A company or organisation, in any sector, will have considered the risks to daily operations and taken steps to protect the ‘back door’ from potential intruders, vandals and arsonists.
But what if a ‘front door’ threat has not been protected against? Alex Carmichael, British Security Industry Association Technical and Member ship Services Director, writes.
A mix of security measures such as intruder alarms, surveillance cameras and physical security should provide reassurance against losses including theft of goods, satisfying your insurers and most importantly providing peace of mind to your staff.
However, there is one potential chink in your armour that relates to the handling of those given site access via the ‘front door’ reception point or contractors’ entrance. The use of signing-in books to record on-site visits is no longer enough to cope with either the required security considerations or health and safety legislation
Access control is essential for determining how visitors are treated once inside an organisation’s ‘four walls’. Concerns over security since 9/11 and 7/7 also have implications in terms of public liability insurance and mean that a paper based visitor management system (VMS) should now be considered a minimum specification measure.
Monitor movements
Besides providing a method of validating and monitoring the movements of guests visiting the premises to meet members of staff, a VMS can also be used to record the arrivals and departures of contractors, maintenance operatives, suppliers, temporary employees, sales representatives and delivery drivers. The act of providing a visitor badge also sends out a message to all these groups of visitors that the organisation takes its responsibilities seriously – a factor proving helpful in deterring any would-be opportunists considering acts such as casual theft during their visit.
It’s important to be mindful of the implications of three items of health and safety legislation covering this area, since they involve a number of responsibilities by imposing a common law ‘duty of care’ principle upon the owners and managers of premises towards every type of visitor, whether they have been invited or not. This includes members of staff and the public.
Those who fall foul of the Occupiers’ Liability Act, for example, could face a civil claim from a visitor if it can be proved that a breach of the common duty of care occurred with resulting injury and/or damage. Meanwhile, a criminal prosecution involving possible fines or a custodial sentence could result from non-compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act or Management of Health and Safety Regulations. As an example of the requirements, every organisation employing more than five people must carry out a formal risk assessment and record its findings.
VMS in action
So how can you avoid the pitfalls? The simplest way to discharge these obligations is to implement a manual/paper-based VMS, involving the recording of all visitors and issue of basic badges containing relevant information. One real-life example would be a supplier of temperature-controlled products to supermarket chains. This company’s depot in the Midlands serves as the host site for the majority of meetings with clients and suppliers and a signing-in book had been used. However, an internal health and safety audit identified a need to better inform visitors of the necessary health and safety guidelines to fulfil the company’s legal ‘duty of care’. A paper based VMS provided by a BSIA member company was therefore introduced, recording details of each visit made including the name of every visitor, the company they represent, host’s name, vehicle registration, plus times of arrival and departure.
Depending on the nature and scale of the operation involved, this approach may be appropriate but can also be comparatively time consuming to operate. Common difficulties with paper-based VMS include the inability to quickly check, in an emergency, whether the visitor is still on-site or has simply forgotten to sign-out on their exit.
Electronic advantages
A variety of extra features can be exploited through use of an electronic or computerised VMS and indeed electronic visitor management is currently one of the fastest growing areas in the market. At a recent security forum in the City of London a quarter of delegates specifically identified visitor management as an area of interest for their businesses.
Yet organisations already operating a more sophisticated VMS still issue visitors with specific ‘single event’ passes, carrying details of the time of issue and the person they are meeting. A more thorough approach, utilising the system’s capabilities, should be adopted in terms of vetting visitors and restricting their movements through unauthorised areas. Intelligent access control systems can include a visitor management module enabling visitor badges to be produced almost instantaneously from the initial information provided.
More sophisticated systems will also allow staff members to email the reception desk with full details about the anticipated guest, which can then be incorporated on the visitor pass along with a number of additional identification features. These can include a photo, barcode or biometric information such as a fingerprint, which the system can then use to control the individual’s access to certain areas of the site and restrict their permitted time within the premises. An electronic signature pad can be used to capture and store the visitor’s signed acceptance of on-site health and safety regulations.
Electronic VMS may seem a complicated and expensive solution, but their easy to operate ‘point and click’ user interfaces are designed to assist, not confuse, reception and security staff. Falling equipment prices and Windows based software can be used on an organisation’s network or web-based facility, making this type of system ideal for users with multiple sites. Email and SMS text technology enables receptionists to notify staff hosts that their visitors have arrived with an automated text facility.
Staff interface
On the other side of the coin, employees can also interact with the system to book appointments, reserve meeting rooms together with required audio/visual support equipment, and cancel or reschedule visits – all from the comfort of their own desk and PC. They can therefore see the value of using the system and are therefore more likely to exploit its potential, with resulting benefits for overall site security as well as productivity. In this sense, the VMS is seen to be paying for itself in a variety of ways.
These systems can add value in other ways too. For instance, using time and attendance software contractors’ and temporary staff’s time spent on site can be integrated with the payroll and invoicing departments to make savings on labour costs. Meanwhile, larger sites using security staff do not need to install and operate a separate guard tour logging/reporting system, since VMS can be supplied with this functionality built-in – providing additional integration benefits.
The interfaces between VMS and other building management systems also extend to their interaction with a site’s surveillance equipment, including automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and software used to keep track of vehicle movements into car parks, goods storage areas etc. For example, video clips and still images can be ‘imported’ to the VMS and logged alongside the visitor’s other details, linking the vehicle with its driver. This information can be stored for potential use in subsequently alerting security staff to the return of any vehicles believed to have been involved in a previous incident.
Data safeguards
It is important, however, to ensure that encryption techniques are used to avoid people tampering with these details. There are data protection legislation implications to be aware of – a factor that should also be considered when using increasingly popular and cost-effective biometric information during the visitor enrolment process. Under the Data Protection Act 1998, biometric data constitutes ‘personal data’ and in some cases ‘sensitive personal data’ and all controllers of biometric data must adhere to the Act’s eight principles.
The use of unique human characteristics such as fingerprint reading/recognition may be appropriate for the risk profile and related insurance requirements of premises used for higher security applications of various types, ranging from those storing valuable goods or involving more vulnerable people such as those with disabilities, children or the elderly. Emergencies such as a fire outbreak see an electronic VMS come into its own in helping to quickly identify individuals such as these, providing accurate fire roll calls and evacuation lists and allowing more time for rescue workers to act.
Starting point
Before making a choice on which type of VMS to specify, ask yourself what the system actually needs to do now, and in the future. The range and scale of VMS available from BSIA member companies means that, in terms of functionality, the sky’s the limit. The use of modular software construction means systems can be extended and upgraded to meet tomorrow’s requirements, often without the need for expensive modifications. This also makes them scaleable, so they can operate over several buildings from a single networked PC, for instance.
A computer based system is likely to run on your existing PC infrastructure, so related points to check in the context of the overall budget available include the ability of the existing hardware and network to handle VMS – particularly if you are playing back video.
As with other security-related installations, a risk survey of site-specific needs now and in the future is a key element in the specification and selection process.
About the BSIA
The British Security Industry Association, a trade association, has more than 570 members offering security products and services. For more information email [email protected] or telephone 01905 21464.
