You may have the best in personal protection, but what are you doing to protect your business as a whole? Business security, whether in reference to data or physical property, is essential. You can’t have eyes on your worksite 24/7, but there are ways to ensure you’re protecting your assets.
Don’t Do It Alone
Outsourcing security is a given these days. You can’t manage your company’s hard drive, parking lots, and buildings on your own. Here are some recommended security measures to practice at your workplace.
Plan Ahead
We all hope that nothing will happen to disrupt our safety or the security of our workplace. But, in the event that a natural disaster, robbery, or accident occurs, it’s important to already have a protocol in place.
This should include knowing evacuation procedures, regularly backing up data, and having a notification system in place to notify employees. If you’re working with a company like CBI Security, you have a team of experts who will not only evaluate your current safety and security protocols but help you implement new ones as the need arises. Having a fresh set of eyes to help you plan ahead can be well worth the investment, whether it’s an IT department or surveillance.
Fail-Safe vs Fail Secure Systems
Depending on the type of information or property you’re protecting, you may have fail-safe or fail-secure systems. Do you know the difference?
Fail-Safe
Some doors need to remain unlocked, even in times of emergency. These may include stairwell doors or exterior doors that provide an exit route to those insides. If power fails for your building, it may be a good idea to have fail-safe doors that will remain unlocked.
Fail-Secure
In contrast, some doors need to remain locked for safety. They may be protecting virtual or physical assets or sensitive information. It is a good idea to have some doors that stay secure in the event of power failure.
Tiered Access
Also known as a Managed Access system, it’s convenient to have different levels of access for various employees. If this can be designated remotely when needed, even better. You can monitor building access with the use of keycards, and your tiered access control system will let you know who’s going in and out, as well as when. Whether you have a security company monitoring access, or a local facilities manager, you can simplify granting and denying permission to employees or contractors.
Depending on the system you use, you can use your smartphone to control:
- Responses to alarms
- Door locks
- Cameras
- Keycard Access
Light it Up
What good are your security cameras and closely-monitored doors if you don’t have adequate lighting at your worksite? Whether you invest in exterior lights that automatically turn on at dusk, or motion-sensor lights, be sure that everything under surveillance is illuminated. This can help you identify burglars if they are caught on camera, or deter them in the first place.
The same goes for inside your worksite as well. In the event someone is inside after hours, you should have security lighting that allows cameras to do their job of capturing someone in the act. Security lights can also aid employees if the power fails and they need to navigate out of inner offices or down stairwells that don’t have natural light sources.
Improve Customer Service
Are your employees trained to acknowledge guests who arrive on your property? They may be clients coming in for a meeting, or someone loitering to get an idea of your office layout. While the burden of identifying and stopping potential intruders should not fall solely on your employees, they should be trained to notice people onsite. Making a potential intruder aware that their presence has been noted can help prevent future crime. Or, if the visitor is a client, it can simply make them feel welcome doing business with you. Either way, it can be a win-win situation.
If you have an office that deals with customers on a regular basis, you may fall under the Federal Protective Service security guidelines. If so, a representative from the agency can work with your company to ensure your worksite provides a safe environment for both employees and customers.
Recommendations from the Federal Protective Service
- Security guards at building entrances
- Metal detectors at building entrances
- Closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitoring common areas
- Arrange office furniture to provide natural “barriers” between employees and visitors/customers
- Install hidden notification devices for employees to utilize in the event of a threat (i.e. buttons under counters)
Clean Up After Yourself
In offices or at the construction site, cleaning up after yourself can be crucial to safeguarding information and materials. What protocol do you have in place to secure files, building equipment, and construction supplies? To prevent theft, ensure your employees are meticulous about powering down their computers and machinery at the end of their shifts, as well as locking cabinets and office doors.
Be sure you’re disposing of sensitive material appropriately, and discarding construction waste responsibly. While it may be convenient to empty trash into an onsite dumpster, it’s not ideal for confidential documents. Most dumpster rental companies sort through the waste they receive in an effort to recycle what they can; as a result, it’s important to go the extra mile and shred anything that shouldn’t be shared.
Whatever systems and procedures you have in place, they’re no good unless they’re tested. Be sure you’re routinely carrying out drills to monitor for vulnerabilities in your security system or employees. Get your staff familiar with how to respond to alarms or notifications so if they’re ever faced with the real deal, they’re prepared. If you can reduce employee turnover, these drills will be easier to facilitate because everyone will be more familiar with them each time.
It can be daunting to invest in costly security measures upfront, but they’re usually worth it. Not only can having a security system reduce the cost to insure your business, but they can help prevent future losses via theft or vandalism.
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