The Handler Who Passed Last Week and the Quick Mask That Wasn't There
The quick mask was in the vehicle, not on the handler. That's an UNSAT. It goes in the QC record with the date, the time, the site, the handler's name, and a comment. Next inspection: the quick mask is on the handler. The comment from the prior inspection is the reason it changed.
That's the QC loop this template runs. Not a disciplinary record — a corrective action log that works because every finding is timestamped and attributable.
SAT/UNSAT/N/A: The Audit Language That Survives Review
Every checklist item resolves to one of three states: Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, or Not Applicable. This is the audit vocabulary used in government-contracted security environments — it's binary enough to produce clear findings and flexible enough to exclude genuinely non-applicable criteria.
The thirteen items that run this SAT/UNSAT/N/A framework cover the full scope of a deployed K9 security unit: Operational Procedures, Operational Training Review, Training Records, Record Keeping, Uniform & Appearance, SO/SPO Card, Quick Mask, Canine Health, Canine Grooming, Equipment (company), Equipment (government), Weapons Maintenance, Kennel Cleanliness, Kennel Area Cleanliness.
Each item is paired with a text comments field. An UNSAT without a comment is an incomplete finding — it tells the supervisor something failed but not what specifically needs correction or how severe the failure was. A comment that reads "Weapons Maintenance UNSAT — sidearm slide rail showing oxidation, cleaning kit not present at post" is an actionable record. Filtering for UNSAT across a month of inspections by site shows which locations are producing chronic deficiencies; filtering by handler shows whether specific individuals are repeatedly failing the same categories.
SO/SPO Card: The Licensing Field That Can't Be UNSAT
Security Officers and Special Police Officers carry credentials that authorize their powers of detention and, where applicable, the carrying of government-issued weapons. An SO/SPO card that's expired, absent, or from a different jurisdiction means the handler is deployed without legal authorization to perform the functions they're being paid to perform. That's not an operational inconvenience — it's a liability exposure for the contracting company and a regulatory violation.
The SO/SPO Card checklist item exists because the license needs to be physically verified at inspection, not assumed from the employment record. A handler whose card lapsed two weeks ago and whose renewal is pending is not legally authorized to carry a firearm at a licensed premises. The QC record that captures "SO/SPO Card UNSAT — card expired [date], handler pending renewal" gives the operations supervisor documented evidence that the issue was identified, and provides the timeline for remediation.
Equipment (Company) and Equipment (Government): The Accountability Split
Two equipment categories reflect the dual-ownership reality of armed security contracts. Company equipment — radio, torch, handcuffs, baton, body armor — is the contractor's property. Government equipment — typically the firearm, government-issued magazine and ammunition — is issued under a specific authorization and must be accounted for separately. The distinction matters for post-inspection reports: a missing company piece of equipment triggers an internal equipment accountability process; a discrepancy in government equipment count triggers a different reporting chain entirely.
Weapons Maintenance is a separate category from equipment accountability. A firearm that's present but showing bore fouling, corroded feed lips, or a binding action is a functioning concern distinct from the accountability question of whether it's present. Both questions need to be asked and answered in the same record.
Canine Health and the Kennel Standards That Protect the Asset
Canine Health UNSAT covers the working dog itself: lameness, coat condition, eye and ear signs, behavioral changes from baseline. A K9 unit whose dog is exhibiting signs of kennel cough, paw pad abrasion from a recent surface deployment, or early hip dysplasia symptoms is not a deployable team — but without a QC record that captures health observations, that dog works through injury until the condition is severe enough to be obvious to non-specialist supervisors.
Canine Grooming is the maintenance category: coat condition, nail length, ear cleanliness. These matter both for the dog's welfare and for the professional appearance requirements that most high-security-venue contracts specify. A K9 unit deployed to a corporate lobby with a handler in a pressed uniform and a dog with matted coat and overgrown nails fails the presentation standard regardless of the dog's detection performance.
Kennel Cleanliness and Kennel Area Cleanliness separate the sleeping and resting area from the surrounding facility. Ammonia buildup from inadequate kennel cleaning causes respiratory irritation in dogs that live and sleep in the space; it's the slow degradation of the working dog's environment that's easier to catch in a weekly QC inspection than when the damage to the animal is already established.