Is your warehouse security company actually working?
Seven checks you can run this week. No meeting, and no taking anyone's word for it.
By Galaxy Security · Updated October 2026 · 7 min read
A Galaxy officer checking a truck at the gate. Our team, not stock photos.
Most warehouse managers find out their security isn't working after something goes wrong. A load leaves with the wrong driver. A trailer goes missing over a weekend. An insurer asks for a report nobody wrote.
These seven checks show you where you stand before that happens. Each one comes with the question to ask, what a good answer looks like, and the red flag to watch for. You can run all seven with one email.
01
Are they licensed, and is every officer?
Ask
“What's your PPO license number, and does every officer on my site hold a current guard card?”
A good answer
A license number you can look up yourself, and a current guard card for every officer on your site. In California, both come from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS), and both show up in the state's free license search.
Red flag
Hesitation, or “we'll get back to you.” A licensed company knows its number by heart.
02
Can they show you who came through your gate last night?
Ask
“Send me every truck and visitor from last night: time in, time out, and whether each one matched our records.”
A good answer
A list in minutes, not days. Every truck checked against the records you gave them. Any truck that didn't match was pulled over, and that's on record too.
Red flag
A clipboard nobody can find, or a log with no link to your schedule. If the gate isn't on record, nobody can tell you which driver took which load.
03
Do you get a morning summary without asking?
Ask
“What will I get from you each morning, and by what time?”
A good answer
An email before your first meeting that covers the night: trucks in and out, visitors, patrols, anything unusual.
Red flag
You only hear from them when something breaks, or when the invoice arrives.
04
Can you see when patrols actually happened?
Ask
“When was the fence line last walked? The trailer rows? The back docks?”
A good answer
A time for each round, by area, on record. You can see it yourself without calling anyone.
Red flag
“The guard walks it every hour.” Every hour is a promise. A time on record is proof.
05
Are incidents written up the same shift?
Ask
“Show me the last incident report. When was it written, and can it be changed afterward?”
A good answer
A written report finished the same shift and locked, ready to hand to your insurer, your customer or your boss.
Red flag
Reports written days later, from memory, or only after you ask for one.
06
Does a supervisor check the post, and do the post orders fit your site?
Ask
“Who supervises the officers on my site, when did they last visit, and can I see the post orders?”
A good answer
A named supervisor, visits you can see, and post orders written for your gate, your docks and your carriers.
Red flag
Post orders that could belong to any building, or a supervisor you've never heard of.
07
Can you reach someone who can fix it?
Ask
“If something goes wrong at 2 AM, who do I call, and can they change things the same day?”
A good answer
A direct line to someone with the authority to fix it, ideally the owner.
Red flag
A call center, a ticket number, or an account manager who will “pass it along.”
The gate is where freight leaves your building. Every check above comes back to one thing: being able to show who took what, when, and who cleared it. That's what your boss, your customers and your insurer ask for after a loss. A company that keeps it on record hands it over in minutes. A company that doesn't, can't.
What passing all seven looks like.
With Galaxy, every truck, visitor and patrol at your site goes on record, and you watch it live from your phone or laptop.
Your siteLive
7:00 AMNight summaryIn your inbox
11:05 PMTruck outMatches the approved trailer On its way
10:40 PMVisitorSigned out
10:12 PMTruck inDoesn't match your records Pulled over
9:58 PMVisitorSigned in
9:41 PMTruck inMatches your records Let in
7:12 AMTruck inMatches your records Let in
7:26 AMVisitorSigned in
7:41 AMTruck inDoesn't match your records Pulled over
7:58 AMTruck outMatches the approved trailer On its way
8:15 AMVisitorSigned out
Illustration with example entries. Your real view is built around your site, and you see it during your Blind Spot Hunt.
Trucks logged in
Checked against the records you give us. Matches go in. The rest get pulled over.
Visitors signed in and out
You know who is on site, and when they left.
Live, any time
Watch it as it happens, from your phone or laptop.
A morning summary
The night, in your inbox before your first meeting.
Incidents on record
Written up and locked, ready for your insurer.
The owner on the line
A direct line to the owner. Not a call center.
Questions managers ask.
How do I check a California security company's license?
Search the company name or PPO number on the California Department of Consumer Affairs license search (search.dca.ca.gov). Security companies are licensed as private patrol operators (PPO) by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, and every officer needs a current guard card from the same bureau. Galaxy's license is PPO #120873.
What should a security company send after each shift?
At minimum: every truck and visitor in and out with times, patrol times by area, anything unusual, and any incident written up and locked. The easiest way to get it is a summary in your inbox every morning, covering the night before.
How long should it take to get last night's gate log?
Minutes. When every truck and visitor is on record as it happens, there is nothing to put together. If it takes days, it was never recorded in the first place.
Can we switch security companies without a gap in coverage?
Yes. The new company walks your site, writes post orders for it, and starts on a date that lines up with your current contract's notice period. Your site is covered the whole time.
What is a Blind Spot Hunt?
A free walk of your gate, yard and docks with Galaxy. You keep a written Blind Spot Report: every blind spot, the top three fixes and draft post orders, even if you never hire us.
Show us your operation.
We'll walk it with you, hunt down every blind spot and show you what you'd see live.
Every blind spot, handoff by handoff
Ready to hand to your boss, a customer or your insurer