In Brief

6 Commonly Overlooked Details in Multitenant Building Security

Even if you have good lighting in common areas such as parking lots, dark surrounding areas might make employees feel uneasy.

By Lauren Gibbons Paul

April 01, 2005 — CSO — Even if you have good lighting in common areas such as parking lots, dark surrounding areas might make employees feel uneasy. Posting a light on each telephone pole or on perimeter fencing will let people see further out.

Some leases today contain a stipulation that members of cleaning crews engaged by the property owner must receive criminal background checks (and in some cases, psychological testing).

As with regular corporate security, the best multi-tenant security measure is a thorough employee security awareness training program, revisited throughout the year and as new employees are hired; this works best when all tenant businesses are on board.

If a security breach occurs at an office park, strip mall or high-rise, all of the property's security managers should get together to discuss what happened, starting with a presentation by the company that was attacked.

Don't forget to secure the air intakes to each building. Are these intakes accessible to the point that someone could introduce some sort of toxin into the air supply? For some buildings it may be worthwhile to move the air intake up a floor so that it is not accessible at ground level. Another idea: motion-sensitive video cameras in the intake area.

A company's telecommunications trunk lines are ever more critical. At the most basic level, put in access controls for the telecommunications center. Check credentials on outside contractors and repairmen.

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