Warehouse Security Best Practices: From Surveillance to Staff Training

Business is booming. Consumer demand for electronics, pharmaceuticals, and general retail products is up. But stores don’t like to carry extensive inventory as overhead. They prefer to rely on warehouses and distribution centers to keep them stocked up as needed. 

This has led to a huge increase in warehouse crime across the country. Theft and vandalism have always been an issue, but now even more criminals are looking for an easy score. In fact, cargo theft accounts for nearly $1,000,000,000 in losses each year. Of that, about 14% is theft from a storage facility. 

The large volume of inventory and size of these facilities is a challenge to monitor. Add in trucks coming and going at all hours, and warehouse protection is a real challenge.

Every theft, or even vandalism, is money out of your pocket. Make a claim, and your insurance rates go up. Get a reputation for an insecure facility and you can lose customers and revenue. When you have a delay or inability to easily fulfill shipments, you drive up operating costs. These all negatively affect your bottom line.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to reduce your risk. Improvements to your distribution center’s protection strategies can also help you increase profit.
Read on to learn about the 4 important steps you can start now to improve security at your warehouse or distribution center.

Install a comprehensive surveillance system

An important line of defense is making it easy to monitor your property. Exterior doors, loading docks, and parking areas are all points of risk. But by combining three technologies, they can be effectively monitored. 

1. Warehouse Lighting: Dark areas are like a magnet to criminals. It gives them cover to break windows, pick up stolen goods, or just damage your property. Without anyone seeing them, crimes are easier to pull off. 

The more light you use to fill your property, the easier it is for your employees to monitor areas. It’s also easier for police patrols on the street to notice suspicious people. You will find an added benefit as better lighting makes your property safer for employees to work and reduces injuries. 

2. Warehouse Alarms:  These can be on exterior doors and loading bays. Alarms can be soft chimes that provide a subtle alert, to loud warnings accompanied by triggered lights. 

This reduces your risk of having a “man on the inside” who aids thieves. Alarms make it hard to secretly allow people in. It also makes it tough to place stolen goods in a hidden spot. Many of your access points already have fire alarms, so you may only need to concentrate on places that see a lot of foot traffic. 

3. Warehouse Security Cameras: These become your eyes and ears and keep watch over everything. These systems commonly come with HD resolution and can record sound too. 

The limitation here is that they are passive systems. Unless someone is monitoring the feed when a crime is committed, they only aid in finding the criminal after the crime is committed. However, a well-placed system of cameras is also a deterrent. When criminals think they are likely to be seen, they tend to try to find easier targets. 

If you want to go further, there is another layer of technology that makes your warehouse even more secure.

Access Control and Visitor Management for Warehouse Security

Access Control starts at any entry point to your facility. A centralized area where everyone must enter and exit (unless there is an emergency) is a good starting point. ID cards coupled with scanners can restrict access to various areas as needed. 

An area like this also serves as a way to monitor visitors. It allows people to get into your facility with permission. It also provides a record of the purpose of the visit, who they were with, who let them in, and when they left.   

High-value merchandise can become more secure with access-controlled storage areas. You might consider building cages or rooms with restricted access points. 

Outside, you can create parking lots to separate cargo vehicles from employee and public vehicles. Consider an automated gate system to track shipping vehicles and restrict access to areas where loaded trailers may be waiting for pickup. 

All of these systems make it hard for criminals to gain access. They also create a trail of documentation that can help you improve both safety and security in the event of an incident. 

Technology plays an important role. But we can’t forget the human element, either.

Employee Security Awareness

In a tight labor market, it can be hard to find good employees. But that is not an excuse for ignoring references and background checks. Much of the theft in a distribution center or warehouse is down to someone on the inside working with others or taking things themselves. A background check will allow you to identify people with a criminal history. 

Once you know who you are dealing with, you can make an informed hiring decision based partly on the amount of risk you are willing to take. 

You can also train your employees to recognize criminal behavior and areas of risk. This, alone, will improve your internal security. Especially if you reward them for coming forward with ideas and concerns. Creating a positive team culture will help your people be accountable to each other. It will also have the side effect of increasing productivity, too. 

The final strategy is to hire security specialists to augment your current warehouse security measures. 

Hiring Professional Security Personnel

The most effective human component of security is hiring professionals. You can hire and train in-house or contract with an outside agency to staff those positions. 

Security staff can monitor cameras and walk the grounds. You can also have them monitor property access at your gates. While making their rounds, they can check doors and locks, visit remote areas, and investigate security threats they see. 

Depending on the service level you want, they may be able to intervene while a crime is in progress. If you prefer them to stay out of harm’s way, they can alert authorities and continue to monitor the situation. Either way, you should experience a faster response time. 

Protection specialists, when blended with technology, can offer you the best protection. It will deter criminals and make your property safer for employees and customers. 

Security systems can even become a part of your sales pitch when growing your business. Potential customers will love the fact that you want to protect their inventory. You will enjoy happier customers and fewer interactions with the police and insurance companies.

Finding the right warehouse security partner

Working with a security partner benefits you in a number of ways. You’ll have confidence in the plan that is developed with your input. You also won’t be responsible for the human resources investment it takes to find, hire, and train new employees. 

Once you decide to work with a partner, you will find there are a lot of choices. It can be difficult to know who to choose. We have a few suggestions for you. 

• Get a walkthrough and meet with them in person. You want to feel good about who you work with.
• Don’t be swayed by a low quote. Budget security companies don’t always tell you the whole story.
• Find an experienced local partner who knows the area. They will have a better idea of the threats you face and how to defeat them than inexperienced or remote companies. 
• Ask Questions. Choosing a protection partner is a big commitment. Take your time and make sure you are comfortable with the answers you’re given. 

At KT Protection Services, we understand that choosing the right security service is a challenge. Our ownership has a combined 60 years of experience providing security on the Hawaiian Islands. We will be personally involved in designing your security plan.

Follow this link to learn more about us and how we can help up your warehouse security game.