Warehouses provide essential storage. Whether it’s inventory for a business, supplies for a specific industry, or something else, it’s important to protect whatever is being stored and your employees. Although individual warehouse needs may vary, these are some essential security solutions for warehouses:

1. Implement a Complete Video Surveillance System

Warehouses are a prime target for theft, vandalism, and more. CCTV cameras and video surveillance systems can help you monitor and secure the warehouse premises as well as everything inside. Especially in warehouse and storage situations, there are a lot of high-value areas and targets to monitor and protect. These are some of the best places to install security cameras in your business.

If you have gated security, a good video surveillance system can help you identify people trying to enter your facility and control who is able to access it. Outside of that, cameras, especially those equipped with intelligent video analytics capabilities, can also monitor movement as well as heat to help keep your facility secure when no one is supposed to be there.

These can be implemented around your immediate facility and around the premises for perimeter protection. This is also useful for monitoring secure areas within your facility that have limited access. Plus, there are several types of surveillance cameras that you can mix and match to get the coverage you need across your entire facility.

2. Employ Effective Access Control Systems

In addition to video surveillance, a good access control system is one of the essential security solutions for warehouses. Depending on your needs, you can outfit your warehouse entrances with electronic locks or other door controllers or types of access control readers.

With these in place, you can determine who has access using key fobs, key cards, readers, individual access codes, biometric access control, and more. Not only does this help secure your facility, but it also helps you track who is accessing it and when.

3. Apply Delayed Egress Magnetic Locks to Emergency Exits

Part of securing a facility is preparing for emergencies. You should have an emergency plan in place as well as the proper fire protection systems. Everyone should be aware of exit locations and procedures during an emergency.

Emergency exit doors are an essential form of egress during an emergency. But, they can also be a potential vulnerability if they are not properly secured outside of emergency situations. Egress devices like delayed egress magnetic locks keep emergency doors secure while also providing an immediate exit point during an emergency.

When the fire alarm system is activated, the doors immediately unlock and remain unlocked while the alarm is active. If the door is opened when there is not an emergency, an alarm will sound while it is open to alert you of non-emergency use. These electronic locks can be included on new emergency exit doors or installed on existing ones and integrated with your existing fire alarm system.

4. Use Asset Management and Tracking Systems

With inventory coming in and out and equipment constantly moving, there is a lot of activity in a warehouse. In order to manage the facility well and maintain the security of the facility, the people, and the products within, you need to know what you have, how much you have, where it is, and more. This is one of the common security concerns for warehouses.

A good asset management and tracking system will provide that information and help you keep your warehouse running smoothly. From the inventory of products and supplies to your essential operating equipment and more, asset management can provide the high-level overview you need as well as detailed views and everything in between quickly and easily.

Not only can this help you keep track of equipment, but it can also help you keep track of the status of that equipment. This can be a big help in keeping up with necessary maintenance and repairs that will help reduce the risk of injury and extend the life and function of your warehouse equipment. On the inventory side, asset management and tracking can also help you monitor for potential loss or theft. These are also useful applications of video surveillance solutions.

5. Set Up Environmental Monitoring Systems

The environment within your warehouse affects your employees and also affects what is being stored in your facility. Although environmental monitoring can help monitor changes in the temperature of your warehouse, it also does so much more than that.

In addition to monitoring air conditioning and heating needs that may differ across various areas, a good environmental monitoring system will also monitor changes in critical refrigerated areas. On top of that, it will monitor things like pressure, power, track of run state, and even flooding to help you keep your warehouse and its contents safe. These are some classic environmental monitoring applications across industries that can help improve facility management, security, safety, etc.

6. Have Adequate Backup Generators

A power outage is a potential threat to your warehouse that can have disastrous consequences for your security systems, production processes, and inventory. Adequate backup generators are essential for sustaining critical life safety & security systems in healthcare and senior living facilities.

They are also essential to maintaining the security of your warehouse, sustaining important production processes, protecting equipment, and preserving the quality of your inventory. Make sure you have the right mix of solutions in place to maintain the necessary power to your facility in the event of an outage.

These are just a few essential security solutions for warehouses. Because specific needs and the scope of those needs will vary by facility, it’s important to get a custom and individualized building vulnerability assessment to adequately meet the needs of your facility. Contact NEPPS for a free site assessment to get the right mix of security solutions for your warehouse!