How to Ensure Your Business is Safe and Secure

As a business owner, you have a responsibility to ensure your commercial premises are safe and secure, protecting not only your assets but your employees. This comes down to security, fire prevention and protecting your digital assets.

No business is safe from petty crime and you should take the correct precautions to protect everything within your business. Criminals target small and big businesses at an alarming rate and often, they aren’t equipped to cope with the financial losses that come with break-ins, data theft or fires.

The good news is that you can do your best to deter and prevent any criminals from targeting your commercial premises, which can save you a lot of trouble in the long term. There are lots of precautions you can take to do this and we’ll be covering them all here.

Install quality industrial doors

The first line of defence for any business is the doors and windows. By investing in high-quality doors and shutters, you’ll have a much higher chance of preventing any criminals from being able to gain access to your premises. Strong industrial roller shutter doors, sectional doors and sliding doors will be instrumental in protecting your business and will give you peace of mind when you lock up for the evening.

Vandals, thieves and even bad weather can cause losses or damages, so locking up with strong doors is a wise move. Glass is the optimal material to be broken, so cover it at night with sturdy shutters strengthened with steel strips and double-check they’re locked up.

Invest in a CCTV system

A reliable CCTV system will provide clear security footage to catch intruders, vandals or thieves and will most likely prevent them from acting in the first place. You can also combine these cameras with motion-detecting lights that switch on whenever somebody walks past or gets close to your property. This informs people they are being watched and are most likely going to rethink whatever it was they were planning on doing.

If the cameras and lights don’t succeed in deterring crime, they will have caught evidence that can be handed to the police in order to catch them. Make sure you follow the Data Protection Act as you must put up a sign to let people know you are using CCTV and provide images to anyone you’ve recorded. You must also share the images with authorities if they ask for them and only keep images for as long as your business needs them.

Establish clear security procedures

You should have control over who is entering your premises and ensuring that only authorised people do so is important. If you run an office, access control such as key cards or passcodes will ensure that only your employees are able to access your building during the right hours. More modern access control such as fingerprint recognition is becoming popular due to heightened security requirements. This is a great option as it ensures the access cannot be shared with anyone that it shouldn’t and that keys and access codes don’t make it into the wrong hands.

It may be worth asking your employees to wear identification badges or to always carry ID with them and prompt them to ask questions to anyone that doesn’t appear to be in the right place. This is particularly important for bigger workplaces where there may be large numbers of employees that are difficult to keep track of. Appointing one or a few employees as keyholders will help you know who is responsible for locking up in the evening. Ensuring you only choose people you trust will minimise the risk of something going wrong.

Invest in fire doors

Business safety also comes down to fire precautions. Investing in custom-made fire resistant doors will be worthwhile to prevent the spread of fire. Fire can cause extreme amounts of damage, wiping out your inventory and putting your staff at risk. Fire doors made from timber, aluminium and steel will maximise your fire resistance and ensure the safety of your workers and visitors.

There are various types and styles of fire doors available which can work to fit your premises. If you have people regularly passing through the doors, you can still find functional doors that will maximise safety. Fire-resistant paint is also an option, so there’s no need to overlook aesthetics.

Stay on top of repairs

Criminals will be looking out for damaged doors, shutters or windows to find an easy entrance. If you notice there has been some damage caused, call a repair company as quickly as possible to get it fixed. Any sign of damage may also be an indication that someone has attempted to gain entry on your premises overnight. It’s wise to check security footage to see what caused the damage.

Keep a note of a repair company that offers 24-hour emergency door repairs in your area, so you’re always prepared if something needs fixing. A good repair company might also offer replacement doors so you’re never left in a vulnerable situation. Broken doors indicate to a criminal that you don't maintain the security on your premises and will likely make you an easy target.

Hide valuables

Valuable items such as business equipment and tools can potentially attract attention from the wrong types of people. Computers, shop inventory and even cash should not be visible from outside the building. Blinds and shutters will hide the view from outside and stop anyone looking to steal small valuable items. Your computer system likely has a lot of valuable information including employee and customer data which, in the wrong hands, can be extremely dangerous.

Keep cash stored onsite to a minimum and make sure you properly train your staff members to handle cash. If you have cash kept in a locked room or safe, make sure there is CCTV monitoring it to keep an eye on the area. Keeping keys out of sight is also important, particularly if you have company vehicles kept on-site overnight.

Take precautions when your premises are unoccupied

Since we’ve had to deal with a pandemic, it’s common for workplaces to be left unoccupied for a length of time. If your workplace has several cases of covid, your staff may have to isolate leaving your premises empty. If you’re closing for Christmas or it’s a bank holiday, don’t be fooled into thinking criminals won’t take advantage of empty workplaces over the festive period.

Whether you work in an office, restaurant or warehouse, it’s best to take appropriate precautions. Check with your insurance provider to make sure your policy isn’t affected and make sure you’ve followed as much of the above guidance as possible. Make use of lighting timers to give the impression that someone is on-site and be careful what you share on social media as it can advertise to burglars that your workplace is empty.

Thoroughbred Industrial Doors: Garage doors in Mildenhall & Royston

Thoroughbred Industrial Doors is a provider of industrial door fittings, garage door fittings, repairs and key maintenance. We can help keep your business premises safe and secure with our reliable and professional industrial door fittings. Our high standard of workmanship will provide the appropriate defences to protect your property from burglary, vandalism, fire and crime. We offer competitive prices while maintaining a premium standard of quality.

Our range of industrial door installations includes sliding and steel hinged doors, sectional, high-speed and roller shutter doors. We also provide a wide range of fire doors so you can feel comfortable knowing your fire resistance is maximised. If anything goes wrong with your doors or damage has been caused, we are on hand to help you out. Our emergency call-out service is provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our services ensure your doors last a long time and keep your business ticking along. For more information about our services, visit our website. Alternatively, call 01763 250 777 to speak to a member of our team.