There are a lot of security considerations when it comes to a commercial property. There is a lot of foot traffic, after all, whether it’s people who work there or people simply passing through. If you are the manager of one such property, you may want to look into commercial property safety tips and suggestions in order to make sure your space or building is up to date with modern technologies and protocols.
How to Ensure Commercial Property Safety
Within the United States just this past year, there has been an unprecedented level of violence. Much of this has been gun violence, and while it may have been motivated by specific factors, the fact remains that it could happen anywhere. Building owners and managers have a responsibility to see to commercial property safety so that those in the area feel and are secure. There are a lot of measures that can be taken in order to assure this, and though you can’t prepare for everything, you should do everything that you can.
“Training and preparedness [can make] a big difference in how things end.” So, your job as the manager is to ensure that there are trained professionals who can handle issues of security, such as local cops, security guards, or whichever measure of personnel would make sense for your property. If those on site know what to do in any given situation that may arise, there is an infinitely lower chance of lasting consequences.
Another avenue to explore is training sessions, not only for security-related workers, but for all those who work on site in any department. Sessions that go over “possible disaster scenarios and how to handle them [would mean] that property management and security personnel [know] how to collaborate with first responders.” The more that those who are present know, the more able they will be to handle any given situation.
No matter what kind of businesses are located in your space, you should take commercial property safety into consideration. It’s especially important if you manage a location like a mall or other shopping facility, as “the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has long identified retail facilities as soft targets—public venues that are relatively unguarded or difficult to guard effectively.” Even office buildings are victims of robberies and break-ins and should therefore be equipped with security technology such as cameras at the very least.
Something to consider when working toward a goal of improved safety is the weaknesses of your property. Is the area lower-traffic and an easier target for someone to break in? Does your building receive a lot of people daily and is therefore hard to monitor specific, potentially-suspicious activity? Is your building older and therefore has outdated windows and doors that can be easily broken into? Is your building newer and is a more appealing site for someone to rob? It’s crucial to be able to “expose vulnerabilities that may not otherwise be apparent.”
Obviously, there is a lot to think about when developing a security plan. Anything from shoplifting to a bomb threat can take place and a little training and preparedness can go a very long way. It isn’t your job alone to ensure that the tenants are safe, though, so speak with the owner and with any current security workers to form a solid plan for training and security moving forward. You don’t want to wait for an incident to take place before you realize that you should have invested in an alarm system.
Depending on how large your property is, the plan that you come up with may be more or less feasible. Be realistic, but thorough in developing ways to combat threats to your commercial property safety. It will take time and commitment, but the result of higher security can’t be compromised.
The focus on any property should always be the well-being of the tenants. In order for that to happen, property managers have to be able to devote time to these considerations. They may not always have that time, depending on the amount of work that piles up, which allows for the potential of more threats. Don’t let paperwork keep you from developing a solid security plan; employ Budgetrac Property Management Software to take care of some of the day to day projects for you. This simple technology allows you focus on the more important things by keeping track of lease and tenant information. It also increases operational efficiency, streamlining the management process so that you can tend to other matters. You shouldn’t take a chance on your building’s safety, but you should take a chance on Budgetrac software.