Securing Your Facility: Ensuring Safety in Your Building

Facilities managers used to be happy as long as the boilers were boiling and chillers were chilling. Then came 9/11, and with it a much keener sense of what goes into protecting buildings.

“9/11 changed everything,” says David Kaye, president of Facilities Management Solutions in Frederick, Md. Today, he says, most office buildings have some system in place, from cameras and security guards in the entrance of an office building to high-tech biometrics and key card systems in some facilities.

Yet any system is only as secure as the scrutiny put into it. Why install cameras in the garage, for example, if no one is keeping an eye on the video?

Maintaining your system
In some systems, updating software is a part of routine maintenance—like the computer reports generated from certain key card systems. “About once a month, you should [back up] that data to a flash drive or CD and clear up your hard drive,” says Kaye, or the system will slow down.

Also, be sure you’re notified by any changes in the system, no matter how small. As an FM, Kaye would request notes from HR letting him know whenever staff left the company so parking passes and key cards could be deleted.

Tightening scrutiny
“Whether it’s a fire, flood or break in, the facilities person has to understand the building systems, who to call and how to instruct employees,” says Carol Farren, CMC, CFM, IFMA Fellow and president of Facility Management World Wide Ltd. in East Durham, N.Y.

When Farren became director of facilities at a previous company, she discovered numerous glitches in security. Shortly after her arrival, a computer went missing. It turned out that a number of computers were missing, as well. Since nobody had been keeping an inventory, she set about putting a tighter monitoring system in place.

“An inventory is absolutely useless unless you keep it up to date,” Farren says. That means not only ensuring that bar codes are put on all new furniture and equipment, but that every piece is scanned as it leaves the building for storage, recycling or destruction.

Controlling key cards
The incident also highlighted the importance of keeping key cards under control. A review of swipe card entries turned up activity one night around 1 a.m. The ID card used was for a person no longer employed by the company.

“We asked building management if we could review their video tapes from their monitoring cameras for that night,” recalls Farren. “We watched as six computers were removed from the building lobby on a hand truck by two men.” One of the men was identified as an IT manager. He went to jail, but the accomplice was never caught.

Planning for problems
“The two things I’ve always thought are the best insurance are a good visitor control program and a solid after-hours emergency response plan,” says Kaye.

Do you know who to contact in case of a break in, power outage or gas leak? According to Kaye, a critical aspect of the plan is the immediate notification of appropriate personnel so that emergency procedures can be initiated as quickly as possible. He encourages FMs to outline whom to contact, what actions are to be taken by security staff, facilities staff, and, where appropriate, procedures for evacuation and re-entry into the facilities.

It’s also important to know what areas and equipment are the most vulnerable in an emergency. When Kaye worked in a research facility, the power went out for two days. Every hour, he made sure the incubators, freezers and refrigerators—highly valuable assets to the researchers who worked there—were being supported by the backup generator.

After problems have been resolved, some follow up is also necessary. After the power was restored, Kaye says, “We learned that one of the things we had forgotten to do was make sure the fire alarm was reset to the reporting system when the power came back on.”

Lessons learned
Though it’s hard to prevent break-ins and other security breaches, any incident can teach you more about keeping threats at a minimum. For example, when the building pass used to get the stolen computers past the lobby guard was found, Farren discovered that the authorization signatures had been forged.

The lesson? Keep the authorized signatures for building passes on file with the lobby guards. That way, forgeries can be detected immediately.