Did you know that last year the cost of property crime was over $17 billion? Property crime could include vandalism, breaking and entering, and theft amongst other crimes.
Property crime can be devastating for a small business. It can lead to large financial loss and even data breaches that take years to recover from.
If you are a small business owner, how can you protect your facilities? What building security technologies can you employ?
Take a minute to read our article and find out 10 tips that can help you improve building security and safety.
Top 10 Ways To Keep Business Buildings Safe And Secure
1. Know Your Enemy
The first step in protecting your business location is to assess what threats you may face. After all, if you do not know your enemy how can you defend against them?
If your business holds large amounts of valuable items or cash, you will need to build a physical defense against attack. If you hold information electronically, you will need to create a physical and cyber defense structure.
After you have performed this assessment you will be able to create a roadmap plan for protecting your business.
2. Secure the Perimeter
Your exterior wall or fence is your first line of defense. If someone will physically enter your premises they will need to cross this line first. Identifying blind spots or weaknesses here is crucial.
There are many types of perimeter fencing available that can help you in your unique circumstances. A professional security company can help you to assess these commercial fencing options and decide which is best for your circumstances. If your business is based in Queensland, contact these Canberra fencing contractors for long-lasting fences.
3. Access Control
If a person is able to enter your perimeter fence they will then proceed to access your building. Your next step is to control access to the main premises.
Issuing electronic access cards to workers is the best way to control and monitor access to the building. Cardholders will be restricted as to when they can enter the building and what areas of the premises they can access. The use of cards is also monitored and any unusual behavior is recorded.
Access control can be managed remotely by a professional company. This means that it is not necessary for a company to retain security staff themselves to protect the building.
4. Security Cameras
Security cameras serve both to record and deter potential criminals. Recordings are made 24 hours per day and can be a vital source of evidence should a criminal be brought to trial.
Cameras should be posted strategically. Placing them over a door where a person may have to take a few moments to enter a code means that you can use those moments to identify the person.
Security cameras can also help in cases of litigation. A person may claim that you are liable for an accident that they were involved in. Using security camera footage you may be able to prove otherwise.
5. Key Control
If for some reason you choose not to install a card entry system, you will need a key management procedure. It is very important to record who has keys and when they were issued.
There should be a logging procedure for distributing keys. Each key should be numbered and a manager should record the name of the person in a permanent file. Once employees leave the company there should be a standard procedure for receiving the key from them.
You can employ a security company to perform lock-up routines each evening and weekend to ensure that all doors are locked and secure.
6. A Receiving Area
Having a receptionist is more than just a professional courtesy. It is actually an important layer of security. This person is responsible for not only welcoming guests but also for identifying and logging guests who visit.
You may not be able to have a dedicated person in your lobby area, or maybe you do not have a lobby. In this case, you can arrange for guests who come to the premises door to use an intercom. From this intercom, they can connect to a remote receptionist.
In either case, a person will greet your visitors and verify them before allowing them access to the building.
7. Secure Internal Doors
External security features are important, but you also have to mitigate for a person actually entering the building. This would likely be at night or on the weekend when there is no one in the building. To protect against this, you will need to have secure internal doors in place.
If your premises are large with an extensive security system, a professional company could manage internal door security. They can do this by monitoring movements on camera and allowing permission for entry of each section of the building. On smaller premises, you could install time-lock doors that only allow entry during office hours or stipulated weekend over-time hours.
Secured internal doors may seem like a superfluous step. However, they allow you to control and secure access to the most important parts of your premises such as computer server rooms.
8. Cyber Security
Building security is very important, however, physical protection of networks and cybersecurity precautions are also crucial to your business's safety.
Your cybersecurity roadmap should include the physical protection of servers, cabling, wireless routers, and storage locations.
9. Clear-Cut Policies on Security
Instituting security policies and communicating them to your workers can help to standardize your security system across the company. Here are some examples of security policies:
Clean Desk Policy
This policy requires that all employees clear any sensitive company related documentation from their desks at the end of the working day. This reduces the chance of a data breach should a person enter the building.
Goods Receiving
A person or department should handle the receiving of items delivered to the business. This person should be trained in logging names and company details to verify the delivery.
Identification
In many companies, it is mandatory to visibly wear or at least carry a company ID card. This is especially important in larger companies or where temporary workers are regularly used.
10. Employee Education
A business is only as secure as its weakest link. In many cases, this link can be employees that are unaware or take a lax attitude toward company policy.
Good education regarding the value of security and an understanding of why security is important to everyone can help employees to consistently apply policy.
Building Security and Much More
We live in a world with greater economic opportunities than ever before. However, we are also at greater risk from criminals. That's why improving IT and building security is important for businesses of every size.
1. Know Your Enemy
The first step in protecting your business location is to assess what threats you may face. After all, if you do not know your enemy how can you defend against them?
If your business holds large amounts of valuable items or cash, you will need to build a physical defense against attack. If you hold information electronically, you will need to create a physical and cyber defense structure.
After you have performed this assessment you will be able to create a roadmap plan for protecting your business.
2. Secure the Perimeter
Your exterior wall or fence is your first line of defense. If someone will physically enter your premises they will need to cross this line first. Identifying blind spots or weaknesses here is crucial.
There are many types of perimeter fencing available that can help you in your unique circumstances. A professional security company can help you to assess these commercial fencing options and decide which is best for your circumstances. If your business is based in Queensland, contact these Canberra fencing contractors for long-lasting fences.
3. Access Control
If a person is able to enter your perimeter fence they will then proceed to access your building. Your next step is to control access to the main premises.
Issuing electronic access cards to workers is the best way to control and monitor access to the building. Cardholders will be restricted as to when they can enter the building and what areas of the premises they can access. The use of cards is also monitored and any unusual behavior is recorded.
Access control can be managed remotely by a professional company. This means that it is not necessary for a company to retain security staff themselves to protect the building.
4. Security Cameras
Security cameras serve both to record and deter potential criminals. Recordings are made 24 hours per day and can be a vital source of evidence should a criminal be brought to trial.
Cameras should be posted strategically. Placing them over a door where a person may have to take a few moments to enter a code means that you can use those moments to identify the person.
Security cameras can also help in cases of litigation. A person may claim that you are liable for an accident that they were involved in. Using security camera footage you may be able to prove otherwise.
5. Key Control
If for some reason you choose not to install a card entry system, you will need a key management procedure. It is very important to record who has keys and when they were issued.
There should be a logging procedure for distributing keys. Each key should be numbered and a manager should record the name of the person in a permanent file. Once employees leave the company there should be a standard procedure for receiving the key from them.
You can employ a security company to perform lock-up routines each evening and weekend to ensure that all doors are locked and secure.
6. A Receiving Area
Having a receptionist is more than just a professional courtesy. It is actually an important layer of security. This person is responsible for not only welcoming guests but also for identifying and logging guests who visit.
You may not be able to have a dedicated person in your lobby area, or maybe you do not have a lobby. In this case, you can arrange for guests who come to the premises door to use an intercom. From this intercom, they can connect to a remote receptionist.
In either case, a person will greet your visitors and verify them before allowing them access to the building.
7. Secure Internal Doors
External security features are important, but you also have to mitigate for a person actually entering the building. This would likely be at night or on the weekend when there is no one in the building. To protect against this, you will need to have secure internal doors in place.
If your premises are large with an extensive security system, a professional company could manage internal door security. They can do this by monitoring movements on camera and allowing permission for entry of each section of the building. On smaller premises, you could install time-lock doors that only allow entry during office hours or stipulated weekend over-time hours.
Secured internal doors may seem like a superfluous step. However, they allow you to control and secure access to the most important parts of your premises such as computer server rooms.
8. Cyber Security
Building security is very important, however, physical protection of networks and cybersecurity precautions are also crucial to your business's safety.
Your cybersecurity roadmap should include the physical protection of servers, cabling, wireless routers, and storage locations.
9. Clear-Cut Policies on Security
Instituting security policies and communicating them to your workers can help to standardize your security system across the company. Here are some examples of security policies:
Clean Desk Policy
This policy requires that all employees clear any sensitive company related documentation from their desks at the end of the working day. This reduces the chance of a data breach should a person enter the building.
Goods Receiving
A person or department should handle the receiving of items delivered to the business. This person should be trained in logging names and company details to verify the delivery.
Identification
In many companies, it is mandatory to visibly wear or at least carry a company ID card. This is especially important in larger companies or where temporary workers are regularly used.
10. Employee Education
A business is only as secure as its weakest link. In many cases, this link can be employees that are unaware or take a lax attitude toward company policy.
Good education regarding the value of security and an understanding of why security is important to everyone can help employees to consistently apply policy.
Building Security and Much More
We live in a world with greater economic opportunities than ever before. However, we are also at greater risk from criminals. That's why improving IT and building security is important for businesses of every size.
Now that you have your business building secured, it is time to secure your home. Make sure to invest in vivint home security to keep you and your family safe.
If you are interested in the latest business and security developments, we are here to help. We gather the latest information on market trends and bring it to you via our feed. Why not take a look and see what we can do to help you today for technology safety and security? Visit the Tech section of our website for more information and insight on security.
If you are interested in the latest business and security developments, we are here to help. We gather the latest information on market trends and bring it to you via our feed. Why not take a look and see what we can do to help you today for technology safety and security? Visit the Tech section of our website for more information and insight on security.
