Staff can arrive and leave normally
The nominated employee is no longer expected to arrive first, remain last or return because somebody else forgot a key.
Scheduled opening and closing for commercial premises
Lock & unlock services without relying on your staff.
Clear Watch attends your premises at agreed service windows to open up, secure the building, operate authorised alarm systems and record what happened. Your employees can arrive to a prepared workplace and leave without one person carrying the closing responsibility alone.
SIA Approved Contractor
SafeContractor Approved
Directly employed teams
Opening and closing handled as a security taskClear instructions replace informal arrangements and assumptions.
The buyer's problem
The first person in and last person out should not carry the risk by default.
Many businesses rely on a manager, cleaner or trusted employee to hold keys, operate the alarm and secure the building alone. That arrangement becomes fragile when somebody is absent, delayed, leaves the company or finds a fault at the end of the day.
Clear Watch turns opening and closing into a managed service. The route, timing, alarm procedure, checks and escalation contacts are agreed in advance, so there is a repeatable process rather than an informal favour.
- ✓Reduce the need for employees to attend alone at the quietest times
- ✓Remove routine key and alarm responsibility from individual staff members
- ✓Create a consistent procedure across one site or a managed portfolio
- ✓Give facilities teams evidence that the visit and agreed actions were completed
Why businesses use the service
A small daily task with a large operational impact.
Access stays controlled
Keys, alarm instructions and opening authority sit within an agreed process instead of being distributed more widely than necessary.
Exceptions reach the right person
A door fault, alarm issue, late worker or unexpected condition follows a named escalation route rather than being left unresolved.
Every visit is accountable
Electronic records show when the officer attended, what was completed and whether follow-up is required.
What the service does
Opening, closing and the exceptions in between.
The exact route is agreed for your premises. Checks are limited to the areas, systems and actions documented in the assignment instructions.
Unlock and Prepare
Before employees, visitors or contractors arrive.
- Check the agreed approach and access point
- Enter using authorised keys or access credentials
- Disarm the alarm where included
- Open specified entrances, gates or shutters
- Complete the agreed opening checks
- Record and report anything unexpected
Lock and Secure
After the agreed staff, cleaner or contractor departure.
- Follow the documented closing route
- Check specified doors, windows and internal areas
- Complete agreed switch-off actions
- Confirm the site is ready to be armed
- Set the alarm and secure final access points
- Issue the electronic completion record
Exception Handling
When the planned routine cannot be completed.
- Late worker or contractor still inside
- Missing, damaged or unsuitable key
- Alarm fault or failure to set
- Door, shutter, window or gate will not secure
- Leak, damage or sign of unauthorised entry
- Named contact and service escalation
Fire doors, exits, utilities and building-condition checks are visual operational checks only. They do not certify fire safety, statutory compliance, maintenance condition or insurance compliance. Clients should confirm any insurer or regulatory requirements with the relevant competent adviser.
Service process
A repeatable routine from survey to sign-off.
Before the first visit, we remove ambiguity around timing, access, alarms, checks and the decisions an officer can make.
Review the premises
We discuss operating hours, entrances, alarms, keys, staff movements, cleaners, contractors and the reason for outsourcing the task.
Write the procedure
Routes, actions, alarm instructions, no-access rules, nominated contacts and exception thresholds are documented.
Agree the service windows
Weekdays, weekends, bank holidays, closures and the process for planned or short-notice changes are confirmed.
Attend and complete
The officer checks in, follows the route, operates authorised systems and records each required action or exception.
Report and escalate
A completion record is issued. Anything preventing safe opening or secure closing follows the agreed contact and response plan.
Service windows are agreed around route capacity and the operational need of the premises. Where a precise handover, waiting period or employee-arrival condition is required, it must appear in the service specification.
Evidence after every attendance
A record of the visit, not just an assumption that it was done.
Clear Watch uses electronic reporting to show when the officer attended, which agreed actions were completed and whether the client needs to follow anything up.
Arrival and completion timestamps
Checkpoint and action confirmation where specified
Alarm, access and final security status
Photographs and incident details where appropriate
Example Lock Record · LU-1874Completed
19:34Officer arrival recordedAttendance confirmed at the agreed premisesLogged
19:38Closing route completedSpecified doors, windows and internal areas checkedChecked
19:42Non-essential lightsAgreed areas switched off under site instructionsComplete
19:45Intruder alarm setAuthorised alarm procedure completedArmed
19:47Final entrance securedCompletion record issued to nominated recipientSecure
Relevant sectors
For premises with a predictable opening and closing routine.
The service is particularly useful where early starts, late finishes, rotating managers or several access points make staff-led arrangements difficult to control.
Offices & Business Centres
Prepare entrances before staff arrive and secure communal or tenant areas after the final departure.
Warehouses & Industrial Sites
Coordinate gates, personnel doors, alarms and shift-related access across operational premises.
Schools & Colleges
Manage scheduled opening and lockdown around staff, cleaners, lettings and closure periods.
Retail & Showrooms
Open and secure customer entrances, staff access, shutters and selected back-of-house areas.
Community & Healthcare Buildings
Support a controlled daily routine while leaving clinical, care and statutory responsibilities with the client.
Managed Property Portfolios
Use a consistent reporting structure across sites while retaining a separate route and authority for every address.
When the routine cannot be completed
The officer follows the exception plan, not guesswork.
A reliable closing service is defined by what happens when something is wrong. Before launch, we agree who is contacted, what the officer can attempt and when another service is needed.
Personal safety, emergency-service direction and the limits of the assignment always take priority over completing the routine.
✓Check whether staff, cleaners or contractors remain on site
✓Record an alarm, access, door, gate or shutter fault
✓Notify the control team and nominated client contact
✓Contact the monitoring provider, approved contractor or emergency services when the plan requires it
✓Wait, return or protect the scene only where safe, authorised and included
✓Issue an incident record showing the condition, actions and handover
Officers do not undertake electrical, alarm-engineering, locksmith, fire-safety or maintenance work unless separately competent and authorised. A suspected break-in, fire, medical emergency or other immediate danger is managed through the relevant emergency procedure.
Related mobile services
Add the support the building needs after it closes.
Keyholding & Alarm Response
Clear Watch can hold keys and attend alarm activations under a separate response specification.
Mobile Patrols
Add planned security visits during unoccupied hours to check agreed risk areas and access points.
Vacant Property Inspections
Use structured internal and external inspections when a building becomes temporarily or fully unoccupied.
Security Guarding
Choose a continuous on-site presence where intermittent visits are not proportionate to the risk or operation.
Straightforward mobilisation
Agree the detail before the first visit.
Opening and closing work is only reliable when keys, alarm procedures, timing and exception authority are properly tested and documented.
Survey access and the required route
We confirm entrances, gates, doors, shutters, alarms, keys, internal areas and any known constraints.
Test keys, credentials and alarm instructions
Authorised access and system steps are checked before the live service depends on them.
Set contacts, change control and exceptions
Nominated contacts, notice periods, late staff, no-access events and fault escalation are documented.
Confirm reporting and go live
Recipients, evidence and review points are agreed, then the routine begins against controlled site instructions.
Buyer assurance
An established local provider with recognised contractor credentials.
Clear Watch was established in 2008. The company holds SIA Approved Contractor status for Security Guarding and Keyholding, is SafeContractor approved and is an Armed Forces Covenant signatory. These credentials support due diligence but do not replace the site-specific assessment and contract scope.
Core Greater Manchester coverageAddress and required service windows are checked against mobile route capacity.
A local mobile team
Lock and unlock services across Greater Manchester.
Clear Watch is based in Oldham and supports businesses, schools, facilities teams and property managers across Greater Manchester. Selected surrounding locations may also be considered after reviewing the address and required attendance windows.
For portfolios, each site keeps its own opening route, alarm procedure, authority and escalation contacts while reporting can follow a consistent format.
OldhamManchesterRochdaleTamesideStockportSalfordTraffordBuryBolton
Lock and unlock questions answered
What buyers need to settle before starting.
A clear proposal depends on the building, access systems, daily timetable, staff movements and the action expected when the routine cannot be completed.
A security officer attends at agreed service windows to open or secure commercial premises. The officer follows site-specific instructions for access, alarms, doors and any agreed checks, then creates an electronic attendance record.
The officer checks the agreed approach and entrance, accesses the premises, disarms the alarm where authorised, opens specified entry points and completes the agreed opening checks. Any exception is reported under the site's escalation procedure.
After the agreed departure time, the officer follows the closing route, checks specified doors, windows and areas, completes any agreed switch-off actions, sets the alarm and secures the final access point. The exact duties are recorded in the assignment instructions.
The officer follows the agreed exception plan. This may include contacting the nominated manager, waiting or returning if contracted, checking authorised alarm information, contacting the monitoring or maintenance provider, or remaining until a safe handover is arranged. The premises will not simply be left without notification.
You receive an electronic attendance record. Depending on the specification, it can include arrival and completion times, checkpoints, completed actions, photographs, alarm status, exceptions and notifications.
Keys and access information are managed under an agreed keyholding and access-control procedure. The service specification defines authorised users, storage, access, alarm instructions and what happens if a key, code or system does not work.
Yes. Scheduled lock and unlock can be combined with keyholding and alarm response, mobile patrols or other agreed services. Alarm response is activation-led and is not automatically included unless it appears in the contract.
Changes can be made through the agreed communication and notice process, subject to route and officer availability. Regular service windows, bank holidays, planned closures and ad-hoc changes should be agreed during mobilisation.
Clear Watch is based in Oldham and provides lock and unlock services across Greater Manchester. Selected surrounding locations may be considered after we review the address, required service windows and mobile route capacity.
Put a controlled routine in place
Tell us when the building must open and close.
Share the site location, operating days, staff hours, access points and alarm arrangement. We will review the practical route and provide a site-specific proposal.
No-obligation service discussion
Agreed opening and closing procedure
Electronic evidence after attendance
Single-site and portfolio options