While economic performance drives operational strategy, nothing outweighs the importance of occupant safety. A robust security strategy should be the highest priority of any commercial landlord to protect tenants and their assets in an office building. A comprehensive and well-designed security strategy is key to improving office environments, which enhances tenants’ peace of mind and productivity.

Security strategy involves combining physical, electronic, and procedural measures in a complimentary, integrated design. Examples of physical measures include perimeter barriers such as gates, land berms, or fencing. Another physical security method is electronic protection such as office access control systems  like keycards or smartphone-based credentials and RFID or NFC-based readers that only allow entry to authorized occupants. Finally, procedural security involves processes, protocols, and training on how to operate the other security measure and how to respond to threats.

This guide will outline the best office building security practices for tenant safety. You’ll also learn how Kastle’s solutions enhance safety, streamline operations, and boost tenant satisfaction.

Strong Physical Barriers

Physical barriers such as security doors, windows, fences, and gates play a vital front-line role in protecting commercial properties against internal and external threats, including burglary, unauthorized entry, and even damage by severe weather conditions.

When picking doors, windows, fences, and gates for your premises, you must consider various characteristics, including:

• Durability
• Accessibility
• Fire resistance
• Noise reduction
• Appearance
• Ease of maintenance
• Cost
• Material (i.e., wood, steel, etc.)

The most common types of security, doors and windows include:

• Commercial wood security doors and windows help maintain cooler air in hot weather and insulate against cold air during winter. They also absorb sound, creating quieter living and working conditions for tenants.
• Steel or metal security doors and windows provide better protection than wood doors in high-risk locations. They are more fire-resistant and durable than their wooden counterparts.

Gates also come in several types:

• Vertical lift gates or pivot gates provide an automatic exit or entry gate. When integrated with access control systems, they’re considered the most secure.
• Sliding gates slide along a track, providing a solid panel guarding the entrance.
• Barrier arm gates close quickly and are compact. They are suitable for high-traffic areas and multi-lane operations.

Finally, the most common fences include:

• Welded mesh fences, constructed by welding horizontal and vertical wires together, are considered the most secure since they are difficult to cut and climb through.
• Palisade fences, made of iron or steel with vertical pickets or pales linked to horizontal rails, are also hard to climb.
• Chain-link fences are affordable and durable, especially when combined with enhancements like razor wire, barbed wire, and concertina wire.

Office building owners also need to ensure proper lighting. Well-lit walkways, exits, entrances, lobbies, and parking lots make it harder for potential intruders to commit crimes or sneak past security undetected. Proper lighting also improves surveillance by letting security personnel see and respond to potential threats more easily.

Electronic Physical Access Control System (PACS)

A physical access control system (PACS) uses keycards, fobs, biometric scanners, or mobile devices to regulate entry into an area or building. Compared to traditional manual keys and locks, PACS offer several advantages, including:

• Enhanced security: A PACS is more secure than a manual lock and key approach since administrators have an automated electronic record of all user access history. Also, keys can be lost, stolen, or copied. By contrast, PACS use credentials like fobs or smartphone apps, which are less susceptible to loss, sharing, or duplication than keys or combination codes.
• Convenience: PACS cards or smartphones are easier for tenants to use and carry around than multiple keys.
• Scalability: Security teams can easily add new users to a PACS database and activate credentials quickly on demand. In contrast, buildings using traditional keys and locks must copy new physical keys or even replace door locks should a key be stolen.
• Audit trails: PACS records activity data, documenting who enters and when.

Video Surveillance

Video surveillance employs cameras to provide visual oversight and record activity across a specific area for security, safety, or monitoring purposes. High priority areas might include lobbies, entrances, stairwells, elevators, and parking lots.

Video surveillance is used for three primary purposes. First, you can use it for threat identification before an event happens. For example, you can monitor stairwells or parking lots for loitering individuals, you can alert security personnel if you see someone suspicious in one location for too long.

Second, video surveillance can support investigation with forensic records after an event. For example, if a laptop theft were to happen on premises, you can produce surveillance footage that police can use to identify potential suspects who were most likely culprits based on time and location of presence based on corresponding video footage.

Third, you can also use video surveillance for operational analytics. IYou can use AI algorithms to analyze video recordings of patterns, behaviors, and events captured by cameras to make data-driven decisions for improvement and identify inefficiencies and inaccuracies.

Role of Security Personnel

While technological advances in automation can conduct many security functions previously performed by humans, security personnel, and concierges can still play a role in office building safety. On-site security guards support security by:

• Patrolling the premises, especially high-risk areas, and monitoring suspicious activities
• Overseeing and enforcing the performance of security protocols and company policies on-site
• Responding to emergencies when they happen
• Assisting law enforcement agencies in investigation and rapid threat response

Concierge duties include:

• Supporting security personnel to monitor entrances, manage access, and identify potential threats
• Monitoring security cameras and other office building security surveillance equipment
• Managing access control systems and verifying guest identities
• Providing occupant service at key entry and traffic points

Visitor Management Systems (VMS)

VMS is a software-based office building security solution that can distribute and monitor limited, temporary access to on-site visitors and record their time onsite to maintain security and track their presence and movement. They streamline the guest check-in, onboarding, and capacity management processes.

To bolster security, the best VMS solution for your building should offer:

• Easy integration with workplace calendar programs: Synchronize temporary access timing with meeting scheduling as well as send confirmation and credentials via an emailed QR code.
• Digital sign-in/sign-out: Use this data to track the identities of occupants that are not already recorded in active user directory for forensic purposes or even contact tracing in case illness contagion.
• Identity verification: Many VMS systems can verify identities through ID or QR code scanning.
• Notifications: VMS systems can send automatic notifications to occupants whenever a visitor of theirs arrives to streamline the meeting process.
• Reports on visitor activity: Advanced VMS can create reports about visitor activity, providing insights into identities of visitors on site at any time and their traffic patterns.

Clear Emergency Response Protocols

Whichever technical equipment you employ, you will need clear response protocols that establish a comprehensive plan that ensures all employees, property managers, building security staff, and emergency personnel are trained and prepared for various risks, including natural disasters, fire, armed robberies, and social engineering attacks.

At a minimum, your emergency response protocols should include:

• Risk identification: Brainstorm all potential risks, including medical emergencies, fire, security threats, and severe weather (and how to respond).
• Communication plans: Establish a clear communication chain with two to three key contacts per tenant rather than notifying every occupant. Pinpoint primary and alternative communication methods, such as text or email, for informing tenants, stakeholders, and emergency services about potential security risks.
• Evacuation plans: Designate and maintain multiple, unobstructed emergency exits and evacuation routes.
• Regular drills and planning sessions: Regularly practice evacuation plans so tenants can react quickly when security risks happen.

Tailoring Security Strategies

Office buildings often have diverse tenants with varying security needs. As the building manager, you don’t need to account for all these differences. You are only responsible for securing building access.

However, you do need to create tailored security strategies focused on common areas, building access, and shared resources to protect your tenants. You can do this by assessing factors such as:

• Mix of technology: You may have existing legacy systems and new systems that need to work together, or potentially different video surveillance and access control systems you need to mix to streamline operations. Consider how they all need to work together in your security strategy.
• Tenants’ navigation patterns, and traffic: Assess tenants’ work schedules, areas of congestion, and visitor flow to determine where to install surveillance cameras or additional monitoring. High traffic loading docks, lobbies, and elevators need more monitoring to prevent theft or unauthorized use.
• Tenant expectations and building class: High-end office tenants may prefer advanced mobile credential solutions and automated visitor management for convenience, while Class C buildings may have more cost-conscious tenants and only need simple access control, such as a video intercom at the front door.

Regular Security Audits and Updates

Administrators should audit security systems regularly since software, equipment, and cameras require updates and maintenance to remain effective in protecting against ever-evolving security threats.

Audits also allow you to analyze access data for errors and oversights. Specifically, it can help you identify who’s coming into your building and when, whether security is operating as expected, and whether there are gaps in surveillance and unidentified users.

As security equipment and software age, unmaintained components like electronic entry systems and surveillance cameras may become less reliable due to outdated technology, environmental factors, and wear.

Building a Culture of Security Awareness

Security technology is powerful, but you still need to get everyone in the building to understand and accept the concept of security awareness. This way, safety becomes a shared responsibility, making it easier for everyone to work together to protect tenants and their assets.

Follow these best practices to build a culture of security awareness:

• Encourage tenant participation: Every tenant in your building should actively participate in security initiatives. Leaders of every tenant workplace should be made continuously aware of building security policies, procedures, vulnerabilities, and what their own responsibilities will be in the greater plan. This allows them to train employees better and highlight the importance of security.
• Provide ongoing educational resources and training: Regular workshops, training sessions, or refreshers can educate staff and tenants on spotting suspicious behavior, keeping themselves safe, and adopting and standardizing security protocols.

Ensure Your Office Building Security with Kastle

Protecting tenants, equipment, and documents from potential threats can be challenging, especially when you are not a security expert. That’s where Kastle comes in.

A leader in managed security, our advanced technology solutions combine visitor management, office building video security, and access control to provide a comprehensive security approach. Talk to us today to learn more about selecting a corporate office security solution.