/ By Gateway Team / perimeter security • risk assessment • security/ 0 Comments

Smart perimeter security solutions for busy business owners

smart perimeter security solutions for busy business ownersWith rising crime rates and cuts to police budgets, many business owners are rightly concerned as to the effectiveness of relying solely on public services to protect their businesses from criminals.

Criminals are quite aware of the state of play and are becoming increasingly brazen in their attempts to target businesses in a wide range of industries.

However, when it comes to putting in place uncompromising security solutions, many business owners either don’t know where to start or simply don’t have the time to think about it. While this is true, securing your business is of utmost importance in 2019 and doesn’t necessarily need to be a drain on time and resources.

The first step to take is to ask a professional and experienced company to undertake a full risk assessment. Here at Gateway, rather than relying on guesswork, we use our knowledge and expertise built up over 40 years to determine the best products and services to shield you from crime.

Taking in the needs, processes and operational style of your business, a risk assessment helps create a security solution that works for your business. We look at your organisation and how it operates, what threats you face and the constraints of your location, buildings or other factors to help you and your employees to feel safe and secure in the face of criminal activity.

We provide a range of products to help businesses and individuals to secure their sites and also provide nationwide servicing and repairs to gates, barriers and other perimeter security equipment. Our customers include businesses operating in the following sectors:

  • Hotel & Leisure
  • Construction & Property Management
  • Banking & Finance
  • Commercial & Retail Centres
  • Transport, Ports & Distribution
  • Logistics
  • Government & Defence
  • Criminal Justice (Law Courts etc)
  • Universities, Colleges & Schools

Whether your business runs from small retail premises or a large industrial site, we can provide you with a free, no-obligation risk assessment, feasibility survey and quotation to assess your perimeter security requirements. For more information or for further advice on how to protect your business premises from criminals, please contact us here.

/ By Gateway Team / access control • gates • perimeter security • pharmaceutical • risk assessment • security • turnstiles/ 0 Comments

Perimeter security planning for the pharmaceutical industry

Two Engineers/ Scientists/ Technicians in Sterile Cleanroom Suits Use Microscopes for Component Adjustment and Research. They Work in an Electronic Components Manufacturing Factory.From corporate espionage and tampering to organised crime and terrorism – the pharmaceutical industry faces a great many threats in the modern world. In such a competitive market any disruption to your business can mean lost contracts and serious damage to your reputation. Protection against these threats must come in the form of a wholly rounded approach to security, but it begins with good perimeter security planning.

Perimeter security tips

After using a risk assessment to discover the potential threats against a company (warehouse, research facilities or HQ) and revealing blind-spots and weakness, a plan must be developed to restrict access to only approved visitors.

Each building will of course be unique and have its own set of challenges, however many of the fundamentals will remain the same. Controlling access requires an understanding of how the building operates, the threats it faces and how to overcome them. This can be developed through a thorough risk assessment and series of discussions.

Access control plays a key part in developing security for a site. Starting outside the building, heavy duty gates can be used to control or prevent pedestrian and vehicular access and send a strong visual signal to anyone seeking to infiltrate the building. Heavy duty gates act as a deterrent around the clock, but during daylight hours you can also use turnstiles to control exit and entry and monitor who is coming and going.

Vehicular access can also be slowed and restricted through the use of tools like security posts, speed ramps, flow control plates and automatic rising kerbs.

Many facilities in the pharmaceutical industry will have hundreds of visitors every day. They may equally have hundreds of employees travelling around the building. Such a high volume of people can pose security risks and it can be quite easy without the proper checks in place for them to gain access to controlled areas. You can give appropriate access through the use of biometric access control equipment like fingerprint identification, smart cards and other tools.

Get in touch

Arranging effective perimeter security is not something that you should go at alone. No matter the size or nature of your businesses, we can provide you with a free, no-obligation quotation and feasibility survey to assess the security requirements of your organisation. For more information on any of the security options above, or for further advice on how to protect your business premises from criminals, please contact us here or call us on 01522 682 255.

/ By Gateway Team / barriers • bi-folding gates • fly-tipping • gates • height restrictor barriers • perimeter security • risk assessment • sliding gates • swing gates/ 0 Comments

How a strong perimeter can prevent fly-tipping on your property

gateway blog 80Fly tipping is one of the biggest annoyances for land owners. Not only does it look unsightly, cause damage to property and local wildlife, it can also incur a heavy financial cost to owners of land who have to clear up the mess left behind. Here we will at look at some ways you can prevent your premises from becoming a target for fly tippers.

The first method of securing your property from fly-tippers is to perform a risk assessment. If trespassers can’t access your site, then they can’t occupy it or leave waste there. A risk assessment can help to highlight any vulnerabilities in your site such as areas which have no security, or areas where security can be easily bypassed, such as old or faulty gates and fences.

Waste has to be transported and for large amounts vehicles are needed to move it. You can prevent vehicles from gaining access to your site by having height restrictors installed. Height restrictive barriers are often chosen by councils, land owners and private companies as a way of preventing HGVs and Motorhomes from accessing their sites. Our GA5600 provides an ideal way to prevent unauthorised access, it is a durable and reliable restriction barrier and is available as a single, or double leaf.

Another method of prevent vehicular access is to use an Automatic Rising Kerb. Our GA8000 model utilises high quality hydraulic technology to provide ultimate security against unathorised traffic.

Gates are of course one of the staples of perimeter security and provide a strong physical and mental deterrent to would be fly-tippers. Here at Gateway we provide three key types of gates which include swing gates, sliding gates and bi-folding gates.

Finally, barriers can also play a key role in keeping out unwanted vehicles and pedestrians. They can be controlled either manually, or through other means like push-buttons, tokens, proximity cards and CCTV. Check out our barrier selection to learn more.

While some waste can be left behind by ‘fly-by-night’ criminals looking to offload or traders trying to get rid of business waste, serious damage can be caused by criminals looking to spender a longer period of time at your premises. This is why it is important to not only make your premises look highly-secured but also that if your premises are vacant that you make them as unhospitable as is possible. This means turning off access to electricity, water and other amenities so that your site offers very little to trespassers.

No matter the size or nature of your businesses or site, we can provide you with a free, no-obligation quotation and feasibility survey to assess your security requirements. For more information on any of the security options above, or for further advice on how to protect your business premises from criminals, please contact us or call us on 01522 682 255.

/ By Gateway Team / arson • arson attacks • business security • prevent arson • risk assessment • security/ 0 Comments

The devastating impact of arson on businesses

light-flick-allumer-zippo-80307Of all the crimes that can take place on business premises, arson has the potential to cause the most damage. The impact of a fire can result in serious – sometimes irreparable – damage to your business premises. The knock on effect of which can result in financial losses, lost stock, damaged infrastructure and even permanent closure for your business. But how do arson attacks happen and how can they be defended against?

The impact of arson

A fairly recent example of just how badly a business can be effected is the blaze at the Barnsley warehouse of popular online clothing retailer ASOS. One of the fastest growing online retailers in the UK in recent years, ASOS prides itself on quick delivery times. A fire which broke out at their Barnsley warehouse effected several floors of their building and took over 60 fire fighters to bring under control. The damage that the fire caused meant that the business had to put the brakes on online orders for several days, losing an untold amount of money whilst they made repairs and tried to get their operations back on track.

How it happens and how it can be stopped

Arson attacks most frequently occur during the night time. While it’s absolutely vital that businesses have sprinkler systems and fire alarms installed, that should not be where your fire prevention ends. Arson attacks can often be prevented by a combination of good housekeeping and strong perimeter security.

A good place to start is to look at some of the potential risks around your property, of which there may be many. Flammable liquids and other materials that could be easily set alight should be locked away, including bins where rubbish accumulates. Windows should be secured, potentially with shutters to prevent objects being thrown through them, while letterboxes should be fitted with airtight metal containers that will limit fire damage should any lit materials be passed through.

The key way that you can prevent acts of arson on your property is to prevent the arsonist from ever being able to gain access. This is achieved through strong perimeter security equipment that deters opportunistic criminals as well as making it hard for even the most determined ones to be able to get into your property.

Why risk assessments are crucial

Every business is unique which is why a good perimeter security company will begin by performing a risk assessment.

A risk assessment highlights any potential areas of weakness and means that the solutions offered – whether gates, barriers, access control equipment or something else – are the solutions which will make a significant impact on the security of your premises.

Gateway Automation provide a range products to help businesses and individuals to secure their sites and also provide nationwide servicing and repairs to gates, barriers and other perimeter security equipment. To find out more, please call us on 01522 682255.

/ By Gateway Team / automatic barriers • automatic gates • automatic rising kerbs • bi-folding gates • CCTV • data centre security • perimeter security • risk assessment • security • sliding gates • swing gates/ 0 Comments

Physical security for data centres

technology-1587673_640While data centre outages can often be the result of the growing threat of cyber crime, there are also an increasing number of incidents brought about by physical perimeter breaches.

While many companies will employ seasoned IT security specialists to protect them from cyber hacks and a serious online breach, their physical security is often an afterthought. However, protecting a data centre from physical threats is just as important as protecting those posed online and could have just as serious an impact. If your businesses houses their own data centre, or indeed if you are the chosen company to outsource another businesses data then an attack could have serious consequences for your business.

Every site will have its own specific needs and a risk assessment is certainly the place to start. This will help to develop a holistic approach that covers every aspect of your physical defence needs. While many businesses choose to utilise CCTV coverage as a means of protecting their premises it does not work as a means of preventing crime. Criminals attempting to target a data centre will know the consequences they face if caught and will make efforts to either destroy CCTV equipment or hide their faces so as not to be identified. This is why a 360 degree approach to site security should be adopted rather than relying on CCTV alone.

Some ways which you can prevent a criminal from ever gaining access include fully automatic barriers, gates and automatic rising kerbs.

Automatic barriers can be controlled by push-buttons, tokens, and proximity cards, or by manned guards on site thereby preventing unauthorised access. Heavy duty gates like swing gates, sliding gates or bi-folding gates prevent unwanted entry but also deter criminals who would otherwise try and escape in a getaway vehicle after breaking into your data centre. Automatic rising kerbs can also be used to cut off vehicular access, either to your entire site or just selected areas highlighted as under threat.

Gateway Automation provides a range of perimeter security systems to help businesses and individuals to secure their sites and also provides nationwide servicing and repairs to gates, barriers and other perimeter security equipment. To find out more, please contact us on 01522 68255 or download our brochure

/ By Gateway Team / crime • perimeter security • risk assessment/ 0 Comments

Risk assessments – the first step in securing your premises

The perimeter of your property is the boundary between your buildings and land and the outside world. As such, the strength of the physical security around your perimeter is the first line of defence against criminals. It acts not only as a deterrent, but also a means to physically delay or completely stop a criminal from gaining access to your site.

Crime remains a major threat to businesses and organisations in the UK with crime against businesses accounting for as much as 20% of all the crimes recorded. What’s more, a large proportion of these criminal activities are unplanned and opportunistic – meaning that criminals spot vulnerabilities in a business’s perimeter security and decide there and then to exploit them.

Time and time again, we find businesses that rely solely on only one or two forms of perimeter security, perhaps only installing CCTV cameras or relying on outdated or broken equipment which leaves their property vulnerable. The problem with this approach is that it fails to consider every eventuality and does not deliver the 360 degree approach that is needed for adequately securing premises. For example, CCTV may be able to witness a vehicle entering your site as a robbery takes place and alarm systems may notify authorities, but a piece of equipment like a Crash Tested Road Blocker may prevent the vehicle from ever gaining access in the first place.

When it comes to securing your property the absolute first step you should take is to ask a professional company to undertake a risk assessment. This means that, rather than relying on guesswork as to how best to deter criminals, you will have cold hard facts as to where you are vulnerable and which products would best suit your needs.

Taking in the needs, processes and operational style of your business, a risk assessment will help to create a security solution that works for your business. Looking at your organisation and how it operates, what threats you face and the constraints of your location, buildings or other factors it will help you and your employees to feel safe and secure in the face of criminal activity.

Whether your business runs from small retail premises or a large industrial site, we can provide you with a free, no-obligation risk assessment, feasibility survey and quotation to assess your perimeter security requirements. For more information or for further advice on how to protect your business premises from criminals, please contact us