6 Tips for Protecting Your Perimeter
The idea of securing the exterior border of your property has been around practically since humans gave up hunting and gathering. Just as intruders have become more creative to infiltrate secure facilities, so too have security solutions advanced. From robust perimeter solutions to network security and data protection, there are several cutting-edge ways to keep your facility secure.
Every property has unique priorities and needs, but here are some things to consider when you’re securing your facility, whether it’s a school, an airport, a warehouse, or any other type of structure.
1. Post Clear Signage
You can deter a lot of accidental access if you clearly mark areas intended for authorized personnel only. A lot of unauthorized access is innocent – a car making a wrong turn or struggling to figure out which entrance is for the public. Marking which areas are for public access and which are for employees will greatly reduce unintended intrusions and disruptions.
If you’re monitoring the perimeter of your property with cameras, post signs saying as much. Knowing that they’ll be filmed is often enough to deter mischievous persons. Consider lighting the signs or areas around the signs so that they’re visible to the public day and night.
2. Actively Monitor Your Perimeter
Monitoring the perimeter of your property doesn’t necessarily mean having someone physically watching the camera feed or wandering the property at all times, although it could. Many facilities are well-served by an automated system that alerts relevant personal to any perimeter disturbances.
Some perimeter fencing systems, such as the Intrepid Series II by Southwest Microwave, feature intelligent detection that distinguishes between rain, flora and fauna, or traffic and those disturbances that are from genuine human contact with your fence. The larger the property, the more you’ll appreciate smart detection because it limits the number of times that your staff has to investigate false alarms.
Southwest Microwave’s intelligent detection has some of the lowest nuisance alarm rates in the industry. When there is a legitimate disturbance, the system identifies the location to within just a few feet so that your staff or law enforcement can quickly address the issue.
3. Establish and Test Your Response System
When there’s a disturbance on your property, either at the perimeter or somewhere on the interior, who gets alerted? Depending on your facility size, staffing capabilities, and security needs, alerts may go to on-site guards, your local law enforcement dispatch, or both. Maybe your facility is very future-forward and assesses threats first with a video drone.
No matter who gets your alert, you should test your alarm system regularly to be sure that it will work as intended during a legitimate disturbance. Don’t assume that it will work in perpetuity after installation!
4. Layer Your Security
Your facility security should be like an onion – layered. Having multiple levels of protection will slow down any nefarious intruders until you have an opportunity to apprehend them. Never assume that one layer is enough if what you’re guarding is highly valuable. Everything is fallible, so setting up multiple layers increases the probability that you’ll stop an intruder before he or she accesses your property.
Your facility doesn’t have to resemble Mission Impossible with lasers and booby traps. Still, it should at least have a monitored perimeter fence, locks on the exterior of the building, and additional access control systems for sensitive interior spaces. The combination of these three constitutes a layered system in which an intruder would need to infiltrate multiple levels of security without tripping an alarm or before a response team could be dispatched to his or her location.
5. Integrate Your Layers
Layered security is more effective if each element works together. Companies like Southwest Microwave offer comprehensive products that work alone or in concert with your existing security measures. Whether you need a perimeter fence, microwave sensors, buried cable detection systems, or something more, we recommend choosing durable, high-quality products. You depend upon your security, so you should invest in solutions that will last.
6. Choose a Reliable, 24-Hour Security Partner
Security is a necessity 24-hours a day, so you need a partner who will provide service on the same schedule. Most companies offer perimeter fencing installation but fail to provide timely service (or any service at all). Wetherbee is a partner long after we complete an installation. Our expert technicians provide service within 24 hours so that your facility stays secure day and night.
As a Southwest Microwave preferred partner and installer, Wetherbee Electric has extensive experience installing, calibrating, and integrating perimeter fencing with our client’s existing systems. We’ve done standalone installations and created completely custom integration solutions, so get in touch with Oklahoma’s most trusted electrical contractor to discuss the scope of your project today.
