For businesses, Christmas is either a time of year when everyone’s on holiday so it’s absolutely non-stop or a time of year when everyone’s on holiday so absolutely nothing is happening.
For businesses in the latter category, it can make sense just to accept reality and go with the flow or, in other words, to close your doors or, at the very least, to operate reduced hours.
This can save a lot of money in both staff costs and building costs; however, the lack of staff in a building can increase its vulnerability. With that in mind, here are some tips as to how to keep your business safe over the Christmas period.
Check your perimeter for weaknesses
Hopefully you should already have decent perimeter security in place and if not then now would be the time to prioritize getting it installed.
Manually-operated barriers are still the more affordable option, but remotely-operated barriers are now very affordable and open up lots of extra options, if not for now then for the future.
Lighting helps legitimate visitors and deters intruders
Motion-sensitive lighting may be one of the best security-related inventions ever created. It’s also good for the environment and good for your wallet because it only activates when it’s needed. Opt for LED light bulbs and the energy usage is even lower.
Test your alarm system (and your CCTV)
If you don’t have an intruder alarm or a CCTV camera, then maybe this is the right time to get one installed by professionals who are available at firms like Calibre Connect (you can search for CCTV installation Sydney online to avail their services). Do not forget that if the security systems are not installed properly, then they will be of no use. Moreover, security systems are installed so that they can alarm you in case of any emergency. So, be very vigilant while choosing an installer.
However, if you do have security systems, then now is the time to test them, just to be on the safe side (remember to inform any relevant people first). Now is also the time to double-check who can disable and activate them and make any necessary changes, for example remove the names of anyone who has left the company and/or anyone who is going to be on holiday over Christmas (the latter can always be put back later if necessary).
You should have a fire alarm system (or at the very least smoke detectors), check these too, and perhaps change the batteries as you won’t see if any alert lights go off and you don’t want to keep your business premises safe from intruders only to have them destroyed by fire. These Fire Alarm Systems can be found with many different companies online, and you should contact them for a quick installment as soon as you can. It would be a catastrophe if a fire destroyed your company during a time when you are not there to stop it or alert the emergency services.
You’ll also want to think about who’ll be alerted to a fire alarm if it does go off.
If you have CCTV make sure you test that too, in particular, make sure there is decent visibility when it is dark (good lighting can help a lot here) and see if you need to update your monitoring arrangements over the Christmas period.
For the sake of completeness, if you have either or both of these, you should have signage to that effect, particularly for CCTV where there are GDPR implications. If not then you need to take care of this as quickly as possible.
Establish (or confirm) your locking-up procedures, write them down and test them
Somebody is going to have to lock up for the Christmas break, so make sure that they know what they are doing. If possible, avoid having them work alone as they could be physically attacked. Also, you can hire a security guard to protect your office premises. A well trained and armed security guards Texas or elsewhere can secure the office building and handle any muggers. Moreover, you can appoint guards for regular duty as well, since they can help with registering visitors and covering safety loopholes left by CCTVs and alarm systems.
Author Bio
This article was contribute by Newgate who specialise in secured access solutions such as security barriers and gates, bollards and road blockers, which are British designed and built.