The Hidden Cost of Every Security Hour: Are You Paying or Guessing?

The UK security industry has long relied on traditional workforce management platforms focused on scheduling, assigning shifts, and tracking attendance. Arez.io does all of this — and does it better — but what sets it apart is a bold rethinking of the fundamentals of security operations.

Arez.io isn’t just a tool. It’s a paradigm shift that challenges the industry's core assumptions and introduces a new model for delivering, measuring, and optimising security work.

Beyond Scheduling: Rethinking the Entire Delivery Chain

Most workforce platforms stop at ensuring that guards are scheduled and show up. Arez.io goes further. It reimagines the entire security work delivery chain — from initial deployment to verified service delivery — introducing a new model for how security work is delivered, measured, and optimised.

This rethinking starts at the two critical endpoints of the service chain:

1. Worker Compliance at the Start of the Chain

In security, regulatory compliance is not optional—it’s fundamental. Arez.io enforces compliance from day one. Every officer booked onto a shift is subject to real-time SIA licence verification, background status checks, and uniform validation. Unlike other systems that treat compliance as a one-time onboarding task, Arez.io continuously monitors it across the worker's full lifecycle. This proactive approach protects both providers and clients from regulatory breaches and reputational damage.
 

2. Service Assurance at the End of the Chain

At the other end, Arez.io ensures the promised service was actually delivered. Using tools like facial recognition, geofencing, uniform detection, and AI-based behaviour monitoring, the system verifies that the right officer is present, properly dressed, alert, and in the right place at the right time. If anything goes wrong — an officer leaves the site perimeter, appears inactive, or fails a check — Arez.io flags it in real time.
 

This level of precision transforms the client experience. It creates a new standard for what ‘good’ looks like in manned security delivery — not just presence, but verified performance.
 

→ Controlling the Ends Unlocks the Middle

By taking control of both ends — compliance and assurance — Arez.io gains unprecedented visibility into what happens in between. It reveals and resolves hidden inefficiencies that plague traditional delivery models: manual processes, duplication, misaligned incentives, and gaps in accountability.

At its core, security is a business of buying and selling time. But the critical question isn’t just whether time was spent — it’s how that time was spent, and at what cost.

From Managing Time to Managing Value

Most systems track hours. Arez.io tracks value per hour.

That means not just recording when a shift happened, but quantifying what was delivered during it. Was the officer awake and alert? Was the right person in uniform? Were any critical incidents missed?

By answering these questions automatically and objectively, Arez.io empowers providers to reduce delivery costs without compromising — and often while improving — service quality. It’s about stripping away waste, like in Formula 1, where fractions of a second count. Marginal gains across many processes add up to a competitive edge your rivals can’t explain.
 

Quantifying the True Cost of Delivery

Let’s start with the basics:

• Base hourly wage: £12.21 (min wage)
• Holiday pay (12.07%): +£1.47
• Total hourly pay: £13.68
• PAYE cost (10%): +£1.37
• Direct wage cost per hour: ≈ £15.05
   

Now add the operational overheads that most providers quietly absorb:

• Scheduling/admin time: £0.50–£0.75/hr
• Compliance management (SIA checks, uniforms, DBS): £0.30–£0.50/hr
• Supervision & middle management: £0.50–£0.75/hr
• Incident handling, reports, client comms: £0.50–£0.75/hr
• Training, onboarding, uniform amortisation: £0.30–£0.50/hr
• Tech, insurance, transport, and equipment: £0.30–£0.50/hr

Add that all up, and the true delivery cost per hour is closer to:
 

  → £18.00–£19.00/hour
 

Now here’s the problem:

Most clients expect to pay £16–£18/hour, at best.

This gap is where margins vanish. To bridge it, many providers:

• Take on compliance risks
• Under-resource supervision
• Spread officers too thin
• Skimp on training or audit trails

This is how risk enters the system. It’s not bad intent — it’s bad math.
 

Arez.io fixes the maths:
 

It quantifies your true delivery cost, reveals where time and money are leaking, and helps you protect your margins without cutting corners — just by operating smarter.

This isn’t about charging more. It’s about proving your value and controlling your cost to deliver it.

We do it by combining AI with real operational discipline — cutting admin, removing duplication, and replacing clunky tools with one joined-up workflow. Everyone sees the same live data, from scheduling and compliance to incident reporting and invoicing. Less chasing, fewer mistakes, faster decisions.

The result? Fewer gaps. Tighter operations. Stronger margins.