Business Security Information

This week I stopped by what use to be an auto dealership in a city near where I live and saw some examples of good and bad security that I thought I would share with you in this post.  While there, I took some pictures to illustrate what I saw.  If you look closely at these pictures, you will see that the business installed a metal barrier which  prevents vehicles or other equipment from easily being taken from the lot.  It is a simple design of steel piping that is secured in the ground with the openings to the lot being protected by a sliding gate made from the same material.  The steel posts in the ground are close enough that even if the top steel piping was removed, it would not allow a vehicle to be driven between the steel pipes.  Not placing posts close enough together is a major problem in most dealership lots I have evaluated.  The pictures show a good example of how to do it right without making the barrier an eyesore.  In addition, the business secured the steel piping in the ground with concrete and even formed a raised concrete lip, making it difficult to remove individual steel piping from the ground even with the right type of heavy equipment.  Please note:  this type of lot protection is good when you are trying to prevent theft of vehicles or equipment, but additional security is required if you are trying to protect against parts theft.

The second item which you can see on the two close-up pictures is how the gate is secured when it is closed during non-business hours.  A padlock is used, but there is also a cover welded on the gate that protects the  padlock from being cut with bolt cutters or other types of equipment.  Most businesses, whether they are dealerships, contractors or other businesses that require lot security, only use a basic padlock with no protected shackle, the U-shaped metal piece that opens when a padlock key is used.  The other pictures illustrate ways that other businesses have used to protect the shackle, which is one of the weak portions of a padlock.  I would always recommend that you purchase a padlock that is either  built with no shackle or that has a protected or shielded shackle built into the padlock, and then implement one of these types of solutions to further protect the padlock.

Those were two examples of good dealership security, but I also found some problems while I was there.  First of all, the dealership used infrared beams to alarm the perimeter of the metal barrier.  You can identify the infrared beams from the black rectangular sensors in the pictures.  Infrared security sensors are not as effective over a long distance as other type of outdoor alarm sensors.  Also,    environmental conditions such as fog, heavy rain, etc. can cause false alarms.  Lastly, most infrared sensors are set up in such a way that they are only set off as someone is leaving the lot with the stolen vehicle or equipment.  As with any type of security sensor, you want to know someone is on the property as soon as possible, not just when they are leaving with your property.

The other problem I noticed is with the use of security cameras to protect and monitor the lot.  While  I do not recommend the use of cameras as a primary security measure, my problem with these cameras is their location.  The cameras are located at about 6 to 7 feet from the ground, allowing an attacker access to them and the transmission cable that transmits the camera’s picture.  What you cannot see from the pictures is that the cameras are placed in such a way that someone walking between the cameras that are located on the corners of the structure will not be picked up by either of the two sets of cameras.  This will allow someone to get to the cameras and tamper with them without ever being recorded by any of the surveillance cameras.  The protection of the transmission cable to the camera is important.  The transmission cable should be protected by some type of conduit.  You can see in the picture that one company used PVC conduit, but other types are also suitable as long as they will protect the transmission cable.  There are also devices on the market that will sound an alarm if a surveillance camera is tampered with.

These are just some of my ideas and observations on lot security.  If you have additional solutions or thoughts related to this topic, please leave a comment.

Related posts:

1. Security Swing Arm Gates
2. Perimeter Security Details
3. Gate Security