During COVID-19 safety and security requirements have changed due to the new government guidelines put in place. Many businesses have required additional on-site security to ensure they are providing a safe place of work for both employees and visitors to their stores. Additional on-site security has offered an excellent solution for many essential businesses during this difficult time.
In this blog we explore how some businesses have adapted to suit their way of working, utilising additional security and the benefits this can have for your business.
What is on-site Security?
Let us begin by exploring what on-site security is. On-site security is using methods to monitor, protect, deter, and manage access control on-site at your store or premises. An organisation can do this with security cameras and the use of placing trained professionals to man the security.
A security camera is a system of cameras used on a premises to cover entry and exit points, providing a way of monitoring the day-to-day happenings for an organisation. The security camera tracks the customers as they come and go offering a form of identification if any crimes or damaged were committed on-site. Security cameras are also an excellent form of deterrence as a criminal knows they are more likely to be caught and prosecuted if they commit a crime.
As well as security cameras, on-site security refers to the manning of premises with trained security professionals. These trained professionals help with the control and operation of a business during working hours. Often a physical presence of a security officer will help calm crowds and organise visitors to the requirements of a business.
On-site security is usually required by a large organisation or a business that has a regular, large number of public visitors each day. Some examples of types of businesses that may require on-site security include:
Stationary guard services can be used at:
- Food Superstores
- Office buildings
- Universities and university colleges
- Hospitals
- Shopping centres
Throughout the time on-site security operates, common duties include:
- Locking/unlocking of business premises
- Access and exit control
- Reception services
- Manning of gates and doors
- CCTV monitoring
- Patrols in your premises and the surrounding area
- Parking service
The benefits additional on-site security can have for your business
Additional on-site security has provided several benefits during the Coronavirus shutdown. These include:
- Providing a safe, controlled premises for customers and employees.
- Offering extra security and manpower for adapted ways of working.
- Controlling crowds and queues of people before entering the premises.
- Controlling cars of customers ensuring there are no accidents or traffic jams.
- Supporting regular employees and offering trained experience to solve uncommon problems.
- Managing access control onto premises and keeping the number of visitors in the business to a controlled amount.
- Monitoring CCTV and identifying disruptive customers.
Examples of how businesses have adapted
Throughout lockdown, as mentioned above, essential businesses that have remained open have adapted their everyday operations to ensure their employees and customers are safe. We have looked at some of innovative solutions that businesses have used including additional security services.
Fast Food Restaurants
During lockdown, many fast food organisations have remained open, altering the way they provide their products and services to the customer. This includes only providing takeaway food and supplying a reduced menu.
Many of these organisations have also used additional on-site security to ensure they ran a smoothly as possible when dealing with the public. Some solutions include:
- Parking control to keep the premises clear and incident free.
- Queue control, both in and out of vehicle, making sure customers remain 2 metres apart.
- Access and exit control keeping customers as far apart as possible.
- Addressing concerns and questions of customers waiting to get their food.
Food superstores
Food superstores have been essential throughout lockdown making sure that the public can buy food and other everyday needed products. Due to the large number of crowds a superstore attracts maintain an environment to the government guidelines is essential in controlling COVID-19. Solutions used to do this includes:
- Controlled entry and access times for vulnerable and essential members of the community.
- Controlled access to the premises allowing a certain number on-site at a time.
- Ensuring members of the public abide to the guidelines during queuing.
- The removal of any customers not abiding to the guidelines set out by the business.
Large offices
Many businesses vital for the running of the country during lockdown have remained open to provide essential services. Some of these businesses have required employees to work in the office. Additional on-site security has allowed these large offices to provide a safe, controlled environment for the employees to continue working in. These include:
- Monitoring of employees entering and exiting the premises.
- Parking control within the organisation.
- Ensuring guidelines are adhered to preventing large gatherings of employees.
- Refusing entry to non-essential visitors to the premises.
- Patrolling the offices to remove any persons that should not be there.