Some large firms use a reporting service that enables guards to be in constant contact with a central station outside the plant. If they fail to transmit an expected signal, the central station investigates. Guard work is usually routine, but guards must be constantly alert for threats to themselves and to the property that they are protecting. Guards who work during the day may have a great deal of contact with other employees and members of the public. Some employers have three shifts, and guards rotate to divide daytime, weekend, and holiday work equally.
Guards usually eat on the job instead of taking a regular break away from the site.
Employment Guards held about 867,000 jobs in 1994. Industrial security firms and guard agencies employed 55 percent of all guards. These organizations provide security services on contract, assigning their guards to buildings and other sites as needed. The remainder were in-house guards, employed in many settings including banks, building management companies, hotels, hospitals, retail stores, restaurants and bars, schools, and government. Although guard jobs are found throughout the country, most are located in metropolitan areas.