The Overnight Garage Loop
You are the lone guard on an 11 p.m.–7 a.m. shift at a 6-level office parking garage. Post orders require a full patrol of all levels every 90 minutes plus a check of the two stairwells and the elevator lobby on each level. At 2:10 a.m. you finish Level 4 and realize you are 25 minutes behind because a tenant stayed late and needed an escort to her car. Your next loop is due at 2:30 a.m. The garage has 14 stairwell doors, all alarmed with door-position contacts tied to a panel at the guard desk, and 6 elevator lobbies. You notice the Level 2 stairwell door shows "open" on the panel and has for the last two loops, but when you walked past it earlier it appeared closed.
1. How should you sequence your remaining patrol and the door alarm discrepancy, and what makes the "open" reading significant?
Read the worked answer
Prioritize by risk, not by the clock. An unexplained door-position alarm is a potential breach, so it outranks on-time completion of the routine loop.
- Do not ignore the panel. A door that reads open while appearing closed can mean a failed contact, a door that never latched, or someone holding it. Treat it as unverified until physically checked.
- Go to Level 2 stairwell first and physically test the door: push/pull to confirm it latches, check the contact and wiring visually, and look for tampering or a propped door.
- Document the time you noticed it, the loops it persisted, and your findings.
- Notify the supervisor/console about the discrepancy and the patrol delay, so the gap is explained rather than looking like neglect.
- Resume the loop, accepting that it will run late; log the actual times rather than backfilling.
Key reasoning: a persistent alarm with a visually closed door is exactly the situation where a real breach hides behind an assumed "faulty sensor." Verify before dismissing.
2. Your supervisor later asks why the 2:30 a.m. loop was not completed on schedule. Write the substance of what your report should say.
Read the worked answer
The report should be factual and time-stamped, not defensive:
- 1:55–2:05 a.m.: tenant escort to vehicle (unplanned, required by post orders).
- 2:10 a.m.: completed Level 4; noted Level 2 stairwell door showing "open" on panel for second consecutive loop.
- 2:10–2:25 a.m.: diverted to Level 2 stairwell to verify alarm; door latched, contact appeared faulty, no signs of forced entry.
- 2:30 a.m. loop start delayed; completed at [actual time].
- Action taken: notified console/supervisor, requested maintenance for contact.
The point is to show the delay was a reasoned risk decision, tie each claim to a time, and avoid speculation about the cause of the sensor fault.