Why reviewing your security measures is vital to protect your staff and customers from coronavirus

As lockdown eases and more and more businesses open up, many are working hard to put in place safety measures to protect staff, visitors and customers from COVID-19. One simple thing you can do which will help you to achieve this goal, is reviewing your company security measures.  Here’s why…

1. Keeping records of people who are coming and going

Many businesses are asking customers to write down their names and phone numbers when visiting premises to help track and trace COVID-19 cases. Reviewing your basic security procedures for tracking which staff or contractors are on site at any time and ensuring visitors record entry and exit times helps with both fire safety and physical security on your premises as well as supporting efforts to keep everyone safe from COVID-19. 

2. Training staff.

Staff will need training in new procedures, but among these is understanding which areas are accessible to themselves and customers, who keyholders are and what their responsibilities are. Keeping a clear desk policy and moving personal possessions to a personal drawer or locker if desks or workspaces are shared also makes it easier for effective cleaning after each shift and reduces the risk of coronavirus transmission. In addition training staff in basic security and alerting them to all the measures you are taking to keep them safe is a good opportunity to ask for feedback and suggestions and to reassure them that you are working hard to ensure their safety.

3. CCTV

Whether you have CCTV or have considered it as an additional security measure for your business, regular monitoring can also help you to keep everyone safe. As we all get used to social distancing, your video footage will not only help to identify people who have entered and left, but it will also reveal in ways not necessarily visible from the ground, how your social distancing measures are working in practice. Are there areas where people tend to wait or gather or accidentally breach social distancing regularly? If so you can alter signage and flows of foot traffic. The footage can also help you to identify  where it is best to place hand hygiene stations so that they are more effective and convenient. In addition, CCTV can help you to identify key touch points which are not regularly cleaned so they can be added to a list of places to wipe down regularly. See our CCTV page

4. Alarms and intruder defense

Security alarms and other measures such as good locks and a small and efficiently kept record of keyholders will help you ensure that no-one who shouldn’t, gets onto your premises without you knowing. This means you and your team are all better protected against intruders, innocent or otherwise who may be carrying coronavirus. See our intruder alarms page

5. Restricting access to sensitive areas

Identifying areas where there is no reason for most staff to go, and areas where staff only and no customers should be not only protects your business from theft or other crimes, it means you can limit key touch points and also keep the public and most staff to a limited area which can be cleaned regularly.

6. Ensuring rigorous exit procedures

At this time, many businesses have a huge flux of staff who are leaving, not simply due to redundancy, but also because they cannot care for children or individuals in their care, or they feel unsafe going back into the workplace.  Putting effective exit procedures will mean you can ensure keys are returned, security codes are changed if necessary so there are no risks from people accessing your premises who shouldn’t be there. You can also introduce exit interviews to find out if staff are genuinely feeling safe and if there are any issues with how you are protecting staff. You can always ask staff of course, but it’s common sense that you are more likely to get a more honest answer at exit interviews

With staff numbers and normal work procedures in flux, it’s important to review and check your security systems and procedures. Reviewing all of these security measures is helpful to your business at any time, but at this time, they are more helpful than ever. 

If you would like any advice our staff are happy to help. Call us on 01726 65636 or email us at security@waldons.co.uk