Running a security company in today’s complex and demanding landscape is difficult enough without being held back by inefficient processes and legacy tools. At Sentinel Group Security (SGS), we understand the everyday pressures of managing large teams, deploying officers across multiple locations, and maintaining compliance in real time. That’s why we’ve embraced MiSentinel — our chosen Workforce Management Solution — not just as a scheduling tool, but as a fully integrated platform that empowers both our operations and our officers on the front line.
In a fast-moving, compliance-driven industry like ours, clinging to paper-based schedules, static spreadsheets, or disjointed apps is no longer viable. The risks of human error, lack of visibility, and data fragmentation are too great — and ultimately, they compromise our ability to serve our clients and protect our people.
If you’ve ever found yourself firefighting shift gaps at the last minute, chasing down reports, or struggling to evidence operational activity for audit purposes, then it’s time to ask: are your systems supporting you, or are they holding you back?
The Challenge: Complexity and Compliance
At SGS, our teams operate in highly dynamic environments — from hospitals to housing, public events to private estates. Every site presents unique risks, demands tailored Assignment Instructions, and relies on accurate real-time data to ensure safety and continuity of service.
Keeping on top of this is no small feat. Manual rostering methods are not only labour-intensive but also prone to errors that can lead to overworked staff, missed shifts, or worse — non-compliance with working time directives and contractual obligations. These outcomes are unacceptable in our line of work, where the stakes are high and the expectations even higher.
This is why we turned to MiSentinel — not just to digitise what we were already doing, but to rethink how we do it altogether.
Enabling Smart Technology for the Front Line
MiSentinel is more than a scheduling app. It is a comprehensive, smart workforce management platform that allows us to plan, deploy, monitor, and report on every element of our operational activity — in real time, from any device, with full auditability.
Whether it’s a site supervisor checking shift logs on a mobile phone, or our control room team reviewing performance trends across the business, MiSentinel enables information to flow freely and securely to the people who need it. And most importantly, it empowers our security officers — providing them with digital tools that are simple, efficient, and built for the field.
Indulge me as I take a few minutes of your time to explore how MiSentinel continues to evolve, supporting us to remain agile, compliant, and in control.
A Smarter Daily Occurrence Book: Introducing eDOB
One of MiSentinel’s most powerful features is the Electronic Daily Occurrence Book (eDOB) — a smart, paperless alternative to traditional logbooks. For too long, paper DOBs have been the industry standard, despite their limitations: they’re time-consuming, prone to illegibility, difficult to audit, and almost impossible to search or share across teams.
MiSentinel’s eDOB changes all that. Accessible via both web and mobile, it captures all site-related activity in real time, providing complete transparency and traceability across shifts.
Security officers can choose from three entry types:
- Simple Entry for routine updates or shift notes
- Handover Entry for equipment transfers such as keys or radios
- Incident Entry with structured fields for dates, actions, and outcomes
Beyond manual entries, eDOB also auto-logs essential activities such as Book-On/Book-Off actions, patrols, and check-calls — all captured seamlessly through the MiSentinel app. These records create a tamper-proof, centralised log of every operational movement, without adding to officers’ workload. Each site has its own dedicated eDOB, viewable by all authorised officers, managers, and the customer. This improves situational awareness, streamlines handovers, and enhances collaboration across teams — no more flipping through binders or deciphering someone else’s handwriting.
Managers can comment on entries, Admins can generate reports, and everyone stays aligned through mandatory Assignment Instructions that officers must acknowledge before submission. If a document changes, the system prompts re-confirmation, ensuring nothing is missed.
The result? A compliant, accountable, and eco-friendly solution that saves paper, time, and hassle — while offering operational clarity like never before.
Say Goodbye to Manual Reports: Report Scheduling Made Easy
Another game-changing feature is MiSentinel’s Report Scheduling Overview. In the past, extracting data meant logging into the system, navigating menus, selecting dates, and downloading individual reports. While functional, it was hardly efficient — especially for control rooms juggling multiple tasks or managers trying to stay on top of daily summaries.
Now, with scheduled reports, that entire process is automated.
Users can set up predefined reports — such as Site Attendance, Check Call Summaries, or Area-Wise Hours Worked — to be emailed directly to recipients at chosen intervals. Daily, weekly, monthly, or custom — the frequency is yours to define. You can even set start and end dates, tailoring the delivery to specific operational cycles.
Setting it up is as easy as:
- Choosing a report type
- Clicking ‘Schedule Report’
- Adding email recipients
- Selecting your date range and frequency
- Saving the schedule
And that’s it — your reports will now arrive like clockwork, ready to review, share, or file as needed.
This simple yet powerful enhancement improves visibility, ensures stakeholders stay informed, and removes another layer of admin from your team’s workload.
Looking Ahead: Auto Scheduling and the Future of AI Support
While eDOB and Report Scheduling are already transforming day-to-day operations, MiSentinel’s future developments promise to revolutionise workforce planning altogether.
Auto Scheduling (Coming Soon)
Auto Scheduling will allow MiSentinel to generate shifts intelligently, based on predefined parameters such as:
- Employee availability
- Rest periods
- Compliance with working time regulations
- Skills and site requirements
The system will review available staff, avoid double-booking, enforce rest periods, and automatically fill rosters — all while ensuring fairness and compliance. Managers will retain full control. Before publishing, a pre-schedule notification allows for review and adjustment. Once approved, shifts are automatically assigned and visible across the system.
This feature will reduce planning effort significantly, especially for larger teams, or those managing multiple sites with complex staffing needs.
AI Scheduling Agent (In Development)
Going even further, MiSentinel is developing an AI Scheduling Agent — a conversational assistant that allows you to build schedules using plain language.
Imagine typing:
“Create schedule on London Office site for Sarah Jones on 14-07-2025 from 08:00 to 18:00.”
The agent will validate the data, check availability, and instantly create the shift. If anything’s missing, it’ll prompt for details — offering suggestions based on existing site data or employee rosters.
It doesn’t stop there. The AI agent is designed to learn and evolve. Future enhancements will enable it to:
- Recommend staff based on qualifications, availability, and location
- Analyse historic data to spot trends and improve planning
- Detect gaps or overlaps in coverage
- Balance rosters fairly and in line with contractual obligations
- Add new employees, sites, or patrols via chat
- Act as a built-in help assistant to guide new users
This innovation marks the beginning of a smarter, more responsive approach to scheduling — where technology doesn’t just record our decisions but helps us make better ones.
Why Staying Current Matters
Some businesses cling to legacy systems not because they work well, but because they’re familiar. But in today’s security environment, the cost of outdated systems is not just operational — it’s reputational and financial too.
Clients expect real-time visibility. Auditors demand traceability. Officers need tools that respect their time and support their safety. The businesses that succeed are the ones that invest in platforms that evolve with these expectations — not against them.
At SGS, adopting MiSentinel was a strategic decision. It’s allowed us to streamline operations, empower our teams, and demonstrate continuous improvement to clients and regulators alike. It hasn’t just improved how we work — it’s elevated the service we provide.
Take Control, Regain Control
If you’re still relying on outdated scheduling tools, paper DOBs, or manual reporting processes, now is the time to reconsider. Every day spent managing inefficiency is a day you’re not focused on performance, growth, or safety.
With MiSentinel, you don’t need to choose between operational agility and compliance — you can have both. Whether it’s through real-time data capture, automated reporting, or the next generation of AI-powered scheduling, the tools are available now to help you build a smarter, stronger, and more resilient security operation.
At SGS, we’re proud to be at the forefront of this transformation. And we invite others across the sector — whether clients, partners, or fellow providers — to join us in moving forward.
Don’t leave it to chance. Don’t get left behind. Take control and regain control.
For more information about our technology-led approach to security services, or to see MiSentinel in action, contact us at SGS or explore MiSentinel online.
