By: Eric Viletto, Regional Director of Commercial Development at Prosegur Security USA, and Joseph Murphy, Senior Vice President at Prosegur Security USA

With the holidays quickly approaching, security threats such as theft, cyber attacks, and workplace violence are becoming more prevalent for logistics facilities. In addition to these security challenges, the global supply chain continues to experience significant strain caused by the pandemic, which will result in even more challenges for these facilities during the upcoming holiday season.

According to Accenture, 94 percent of Fortune 1000 companies saw supply chain disruptions as a result of the pandemic, and 75 percent of companies felt negative or strongly negative impacts on their business due to supply chain disruptions.

Today, logistics facilities are seeing increased pressures from delayed shipments, manufacturing slowdowns, and increasing consumer demand, alongside growing security threats. As consumers begin their holiday shopping, these pressures will likely worsen, so it is important for logistics facilities to evaluate and protect themselves from active security threats to meet growing consumer demands.

In order to effectively prepare, here are four security practices that logistics businesses can apply to stay protected during the holiday season.

1. A 360-degree view for enhanced security:

Modern logistics companies require a holistic view of their security landscape. Starting security surveillance at the outer perimeter and working inward ensures a 360-degree view of the facility. Businesses should start their security monitoring at the perimeter of their facilities, move into the parking lot, and then into the facility to attain a more comprehensive picture.

When evaluating the parking lot and exterior beyond the building for security risks, it is important to pay close attention to the fence line. Facilities should ensure the fence line is intact and regularly inspect it for breaches, damage, or tampering. By implementing a maintenance schedule to upkeep the fence and landscaping around the fence line, businesses can ensure the perimeter is adequately secure for best enabled visual surveillance at all times of the day.

Considerations will also need to be made when monitoring the building’s exterior and interior. Security should regularly check to be sure locking mechanisms are secure and that sufficient lighting for nighttime surveillance is implemented. Video surveillance should also be available for after-hours monitoring, including primary exterior entrances and walkways to ensure people’s safety.

For the interior, implementing security patrol checkpoints to ensure the facility is properly patrolled is critical, and designating defined walkways inside the building will minimize the likelihood of injuries caused by equipment operators or distracted employees. The use of cell phones while walking inside an active facility should be prohibited. In addition, businesses should meet any regulatory requirements and maintain effective access control policies and procedures for employees, vendors and other visitors who enter the building.

By starting from the perimeter and working inward, logistics facilities will remain vigilant in protecting their employees and sensitive data, especially as these risks increase around the holidays.

2. Training and maintenance protocols:

An organization’s security needs to be a top priority to protect the safety of its employees and its business continuity. To ensure a facility’s security program is effective, organizations must implement an efficient employee training program and have regularly scheduled maintenance to support any access control, surveillance or security related equipment.

In addition to proper maintenance, an organization must implement a dynamic training program for its employees to ensure effective security within a facility. Not only does a successful training program protect the safety of an organization’s employees, but it also protects the organization’s assets, saving the organization money in the long run by preventing damage and loss of product. For example, during the holiday shopping season, a large department store typically has a warehouse, and leading up to the holiday season, that warehouse usually has more foot traffic than at other times of the year. With increased traffic as a result of the season, more problems are likely to arise. Through a training program, employees can learn how to detect and mitigate issues, such as theft, in the correct manner. A successful training program will teach employees what to do in the event of different types of conflicts and effectively increase security within an organization.

3. Video analytics for enhanced surveillance:

Video analytics have been trending over the last several years, and the market has seen a demand for businesses utilizing video analytics software and services, especially during the pandemic. Fortune Business Insights predicts the video analytics market will grow by 23.8 percent between 2022 and 2029, highlighting organizations’ increased interest in adding video analytics to their current security solutions.

Adding video analytics to security cameras at logistics facilities will provide businesses with advanced surveillance capabilities and intelligent video surveillance systems. Video analytics can automatically detect unauthorized activity and send an alert to an onsite security officer or a remote security operations center for response. This is especially important during the holiday season to monitor for increased threats such as theft and workplace violence incidents.

There are several considerations for businesses looking to add video analytics to their current security measures. Evaluate camera capabilities to see if they align with current business objectives. It is important to assess how they perform as the facility’s needs might have changed since the original cameras were installed. Organizations can also add video analytics software “on the edge” of their existing cameras instead of buying new cameras, which saves on product, installation and labor costs.

After the camera system has been optimized for operations, video analytics can be added to the cameras. Using artificial intelligence and algorithms, effective video analytics software collects and analyzes visual data inside and outside of an organization to make security teams aware of potential threats. Ultimately, this will help improve the organization’s security and provide valuable insights into the organization’s operations.

4. Year-round access control:

Access control is an increasingly important part of security measures for logistics facilities, especially around the holiday season as more people are filtering in and out of buildings. Research from IHS Markit shows that 44 percent of office workers believe that the pandemic has made access control an even more important issue.

To improve a facility’s access control, an organization must first evaluate who is going in and out of the facility on a daily and seasonal basis. Segmenting access lists based on an organization’s traffic throughout the year will help better protect its employees and regular workers. Daily access lists might include executives and full-time employees, as well as regular vendors, suppliers, and partners. During the fall and winter months, access lists will likely change with the hiring of seasonal workers and third-party vendors.

To mitigate the risks to a facility’s security, access control needs to become a priority. To improve a building’s access control, businesses will first need to consider and evaluate how people and vehicles enter and move around the property, specific access points and entrances for third-party vendors and suppliers, secured areas where visitors can use the restroom, and walkways for visitors both inside and outside of the building.

Prioritizing access control is essential in the months leading up to the holiday season. Organizations will want to ensure they have trusted people entering and leaving areas that house their most protected assets. There are several considerations businesses can make when determining the best access control solution. Smart access devices, including smart door locks and networked cameras, are gaining popularity as they are a convenient way to ensure people that do not have access to an area cannot enter. Depending on the needs of an organization, special applications can be added to access control systems, including metal detection, baggage inspection, detection of explosives and prohibited substances, people screening, vehicle anchoring, anti-terrorist obstacles, and more.

In addition to staffing entrances, gates and other checkpoints with security officers, many modern warehouses now have remote monitoring to oversee access control. During the

holidays and high-traffic times of the year, remote monitoring is particularly useful for nighttime surveillance of warehouses that store consumer electronics, cars or other high-value goods. Instead of having one or two security personnel on the night shift, businesses can connect their camera systems to a remote monitoring center, where trained security agents can watch camera feeds, conduct video patrols, run video analytics and use talk-down audio to engage with trespassers and interrupt a crime in progress.

Organizations that prioritize their security for the safety of their employees and to mitigate risks associated with product loss and damage will be more efficient and better equipped to manage security problems. Businesses should take a 360-degree look at their facilities, implement or evaluate training and maintenance programs, add video analytics for advanced surveillance, and assess access control systems now to enhance security measures before the rush of the holiday season.

Source: boltpr.com