The Best Security Measures for Your Warehouse

Warehouses are often under protected for what they are. You have huge amounts of product in a single place, which means it is a target for burglars. This is why it is so important to improve the security of your warehouse, keeping in mind that the danger is both inside and outside the warehouse.

Burglars and more professional criminals are certainly a big worry and can be dangerous. However, you may also have employees stealing from you. It’s important to keep track of things inside the premises as well as out.

How can you protect your business with the right security measures? It requires multiple security layers to ensure your business is safe.

Security Fencing

The first layer of protection is your fencing. You should have fencing around any access point to the building, including parking. What type of fencing is your choice. If you wish to keep prying eyes out, look for solid fencing that blocks the view. Otherwise, you may choose wrought iron or metal bars to keep people from entering without permission.

Of course, your fences are only as strong as the weakest link, which is your security gate. Depending on how high-tech you want your security to be, you can install automatic electric gates or manual gates. The electric gates may be manned by guards, or you can use access cards and key codes to allow employees to come and go, though they will be tracked through their code. If you do station guards at the gate, be sure to provide them with a place to get out of the sun and rain between employees.

Security Doors and Shutters

The next point to secure is the entrance to the building. There are likely multiple entrance points, so you should consider them all as potential areas for burglars to penetrate. Your doors should be resistant enough to withstand an attack and, once locked, should keep out anyone you don’t want inside. You can accomplish this with the right type of doors that are designed for security.

Sturdy doors with heavy duty deadbolts are a good start for protection, but if you want extra protection, you may wish to install a shutter that can be pulled closed when the warehouse is shut down. This provides an extra layer of protection and keeps windows from being broken. Shutters are made of metal so they’re quite difficult to get through and the amount of time it takes to remove them and get through the doors will give you more than enough time to call the authorities.

Alarm Systems

Of course, you should have an alarm system installed in your warehouse. Ideally, it will connect directly to the police so you can ensure they will arrive rapidly should someone trip the alarm. There are so many different alarm systems, but one that connects to a camera or works with a remote viewer will be helpful for checking and reporting false alarms.

Alarm systems on their own are often a deterrent. When combined with the other security measures listed here, you’ll find that most burglars have no interest in attempting to enter a building that is so well protected. They’re looking for the easier options, in general. This means that protecting your warehouse may very well mean you never have to actually use your security to prevent a break in.

Interior Protection

If you are worried about your employees removing product from the warehouse, or someone slipping in without being noticed, you need to upgrade your interior protection. There are a few ways to do this, including:

ID Badges with RFID

It’s not uncommon to use RFID sensors to track your products as they are moved around the warehouse. This can be an excellent method of keeping track of where products and boxes are, so you can rate the speed of transfer. If something goes missing, you’ll know exactly where in the process it happened.

Likewise, you may require employees and visitors to use this type of badge so you know who is coming and going. This also is a safety measure, since you can check who is in the building in the event of an emergency. Providing emergency services with accurate information on where employees may be trapped can be quite helpful in a life and death situation.

You’ll also note if someone is out of their expected area. For example, if a delivery driver is in the warehouse and should not be, you may investigate. Overall, having tracking options can be extremely useful in monitoring both staff and product.

Turnstiles

To prevent people from rushing through the building and to give guards and the cameras a chance to scan everyone, you may wish to install turnstiles. These require slowing down to move through them which helps you manage the flow of people.

Aside from regular turnstiles, you also have the option of choosing security turnstiles. These will not permit anyone to move through without a key card. Turnstiles can regulate the number of people moving through the building and help prevent those who aren’t authorised to enter from getting in. The entry point is narrowed to one place, as well, which makes it easier to keep track of who is coming and going from the building.

Turnstiles are relatively simple to install and can make all the difference in how you manage traffic in your warehouse. 

Access Control Systems

It’s essential that you control who accesses your warehouse and particularly certain areas of the warehouse. In an ideal world, you could trust everyone who passes through the doors of your building, but in reality, you need security measures.

An access control system requires a code to be entered into the keypad or a swipe card or fob to be used. These can be individualised to prevent unauthorised people from entering areas they aren’t supposed to be in. It also helps track who is where and when they arrived or left. Again, this is useful for monitoring purposes.

Another option is to install an intercom, which may be voice only or video, as well. These allow you or a guard to screen who requests entry at the gate. You will then have the option of remotely permitting entrance, or simply communicating with the person from wherever you are in the warehouse.

CCTV

You should consider security cameras both inside and outside your warehouse for security purposes. Not only will they show what is going on around the building, they may pick up on some issues you weren’t aware of.

If there is an incident in the warehouse, you can review the footage and determine what really happened. This is often more useful than relying on witness testimonies. This type of footage may be useful for insurance purposes, as well as for the authorities if a crime was committed.

It’s also a good idea to have cameras on the exterior of the building to monitor what is happening there. An exterior camera may give you warning of a break in, as you can spot the intruder before they reach the doors or the interior of the building.

Why You Should Hire Professionals to Install Your Security

Most of the structures and systems listed here are not the sort of thing you can install yourself. They are more sophisticated systems that require knowledge and care in the installation, so having an expert come in to handle it all will save you quite a bit of stress and money over time.

When you hire a company like Shuretech to install your security gates, access systems, CCTV, and other systems, you also get support. They’ll return to repair anything that fails over time and can ensure that your building remains protected.



If you’re ready to add more protective options to your building, contact Shuretech to learn more about our offers.