Commercial buildings like shopping malls, community centers, and retail centers are mostly located in large areas. According to estimates, a majority of the Canadian shopping and retail centers are located at more than 10,000 sq.ft area. Apart from a few basic security tactics, it is difficult to employ the advance security tactics in such commercial buildings where the public has easy access.
The different types of security risks in commercial buildings include:
- Risk of asset theft
- Risk of terrorist activity
- Risk of customer or visitor security
Following are some security tips to apply in the commercial buildings and reduce all types of security risks.
1. Identify the Risk
The most important step is to identify the risk using the following indicators.
- A person carrying photos or video camera should not miss your eyes.
- A person making drawings of different areas of the building
- A person gathering building information from the employees, guards, managers, or shopkeepers
- A person parking the vehicle in unauthorized area or illegally capturing a space in the parking lot
- Unfamiliar employees wandering on the commercial property
- Loss of identity card of any employee
- Increment in threats
- Unusual maintenance activity in the commercial building, especially of the HVAC unit
- A person trying to enter the restricted areas
- Anyone wearing unusual clothing, trying to hide something, or acting suspicious
2. Prepare a Plan and Train Your Employees
It is necessary that you recruit all employees based on their good market reputation. After that, prepare a physical security plan as explained in our blog ‘How Physical Security Policy Helps Save Your Company Thousands of Dollars’. Make sure to include employee training course in the physical security policy. The course should also include tactics of responding to a terrorist attack.
An easier way is to hire a security firm that also provides training courses like SSI Protection.
3. Integrate Physical Security with Cyber Security Technology
Integrated physical and cyber security technology includes installing physical security equipment like CCTV Cameras. These equipments are operated by cyber services for uninterrupted monitoring and surveillance.
4. Restrict Access
As a fact, it is almost impossible to restrict foreign access in commercial buildings like residential buildings. A number of tactics, like issuing entrance IDs, cannot be used in commercial buildings. Therefore, following techniques are helpful in restricting free access into the commercial buildings.
- Make sure to seal all the entrance points. These include entrance from doors and windows as well as entrance from unauthorized points like HVAC units.
- Limit the entrance points to one or two points only.
- Assign a physical security guard at the entrance point.
- Use modern detection devices for inspecting and monitoring the attendees.
- Test the digital and electronic devices regularly.
- Install modern locks with alarms on all gates. These locks are powered by cyber security and ring alarm when someone tries to open them illegally.
Along with these techniques, make sure to hire a responsible security firm for 100% protection of your commercial building, its assets, and your visitors and customers.
