The global supply chain continues to struggle to get back on track. It started with the pandemic and snowballed into a host of other issues. The problems with the supply chain have touched every customer and every business including logistic facilities.
Accenture reports that 94% of Fortune 1000 companies have experienced supply chain interruptions from the pandemic. Moreover, 75% of companies say the supply chain has had a strongly negative or negative impact on their business. The situation is dire as it’s forcing customers to change their habits.
Logistic facilities now contend with late shipments, a truck driver shortage, and a growing number of security threats. Between those increasing threats and the side effects of the supply chain, here are five logistic facilities security trends you can expect.
1. Install Perimeter Security
Perimeter security protects everything within and around the property. Perimeter security does more than protect the logistics facility. Its job is to also secure the areas outside of the facility including the parking areas.
One of the easiest and most affordable crime prevention tools in your toolbox is lighting. Lighting isn’t as simple as making sure you have enough lights and that they’re bright enough. The right kind of lighting and its placement can have a huge impact on your logistics facility’s security. That’s why it’s advised you bring in a security expert.
Another option is to put up a gate or fencing around the perimeter. Whether you can do this depends on local laws and the property. The advantage of fences and gates is that you can create a single-entry point. If you have fences or gates, they need to be regularly inspected for damage.
Do you have landscaping around your logistics facility? This can affect your perimeter security. Intruders look for poor landscaping because it allows them to hide and potentially enter the business without being seen. Review your landscaping and its effects on security. It’s equally important to keep it maintained because overgrown greenery creates hiding spots for trespassers.
Of course, you hope first responders will never need to come to your logistics facility. However, if they do, will they be able to find your facility’s address? Verify your address is visible to everyone from the street. Every second counts and you want to make sure first responders go to the right place.
2. Train Employees
Companies that go the most days without injuries invest in training and create safety processes and procedures. They also do safety training or briefs every day. Investing in training and education can be less expensive than the actual price of theft or an injury.
All new employees should receive security training as part of the onboarding process. This training typically covers a company’s security processes. Employees need to know how to help protect the company and how to respond to an active situation. Current employees need to receive a refresher and updated training. You want to prevent complacency and provide any updated information related to security.
While conducting the training, ask workers to please report safety hazards and problem areas. Give them a way to submit anonymous reports. Employees often won’t report a safety problem. According to an EHS Daily Advisor article, research reveals people only speak up about 39% of the time.
Safety and security are always worth repeating and over-communicating. Employees don’t always remember the first, second, or third time they hear the message. If many of your workers speak a different language, consider bringing in a translator. This is one area of communication that must be 100% understood.
3. Add Video Surveillance with Monitoring
Remote video surveillance provides multiple layers of security. The first one, video cameras, can deter some criminals. You can reinforce that by posting “Area under surveillance” signs around your logistics facility. With criminals becoming brazen, a lot of them aren’t fazed by the sight of security cameras.
The next layer of security is a trained security operator who watches those cameras in real time. If they see an intruder on the property, they can issue a verbal warning over an on-site speaker from a remote monitoring center.
When a situation warrants it, the monitoring operator can call the police. Because the video monitoring is visual proof of a crime in progress, law enforcement often arrives at your facility before the intruder gets away. If the suspect escapes, it’s not a problem. The video surveillance system records and saves everything it sees.
The security footage can provide important information such as license plates, identifying markers, the suspect’s description, and more. The recordings help law enforcement find and arrest the individuals. They also give you the proof you need for solving cases and incidents.
In addition to helping deter crime, here’s another way video technology can help. An employee or visitor may claim they fell in the logistics facility and need medical treatment. The recordings can confirm whether this actually happened.
Video surveillance has advanced to the point that it offers so many more benefits to businesses besides security protection. Companies investing in video surveillance with monitoring can gain improvements in productivity, increase profits, and boost safety. Security cameras can improve productivity by spotting bottlenecks, areas of improvement, and potential safety hazards.
Additionally, video surveillance technologies can monitor for floods. If a pipe breaks during a freeze or a severe storm floods the logistic facility, video surveillance can catch it earlier and report it. Being informed of these situations allows you to react appropriately to help minimize the damage. Security cameras with video analytics make this possible, which is the next item.
4. Incorporate Video Analytics
Monitoring hours and hours of video is tedious. Plus, humans can make mistakes or miss something. That’s why it’s a trend to combine video surveillance with analytics and trained monitoring operators. It can reduce the chances of missing something.
Security experts program video analytics to monitor for one of many possible scenarios. As soon as the system gets a match, it alerts the monitoring operator. They review the video and act as needed. It could be warning the people in the logistics facility, calling emergency, or contacting the point person at the facility.
What makes video analytics more powerful than traditional security solutions is that it is proactive and can help deter crime and minimize damage. Video cameras alone are merely eyes. When you add a brain through video analytics, you level up its capabilities. You can even integrate it with an access control system. This creates a powerful integrated security system that can deliver a speedy return on investment as you’ll see in the next trend.
5. Invest in an Access Control System
Access control systems do exactly what it sounds like: control who has access. These simple yet effective systems grant and revoke access to locations and resources. They have the ability to do more than manage access to the logistic facility and parking area. Some access control systems can grant access based on a time limit or scheduled unlocks.
One advantage of an access control system is that you won’t need to manage locks and keys anymore. Instead, you access the system through any connected computer or device and tell the system to add and remove access in an instant.
Access control systems are scalable, customizable, and flexible. They can be managed from anywhere and customized in many ways. You can control access on a per room and per location basis. If you have areas in your facility with sensitive information, you can assign access to only those who can enter.
Here are some benefits of an access control system:
- Prevents unauthorized people from entering.
- Avoids locking out employees.
- Manages entry for different parts of the facility.
- Dodges potential employee mistakes.
- Costs less than many security systems and security guards.
Before choosing an access control system, document your requirements for access and security. List who needs access to where and when. This is a good starting point in finding the right technology for your needs.
How to Find the Right Security for Logistics Facilities
Having human eyes and video analytics on your entire logistics facility and around it provides peace of mind for you and your employees. Additionally, the security cameras can capture everything while the access control system adds timestamps to the video.
It defeats the purpose if employees open the door for strangers. That’s why training is a crucial piece and is part of these five trends. Keep it simple. People won’t use anything that’s complicated or tedious. All it takes is one mistake on an employee’s part to bring down the security or risk people’s safety.
Implementing these five logistics facility security trends can optimize everyone’s safety while protecting the facility and the company’s assets. The right security company can build an integrated system that achieves your security and safety goals and works with your budget requirements.
Companies like Stealth can enhance security and safety with a customized remote video surveillance system for your logistics facility. Our security experts can evaluate your facility and create the right-sized security solution. In choosing to work with our team, you’ll gain access to security professionals who have experience in securing logistics facilities like yours.
To learn more about video surveillance with monitoring, grab this guide on Remote Video Surveillance: More Than Just Catching Criminals. For customized security technology that fits your budget and can speed up your ROI, contact us.
