/ By Gateway Team / winter security/ 0 Comments

Winter Security Tips

Winter Security Tips

Colder weather and darker nights bring challenges for businesses all around the UK. Are you prepared for the arrival of winter? Here are some security-related tips and advice to help you on your way.

Prepare for adverse weather

Here in the United Kingdom, the winter months bring vast changes to the climate. On average temperatures during these months range between 0 to 7°C and although sunny days are possible they will still feel cold.

If you are a properly prepared business, then you will likely have some key perimeter security measures in place already such as gates, fencing, and barriers. However, like any piece of equipment, they all require a degree of upkeep and cold weather such as rain, wind, sleet and snow can speed up degredation. To prevent this, you should maintain a simple programme of upkeep to protect against the elements. This may mean regular programmes of cleaning up leaves and other debris and washing or scrubbing down your tools.

Equally, you need to be wise enough to know when to call in the experts. A sudden onslaught of high-speed winds or other disruptive weather could cause damage and if you can’t get an engineer out in time then this could cause real disruption to your business, or your holiday plans.

Always maintain your equipment, have regular performance checks, and opt for a supplier that is able to provide reactive callout services to deal with any damage.

Prepare for darker nights

Criminals are opportunistic by nature and many crimes are carried out in the depths of the night when lighting is less abundant. This lowers their chances of detection and increases the liklihood of a getaway.

To weigh the odds back in your favour, your first port of call should be to develop strong perimeter security that both reduces the chances of an intrustion, and also sends out a strong message to criminals that your permises is not an easy target.

You should also ensure that any security lighting is in good working order, placed effectively to target particular zones or areas, and that any dark areas are free of any dangers. For instance, a bin that could be used as a climbing tool to scale a fence, any loose pannels that could be broken to gain entry.

Consider storage

While it is not always avoidable, you should try and ensure that high-value goods or machinery are either carefully locked down, or taken indoors during any periods of closure. Criminal gangs are known to target plant and machinery and leaving them out in the open, and in the darkness can lead to you becoming a target for theft.

Equally, any tools that could be used as weapons to damage facilities or gain entry should be secured or placed indoors out-of-hours.

Risk assessments

Your number one defence against crime, not just in the winter, but all year long is to have strong perimeter security tools in place. However, it can be difficult to know exactly where to focus your attentions. With a risk assessment from an experienced provider, you can pinpoint any weaknesses and begin to address them in a way that suits your operational needs.

Whether your business runs from small retail premises or a large industrial site, Gateway Automation can help. We provide you with a free, no-obligation quotation and feasibility survey to assess your perimeter security equipment. We also offer a nationwide reactive call-out service

to deal with any equipment issues and are proud to be Gate Safe accredited. Please contact us on 01522 682255 for more information.

/ By Gateway Team / Uncategorized/ 0 Comments

Keeping Your Business Safe During Christmas

Keeping your business safe during Christmas

Christmas is a season of goodwill. A time to come together with family and friends and celebrate the good times. However, for criminals, Christmas represents something different entirely – an open goal and a period of lax security measures that they can easily exploit. Read on for ways that you can avoid returning from your holidays to an unpleasant surprise.

Prepare and enact a closure plan

There are a number of tasks that need to be checked off before you can begin your holidays. You should develop a strong checklist that covers every aspect of your operations from cyber security through to physical and perimeter plans. Here are a few things to include:

  • Lock any external windows and doors and fasten any grills or covers.
  • Lock any external gates and barriers into place
  • Lock or remove any bins and waste units that could contain confidential data or items of value
  • Turn off any machinery or electrical items that do not need to remain on during closure
  • Turn off any heating or water devices that do not need to remain on
  • Check external areas for any items of value that can be moved inside
  • Check window displays for any items of value in view and close curtains or shutters
  • Check that any security lighting or CCTV units are working correctly (this should be done periodically to avoid any last-minute issues)
  • Shut any internal doors and passageways to limit fire risks
  • Ensure that your building is empty of personnel and then set alarms correctly

Designate keyholders

Keyholders are tasked with the job of responding to any incidents that arise on your premises such as police calls or alarm triggers. It is important that those tasked with doing so are aware of their duties, and keep their means of communication within sight during any periods of closure. A failure to respond quickly could mean that criminals are left to do as they please.

Access control

Not every business can shut down completely over the Christmas period. If you are to continue operations then you should consider how access will be controlled at both exterior and interior levels. Traffic should be recorded and logged and unmanned entry points can be accessed through tools like automatic barriers or number plate recognition systems. While interior units can be given tiered access through fobs and keypads – for instance, if you want to protect high-value goods or sensitive data.

Maintain a strong perimeter

When criminals decide which properties they are going to target, they will almost always go for those that show either a lax approach to perimeter security or none at all. To send the right impression, you should ensure that your external site is protected with key measures such as gates, barriers and bollards and that signage is displayed to warn off intruders.

If you feel that your business could be vulnerable this Christmas, then you should waste no time in reaching out for support and advice. Here at Gateway Automation we regularly assess properties for risk making sure that they are adequately secured and recommending any ways that we think security could be improved. Call us today on 01522 682 255 to discuss how we can help to keep you safe.