Every site is different, but after many years of surveys across offices, warehouses, public buildings and industrial sites, the same weaknesses come up again and again. Most have been there so long that the people who work on site no longer notice them.
1. Lighting that stops short
Front entrances are usually well lit. Side yards, rear fences, car parks and loading bays often are not. Broken or obstructed lights go unreported for months. Good lighting is one of the cheapest deterrents available, and one of the most neglected.
2. Perimeter breaks nobody owns
A damaged section of fence, a gate that no longer locks, a wall with a tree growing over it. Perimeter damage tends to fall between facilities and security, so it stays unrepaired.
3. Weak key control
Keys copied without record, master keys held by too many people, and former staff who were never asked to return theirs. If you cannot say who holds every key to your site, you do not fully control access to it.
4. Visitors who aren't logged
Visitor books exist but are filled in inconsistently. Contractors and regular suppliers are waved through because they are familiar. Nobody checks that visitors have left.
5. Guard routines that never change
Patrols at the same time, by the same route, every night. Anyone watching for a week knows exactly when an area will be unattended. Varying routines costs nothing.
What this means in practice
- Walk your site at night at least once a quarter.
- Assign perimeter repairs to a named person with a deadline.
- Audit key holders and recover keys from anyone who no longer needs them.
- Log every visitor and contractor in and out, without exception.
- Vary patrol times and routes, and check that it happens.
Talk to us about a site security survey. → Security assessments & surveys
