The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has launched a new free guide for the logistics sector, aimed at helping businesses understand the importance of keeping sites protected, and the benefits associated with employing quality access control systems, provided and installed by reliable and professional security companies.
According to the Freight Transport Association’s Logistic Report 2011, ‘truck crime cost the logistics industry around £250 million per year, through lost loads, damage to vehicles and through injury to drivers’. Whilst a lot of these incidents may happen as vehicles are on the road, monitoring access to deposits and head office sites is critical to further enhance the safety of operations. Mike Sussman, Chairman of the Access Control section of the BSIA, the trade association for the private security industry in the UK, explains how access control systems can assist the sectors in this endeavour: “The sites of companies operating in the logistics and road transport industries have a transient population of staff, drivers and contractors, with many vehicles of all sizes requiring easy yet secured access to the premises.
“Moreover, goods dealt with by these companies can range from high value products such as computers and IT equipment to daily goods such as food and household materials, so ensuring access is restricted solely to authorised people is pivotal to secure against threats such as theft, vandalism or, in more critical scenarios, tampering with products or vehicles for terrorism purposes.”
For this reason, implementing effective access control strategies becomes critical to the security of the sector. Mike continues, “Access control systems are all designed to allow access only to people with the necessary authority, to ensure that goods and staff are protected, whilst helping manage known or anticipated threats. They can vary from proximity card readers, smart cards or pin pads to more sophisticated measures such as biometric systems (including finger print reading or iris scanning), which are becoming increasingly popular for high security areas.”
The growing scope of the technology means that it can be flexibly employed to cover security functions, as well as to improve operational efficiency, monitor the through-flow of people and vehicles, provide health and safety support or even, based on recent developments, improve the energy efficiency of a site, by allowing integrated Energy Management Systems to determine the amount of heating required for an area based on its occupancy, as recorded by the access control system.
“With so many options and capabilities offered by access control systems, therefore, the BSIA’s Access Control guide aims at helping businesses operating in the logistics sector better navigate the marketplace and fully understand how this flexible technology can help. Moreover, the guide will bring attention to the importance of employing reliable security providers”, adds Mike.
“All BSIA members meet strict quality requirements, comply to industry regulation and standards and have a wealth of experience working with the logistics and road transport industry. For this reason they are best placed to provide advice and guidance, and will supply to users flexible and value-for-money solutions with longevity”, concludes Mike.
The BSIA’s Access Control guide for the Utilities sector is available for download on the BSIA’s publications website, www.bsia.co.uk/publications by searching for form 137
Contact
www.bsia.co.uk/access-control
