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A storage yard is a lucrative target for thieves with stored material such as vehicles, fuel, cargo shipment containers, machinery, and scrap material such as steel and copper a great steal for criminals looking to sell their loot for quick cash.
Storage yards are generally large, open spaces with lines of inventory stacked up. The way that they are built and used gives potential criminals not just more than one entry point to break in but also doubles as a great hiding spot to be used as a cover.
In addition to the risk of intrusions, burglaries, and vandalism, storage yards also carry the risk of fires. Due to the various types of inventory found in them, which at times includes highly flammable material, fires can easily spread and become uncontrollable if the right safety measures aren’t taken.
For obvious reasons, employing security guards to patrol every inch of the property is not a very viable option, both in terms of practicality and the monetary investment.
Thankfully, there are ways in which you can secure your commercial and industrial yard facility using a few basic security measures and security systems.
The first step towards eliminating risk is to identify it. All storage yards are different and have specific security requirements; some may be prone to break-ins, some might face internal threats such as employee theft, while others might be at a greater risk of fires.
A security risk assessment ensures that you have the best and complete information on hand to make informed decisions about your storage yard security.
Knowing which areas to focus on will help come up with a much better security plan that takes into account all the vulnerabilities and potential threats.
Here are the measures you can take to ensure maximum commercial and industrial yard security:
SECURE THE PERIMETER
Securing the perimeter of the storage yard is one of the most basic steps towards securing it against intrusions. It’s a little difficult to put barriers in huge, open spaces but it is an essential step and must be taken.
Installing gates and fences along the perimeter will not just help establish boundaries but also implement them.
The boundaries must be made secure using strong material that cannot be broken down easily, and also something that doesn’t aid intruders in climbing on top to gain access to the yard.
Another step in reinforcing the perimeter is to use state-of-the-art locks that cannot be easily bypassed. Fragile and weak gates and fences that can easily be knocked down or broken are as good as not having them at all, which is why strengthening all the potential entrances, on all sides of the property, with high-quality locks is vital.
A common technique, known as “lock-snapping”, is widely used by burglars to snap open doors fitted with standard euro-cylinder locks. All it takes is a few seconds, some DIY tools, and a bit of strength. If you’ve seen any burglary or heist movie, you would know what we’re talking about.
To counteract the issue, storage yards must use good quality anti-snap locks installed by a professional commercial locksmith to make it impossible for criminals to bypass them.
INSTALL SECURITY LIGHTS
How easy would it be for you to sneak up on someone if the room was dark with no lights on? Pretty easy, since your victim wouldn’t be able to see you coming.
Similarly, criminals use the dark to their advantage as well and use it as a cover to break into storage yards without anyone noticing. Naturally, if the area was well-illuminated, chances are that they would’ve been seen or noticed by someone.
Storage yards are huge where, in the absence of proper lighting, hiding out can become very easy for burglars trying to find the right opportunity to make their move.
One of the easiest security measures you can take for your property is to keep it well-lit; this is true for residential, commercial, and industrial properties alike.
Installing security lights in commercial and industrial storage units will ensure that every nook and cranny is in proper view and there are no blind or hiding spots for potential intruders to take advantage of.
In certain areas, it is best to install lights with motion sensors that turn on as soon as they detect any movement in the area where they are installed.
Motion sensor lights help reduce electricity bills by remaining off and only turning on when someone is near them, and also by acting as a signal for the storage yard owners and managers to take notice of the unusual activity.
There is also the option to install light timers that work by automatically switching on/off the lights based on the set timings. This way, you don’t have to worry about manually turning on the lights every evening or having to rely on your employees to do it responsibly.
They also give you the chance to override the timer and switch on/off your lights remotely, which enables you to control them even when you are away from the storage yard.
CCTV SURVEILLANCE
Being able to keep an eye on every inch of your property without having to be physically present there – isn’t that every property owner’s dream? Well, that dream was turned into a reality with the advent of CCTV surveillance systems a few decades ago.
CCTV cameras provide constant monitoring of the area, with technological advancements over the years making way for more useful features.
In addition to monitoring, the systems also record and gather evidence, something that criminals absolutely detest.
The footage helps identify the perpetrators by recording their faces and other proofs of identification, aiding law enforcement agencies to catch them quickly and easily.
CCTV cameras not only provide safety and security to a storage yard’s property, contents, and equipment but also its employees and visitors.
They help keep not just external threats but also internal ones, something that all commercial and industrial property owners face, under control.
External threats arise from burglars, thieves, and vandals, while internal threats constitute theft and damage done by disgruntled employees.
All in all, CCTV monitoring helps maintain a healthy working environment where everyone feels safe. Offences such as violence and sexual harassment are real issues that need to be taken extremely seriously, and CCTV cameras function as inhibitors for such threats giving everyone in the workplace a sense of security and safety.
There are various types of CCTV cameras, each of which comes with specialised features used for a specific purpose.
The most popular ones include bullet, dome, C-mount, PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom), day/night, infrared/night vision, network/IP, wired, wireless, and high definition (HD) CCTV cameras.
Choosing the best one for your storage yard depends on several factors that include the camera’s resolution, the field of view, placement, power supply, budget, and additional features that include professional monitoring, smartphone notifications, remote access, and two-way communication.
BURGLAR ALARMS
The main purpose of a burglar alarm is to detect intrusions – something that is of great importance to storage yard owners and managers.
They work using various sensors, depending on the type of intrusion to be detected and how. The most common ones include motion, infrared, ultrasonic, microwave, magnetic, photoelectric, and glass-break detectors.
A robust burglar alarm system serves as a very effective deterrent for burglars trying to break into your property and it offers peace of mind knowing that it is well-protected and safe.
There are different types of burglar alarms to choose from. Picking the best one for your storage yard depends on the level of security and responsiveness you require.
The bells-only burglar alarm uses sounds, and sometimes flashing lights, to activate the sensor. Since these burglar alarms aren’t monitored by a third-party, they rely on the people nearby to take action as soon as the alarm is triggered, which is why they aren’t particularly effective for storage yards in secluded and isolated areas.
Dialler burglar alarms work exactly like the bells-only alarm with the additional feature of you or your nominated keyholders being contacted in the event of an alarm trigger.
You can either have the system linked to your phone line, in which case it’ll use your landline to call the emergency contacts, or to your GSM mobile network, in which case you would require a sim card topped with credit all the time.
The risk involved with dialler systems is that sometimes the people contacted might be unavailable or that weak mobile signals might affect the system’s performance in case of GSM connectivity.
Monitored burglar alarms are the most effective and fool-proof security alarms that sound an alarm as soon as the sensors pick up any unusual activity and alert a professional monitoring centre manned by experts who notify the owners, nominated keyholders, or the police.
These alarms offer great peace of mind knowing that your burglar alarm is being monitored even when you’re away or when the storage yard is uninhabited such as during the night.
Most insurance companies ask for the burglar alarms to be monitored and offer good discounts for them since they are one of the most effective forms of security with guaranteed response and 24/7 protection.
FIRE ALARMS
Storage yard fires are very common and extremely probable. Without proper fire safety, fire incidents are just waiting to happen in them with rows and rows of different kinds of content, most of which is almost always flammable.
Back in 2018, a fire broke out in a B&M storage yard in North Yorkshire which news agencies are calling a ‘major incident’. Luckily, there were no injuries or fatalities, although it resulted in some very serious property damage.
According to an investigation, the cause of the fire was a build-up of combustible material in the yard that was started by a discarded cigarette or lighter. Such a small mistake with such huge consequences.
Basic fire safety measures must be taken in all storage yards, irrespective of the contents they store, and the employees and workers must be given proper training on what to and what not to do on the premises.
In addition to enforcing strict fire safety regulations, storge yards must be equipped with fire alarms that can detect smoke, heat, or an increase in carbon monoxide levels, which are all an excellent way to keep you and your property safe.
The systems give an early warning of the threat and allow enough time to anyone inside the premises to evacuate and call the authorities before it gets out of control.
There are two main types of fire alarms; conventional fire alarm systems and addressable fire alarm systems.
In a conventional fire alarm system, the property is divided into zones that give a rough idea as to where the fire has occurred. The precision of knowing where the fire started is controlled by the number of zones and circuits that have been wired within the building.
The addressable fire alarm system is the most modern type of fire alarm system that can pinpoint the exact location of the threat.
ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS
If you manage to limit unauthorised access into your property, it is safe to say that a majority of your security concerns are covered.
Access control systems are keyless entry systems that can be used in storage yards to control and manage access along with establishing access permissions for employees and visitors to enter different areas of the property.
These permissions not only determine the areas the user can be granted access to, but can also include specifically permitted hours of access as well.
They are an efficient way to provide access authorisation to people using or visiting a facility, where the identification credentials are presented to a reader present on the system and sent to the access control server to determine whether or not to grant access.
The elimination of the usage of keys can be a huge plus point in terms of safety and security because keys are prone to being lost, stolen, or copied.
Access control systems also provide tracking access where the system saves and records each entry and exit that happens in the storage yard throughout the day and night.
The tracking records help keep employee management issues at bay, giving the employers more control over their activity such as when they enter and leave the property.
There are various types of authentication methods that can be used in access control systems, such as access cards, pin codes, and biometrics.
CONTACT CALDER SECURITY
The quality of the equipment and the expertise with which it is installed is extremely important in determining how effective a certain security system will be.
Choosing the right security company to do the job for you is step one in making your property secure.
At Calder Security, we understand the special security that storage yards require and are here to provide you with a comprehensive security solution that includes not just professional installation but also monitoring, maintenance, and repair services.
We are SSAIB approved installers and follow all the best practices in the industry. We do not compromise on quality and install only high-quality, state-of-the-art security equipment.
We offer various levels of monitoring via a 24-hour monitoring centre, using Dualcom and BT Redcare signalling, which is the most secure alarm monitoring system and the largest supplier of intelligent alarm signalling services in the UK.
We understand the importance of having to regularly maintain security systems since the inability to do so might result in serious faults and consequent vulnerabilities in the security.
We provide professional maintenance checks and reminders for when the checks are due to help you stay compliant with the law, and work fast to restore your security systems to excellent condition.
We have been working in the security industry for over 40 years and have the experience to work on several systems.
We offer a 24-hour call-out service for customers and can also repair systems not installed by us. Our engineers are highly skilled and can restore faulty systems to full working order in one visit.
Contact us here or call us on 0800 612 9799 to talk to our experts right away!
Photo by ?? Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum on Unsplash