If you manage a commercial or residential building, one of your main priorities will be to ensure the building is as safe and secure as possible. To do this, you may need to design a security system that keeps the residents, employees, and goods within a building safe. Below we offer an effective guide that outlines how to develop a security design for your building.
1. Think About The Purpose Of Your Security
Before you begin to develop your security design, you must first think about why you require security. For example, do you require security to ensure the residents of your building feel safe, or do you require security to protect assets within a building? Once you have listed and ordered the security priorities of your building it will help you to devise a security system that actively meets the needs of your building.
The Majority of Security Systems Address All Of The Following Criteria:
• How to reduce the level of threat currently present
• How to reduce vulnerabilities
• How to improve capacity for security
2. Break Your System Into Two Sections
Your security system should consist of two main sections, day to day security measures and security protocols. For example, installing and ensuring a control access system would fall under day to day security measures, whereas the procedure for investigating a theft would be under security protocols.
For The Day To Day Security Systems Of A Building, You Should Consider:
• Access points and building vulnerabilities, e.g. broken fences
• Personnel who need clearance to enter/exit the building
• Security employees required and how they will be managed, trained, etc.
• Measures to ensure the security systems in place can be maintained
For The Development Of Security Protocols You Will Need To Consider:
• Fastest and most efficient ways to communicate with emergency services
• Threats that the building is vulnerable to, e.g. theft
• Procedures for communication with building employees/residents
• How to minimize/contain a threat or security breach
3. Run Risk Assessments
Before you commit to security systems and protocols you must collect as much data and information you can about a building. You may wish to do this by interviewing employees/residents and finding out what their concerns are and by testing the security measures already in place in a building, e.g. seeing how easily you could access the building without the required card or code. Only once you have as much information as possible should you begin to finalize security designs.
4. Implementation
Once you have developed a strong security plan that accurately reflects the needs of your business or building, you must work on successfully implementing the plan. For implementation to be successful, you must consider the following criteria:
1. Individual: does an individual tenant/employee know what security procedures they must follow?
2. Building/company: does your building policies/workplace culture reflect your new security system?
3. Physical: have you provided physical support for your new systems, e.g. have you updated your control access system?
If you want to learn more about how to develop a security design for your business, do not hesitate to contact the expert team at Sophia Consulting today.