If you own a property or a commercial building to run your business, the last thing you want is for the premises to be the target of thieves. It’s important to take as many precautionary measures as possible to try and reduce the chances of a break in. Failing to secure your premises could mean intruders attack your business.
Here are 7 steps to take in order to improve the security of your building.
1. Risk Assessment
Before you can prevent a break in from occurring, you need to identify any potential weaknesses in the current security system and establish how thieves could potentially gain access to the premises. This is known as a risk assessment. Check all of the most obvious entry points such as doors, gates and windows as well as access to the grounds of the building. It’s also worth consulting staff members on what they think needs to be improved. An initial risk assessment will help to identify the areas that are weak and need improving.
2. Strengthen entry points
After establishing the weak entry points, it’s time to strengthen them. This can be done by replacing old, weak locks with new stronger ones, or adding additional security measures to current locks that act as a double layer of protection. Solid doors and windows are essential for preventing thieves from gaining access into your building.
3. Secure the perimeter
Another way to avoid intruders from breaking into your building is to prevent them from gaining access to the grounds of the property. This can be achieved by installing high fencing, gates, motion sensor lighting and CCTV. Advertising your security by adding signs around the property will also deter thieves from attempting to break in.
4. Install CCTV and alarms
CCTV is a great way to put people off trespassing onto your property, but if they do, the CCTV cameras will help to capture their identity. An alarm system also works well with CCTV to deter intruders and, depending on your budget, you can opt for round-the-clock surveillance that is managed at a security centre where someone will respond to a break in and alert the police. A synchronised system of motion sensor lighting, an alarm and CCTV is the most effective way to scare off thieves that do not want to be caught.
5. Safeguard important equipment
In order to reduce the risk of a break in or theft, it’s important to safeguard the equipment you have on site by hiding it and making it non-accessible. This means not leaving things like laptops, tablets and devices lying around on show as they act as an invitation to thieves. Lock away as much equipment as you can and for larger items, add additional security methods which make it harder for thieves to steal – for instance, cable lock systems that secure computers to the whole desk preventing them from being carried out easily, alarms to detect tampering, and maintaining a record of serial numbers.
6. Conduct regular checks
When you’ve got your security measures in place, it’s vital you check them on a regular basis to ensure everything is working correctly. If there are faults in any of the systems, they need to be repaired straight away to continue to protect your business. Refer back to the original risk assessment every few weeks and check that all the initial risks now have a solution in place.
7. Prepare for the worst
Whilst taking precautionary measures is the best way to avoid a break in, unfortunately, there may be a time when intruders still manage to gain access to your property. Should damage be caused or items taken, having the right business insurance in place can cushion the blow for business owners by covering the associated costs. Without insurance in place, the business owner will have to pay for any costs incurred by the break in as well as costs to replace the stolen items, an expensive an unexpected cost that many businesses do not budget for.
Do you have the right insurance in place for your business premises? Find out more and get a quote from the insurance experts at constructaquote.com here.
