robot leaves for people to do

The calculation only holds if you are honest about what stays with people. A robot can report a broken window, an open gate or someone loitering, but it cannot calm a dispute, give first aid, escort a lone worker to a car or decide that a situation needs the police. Many sites end up with a mixed model in which robots take the repetitive rounds and a smaller team watches alerts and responds. Write that model down post by post, consult the guards and their employer early, and check that client contracts, insurance policies and assignment instructions are updated to match. A cheaper plan that leaves nobody able to respond is not a saving.

Sources and further reading

• Security Guards and Gambling Surveillance Officers (Occupational Outlook Handbook) — US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  What security guards do day to day, from patrols and alarm monitoring to reports, and how their shifts are organised.
• Find out if you need an SIA licence — Security Industry Authority, GOV.UK.
  The UK's licensable security activities, including CCTV monitoring, and when in-house staff are usually exempt.
• BS 7984-3:2020 Keyholding and response services. Provision of mobile security services. Code of practice — BSI (British Standards Institution).
  British Standard code of practice for managing, staffing and running mobile security patrol services.

Common questions

How many guards can one patrol robot replace?

There is no fixed ratio. It depends on how much of each post is routine patrolling, how quickly alarms must be answered and who responds. Work it out from your own rosters and trial data, and plan for guard hours to shift towards monitoring and response rather than vanish.

Does anyone need an SIA licence to monitor a patrol robot?

In the UK, licences apply to people, not machines. The SIA lists public space surveillance (CCTV) among licensable activities, so contracted staff watching a robot's cameras to guard premises may need one. The SIA says in-house staff usually do not, so check how your monitoring is arranged.