The Contractor at the Loading Dock
03:15, an 18-storey office tower, one guard on site - you. While closing the route you find the loading dock door propped open with a wooden wedge. A man in a hi-vis vest and a clipboard says he is from "CoolAir HVAC," is scheduled to service roof unit AHU-2, and needs roof access now because "the compressor is going to blow." The contractor log has no matching entry, he has no photo ID, his truck carries no company markings, and the alarm panel shows zone 14, the roof access door, in trouble. Post orders say: after-hours contractors need a work order plus photo ID, an escort above the fifth floor, and no roof access between 22:00 and 06:00 without building operator approval. The building operator's after-hours number rolls to voicemail.
1. Give the sequence of your actions in the first ten minutes and explain why they go in that order.
Read the worked answer
Order of priority: the open door, then the person, then the building.
- Keep the door as it is and stay between the man and the interior - do not walk him in and do not let him wander. He is not yet a threat; the risk is an unescorted stranger inside an empty tower at 03:15.
- Call 911 or the police non-emergency line and request assistance for an unauthorised person at the dock. Do this early, before you are committed, so the clock is running. Give the address, door number, and a description.
- Ask for photo ID and a work order, once, calmly. Record the name exactly as shown, the company, and the plate number.
- Leave the operator a voicemail with a call-back number and the reason, then call the operator's listed alternate or the property manager's on-call line if post orders provide one.
- Remove the wedge and secure the door once the man is outside or police have arrived - but not while he is between you and it in a way that invites a confrontation.
- Check the roof door and zone 14 once you are not alone, and log everything.
The reasoning: the wedge is an active breach; the man is an unverified claim; the alarm trouble may be the same event. Evidence first, then verification, then securing.
2. He refuses to leave, raises his voice, and says he'll "have your job." What can you lawfully do, step by step?
Read the worked answer
Stay within the powers any person has.
- Ask him to leave. As the occupier's agent you can direct a person not to enter or to leave. State it plainly: "You are not authorised to be here. Please leave now."
- Give one clear warning that police have been called and that if he does not leave he will be dealt with under the Trespass to Property Act.
- Do not touch him to move him, do not block him bodily, and do not chase. If he walks away from the dock, note the direction and let police handle it.
- If he refuses and stays, keep distance, keep talking calmly, keep the door between him and the building, and wait for police. If he leaves, let him leave - following him into the lot alone at 03:20 is how guards get hurt.
- If he becomes violent, disengage, retreat to a secure area, and call 911 again with the update.
On the threat to my job: that is the client-and-company conversation, not his. I write it down word for word and it goes in the report. A guard who bends at that point has just taught everyone on site that post orders are optional.
3. Write the log entry. What facts belong in it?
Read the worked answer
Facts, times, identifiers, actions - nothing that reads as conclusion or opinion.
- Time of discovery (03:15), exact location (loading dock, door LD-3), and the fact that the door was propped open with a wooden wedge.
- Description of the person: approximate age, height, build, clothing including the hi-vis vest, and the company name he gave.
- His stated purpose and his stated urgency, attributed to him: "stated he was from CoolAir HVAC and was scheduled to service roof unit AHU-2."
- What he could not produce: no entry in the contractor log, no photo ID, no work order, no company markings on the vehicle; plate number if obtained.
- That post orders require a work order, photo ID, and building operator approval for roof access after 22:00 - and that the operator's number went to voicemail at 03:19.
- Alarm panel status: zone 14, roof access door, trouble, at 03:17.
- Notifications: police called 03:17, operator voicemail 03:19.
- His statement that he would "have your job," in quotation marks.
- Actions taken: wedge removed, door secured at 03:31, roof door checked at 03:34 and found secure.
No opinions such as "suspicious character" and no speculation about what he wanted - that belongs in a separate note to my supervisor, if anywhere.