Warehouse security is about more than just remembering to lock up at the end of the night. There are many things to be aware of when you are attempting to improve the security of your warehouse, but these tips will help you take the most important steps toward being better protected. These simple ways of increasing your warehouse security will give you the chance to prevent theft and other security issues, and also help you find the responsible parties after a crime has taken place. Here is what you should do to make your warehouse more secure.
1. Set Up Building Surveillance
Video surveillance offers documentation for accidents, worker habits, and criminal activity. With these things recorded the information can be used to improve security by addressing the documented issues. In instances where warehouses are targeted by criminals, documenting both the interior and exterior of the building can be extremely useful. Documenting the outside of the warehouse will allow you to record attempted break-ins, and in the worst case scenarios, potentially find out how the thieves gained access to the warehouse. The more you know about how your security was overcome, the better prepared you can be in the future.
Because of inventory being moved in and out of the warehouse, as well as moved through the building, it is important to document each step in the supply chain. Most warehouses should be equipped with CCTV systems. Workers present a potential security risk to the warehouse, as they often have the most access and knowledge about internal protocols. Being able to review footage, or even monitor workers, can clear up confusion or get to the bottom of theft if such accusations are made of warehouse staff. By solving these issues you can better understand what it will take to optimize your warehouse operations and ensure a higher level of security.
2. Invest in Inventory Tracking
Knowing where your products are within your warehouse is unbelievably important to reducing the risk of loss. When you know where the things are you are hoping to protect, security becomes much simpler. If you have the proper technology for tracking the inventory that enters the warehouse, you can precisely locate the position of your assets. With no true effort having to be expended in order to track down items that are unaccounted for, it becomes a simpler process to assess potential shrinkage and check shipping data to corroborate loss or misplacement.
This type of security precaution is more possible than ever thanks to how IoT is affecting supply chains. Integrated handheld devices and software allow for teams to stay connected and supply chain managers to access tracking information with ease. With this process, simplified threats and vulnerabilities can be taken care of before they get out of hand, and discovered faster if they cannot be prevented. This will discourage people working within the warehouse from attempting to steal, and allow other workers to be more aware of the possible theft.
3. Use Better Access Control
If workers have access to every area within a warehouse, it is more difficult to determine who is culpable for any loss. With security that any employee has the authorization to access, there are no ways to raise red flags in terms of broken access protocols. If you limit access to certain high-risk areas of your warehouse, you decrease exposure and limit the pool of potential suspects if a theft were to occur. The best way to do this is with key control.
In industrial spaces such as warehouses, the best choice for access control are electronic locks. With a diversity of options, you can choose from biometric protocols or passcode authorization. This type of security allows you to revoke access quickly and even track who is accessing which part of the company. Individual passcodes can be given that leave a trail of entry. If you know whose access was used, you can narrow down who is responsible, or perhaps even, whose key was compromised.
4. Educate Employees About Security
Employee education can be used for more than making sure that workers do not make costly shipping mistakes. If you take the time to foster a culture of security with your workers, you will be protecting your warehouse from innumerable risks. The first step to creating this type of relationship with your workers is by telling them what you expect from them. Most companies make the mistake of simply expressing to workers the types of information that they want to be reported, but they fail to educate employees on the security hierarchy.
A security hierarchy must exist within a warehouse so that employees can know who to contact about what issue. And in turn, those being made aware of security risks must be able to take appropriate actions to address the worker’s concerns. If reports have a history of not being acted on, then this will disincentivize staff from coming forward with issues as troubling as broken locks or even potential theft. The hierarchy must also have workarounds in cases where the employee, who is meant to resolve the issue, is responsible for it.
Conclusion
With these protocols, technology, and training, you can be sure that you are increasing the general security of a warehouse. There is always more work that can be done to improve the security of any building, but with these simple precautions, you can build a general security framework, which will give you the insight for further protection.
