Perimeter security planning for the pharmaceutical industry

From corporate espionage and tampering to organised crime and terrorism – the pharmaceutical industry faces a great many threats in the modern world. In such a competitive market any disruption to your business can mean lost contracts and serious damage to your reputation. Protection against these threats must come in the form of a wholly rounded approach to security, but it begins with good perimeter security planning.

Perimeter security tips

After using a risk assessment to discover the potential threats against a company (warehouse, research facilities or HQ) and revealing blind-spots and weakness, a plan must be developed to restrict access to only approved visitors.

Each building will of course be unique and have its own set of challenges, however many of the fundamentals will remain the same. Controlling access requires an understanding of how the building operates, the threats it faces and how to overcome them. This can be developed through a thorough risk assessment and series of discussions.

Access control plays a key part in developing security for a site. Starting outside the building, heavy duty gates can be used to control or prevent pedestrian and vehicular access and send a strong visual signal to anyone seeking to infiltrate the building. Heavy duty gates act as a deterrent around the clock, but during daylight hours you can also use turnstiles to control exit and entry and monitor who is coming and going.

Vehicular access can also be slowed and restricted through the use of tools like security posts, speed ramps, flow control plates and automatic rising kerbs.

Many facilities in the pharmaceutical industry will have hundreds of visitors every day. They may equally have hundreds of employees travelling around the building. Such a high volume of people can pose security risks and it can be quite easy without the proper checks in place for them to gain access to controlled areas. You can give appropriate access through the use of biometric access control equipment like fingerprint identification, smart cards and other tools.

Get in touch

Arranging effective perimeter security is not something that you should go at alone. No matter the size or nature of your businesses, we can provide you with a free, no-obligation quotation and feasibility survey to assess the security requirements of your organisation. For more information on any of the security options above, or for further advice on how to protect your business premises from criminals, please contact us here or call us on 01522 682 255.

Protect high-value goods with access control equipment

Every delivery of cargo to your warehouse represents value, but some more than others. The loss of expensive equipment, electronics, pharmaceuticals or other items could seriously undermine your business, disrupt relations with suppliers and customers and gravely harm your bottom line. This is why it is incredibly important that your business acts to ensure that your warehouse has rigorous security protocols in place to prevent such a disaster from happening.

Best practices for warehouse security and the role of access control equipment

Security at warehouses is paramount. Your systems need to be complex and detailed in order to offer protection to your goods, both during operations and afterwards. From basic practices like ensuring your employees are properly vetted, uniformed and badged and signed in to the building, to locking off access to high-value goods with access control equipment – your plan needs to be comprehensive.

It is important to properly vet your staff. It can be tempting to relax these types of practices at busy times of the year, such as seasonal spikes, but this is a short-sighted approach that can cost you dearly. Access control equipment can not only protect goods from unauthorised hands, it can also help to monitor which staff are in the building at any given time – helpful in identifying a culprit should stock disappear.

By using cages with a keypad or fingerprint biometric access control system you can secure high-value goods and restrict access to only approved persons. Without this kind of protection in place then anyone could gain access and potentially exploit those materials.

Mirrors and cameras should be installed around the building making it difficult for employees, tradespeople or other visitors to conceal stolen goods. Proper and effective monitoring is a key way to stop opportunistic theft. However, CCTV should not be relied on solely as It only records a crime happening, it does not always prevent it.

Physical keys should be replaced in lieu of electronic methods of access. Physical keys can be easily copied or can find their way into criminal hands which could put your entire business operation at risk, with thieves easily gaining access to goods, documents and other assets undisturbed. A building, room or cage that is only accessible by biometric finger print (entirely unique to the individual) or a keypad with a code that can be changed is a much more reliable form of security.

Gateway Automation can provide free, no obligation quotes and feasibility surveys for your premises. To get us to assess your security requirements, please contact us here.