The Tool Desk
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The nine keys to building security are a facility-specific risk assessment, an appropriate staffing model, clear security leadership, mobile officers, controlled access, disciplined visitor handling, managed elevators, coordinated interior doors, and a separately assessed parking operation. Michael Fickes’s 2016 Buildings article presents these as a framework, using Harbor East Management Group as an example—not as a current universal specification. Start by identifying your building’s risks, tenants, budget, and operating constraints, then phase the controls that address the highest-priority exposures.
What are the nine keys to building security?
A secure property is not created by buying one device or assigning guards to a lobby. It is an operating program that connects people, procedures, access controls, communications, and the building’s physical layout. The nine keys below come from the 2016 case described by Buildings; technology, crime conditions, privacy rules, and tenant expectations may have changed since then, so use the list as a planning framework and validate each decision locally.
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- Plan the security program around a documented assessment.
- Choose deliberately between in-house and contracted staffing.
- Define the security director’s authority and responsibilities.
- Give officers mobility appropriate to the site.
- Control entry points with a proportionate access system.
- Manage visitors from invitation through departure.
- Set clear elevator-access rules.
- Coordinate interior-door security between management and tenants.
- Assess and protect parking facilities as their own environment.
How should a building security program start?
Begin with an assessment, not a shopping list. Document the building’s entrances, exits, common areas, leased spaces, loading areas, elevators, garage, neighboring properties, operating hours, tenant mix, and known incidents. Then identify likely threats, weaknesses in current procedures, and changes that could alter risk, such as construction, a new tenant, a changed transit pattern, or extended operating hours.
Rank improvements by risk reduction, cost, operational disruption, and budget. A low-cost procedural change—such as confirming visitors with hosts—may deserve priority over a major equipment project. Record who owns each action, what “complete” means, and how the result will be reviewed. Reassess after incidents, renovations, or major occupancy changes rather than assuming the original plan remains suitable.
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Should security officers be employees or a contractor?
Neither model is automatically better. The choice depends on how much personnel administration the property can handle, how variable the required coverage is, and how closely officers need to connect with the organization. The Harbor East example used a security contractor, but the article also describes reasons an owner might prefer in-house staff.
| Decision factor | In-house staff | Contracted staff |
|---|---|---|
| Personnel management | The property hires, schedules, trains, evaluates, and disciplines officers directly. | The provider handles much of the recruiting and personnel administration under the service agreement. |
| Temporary coverage | Adding people for unusual events may require internal recruiting or overtime planning. | A provider may be able to supply additional officers for unusual or short-term situations. |
| Organizational connection | Employees may develop a closer relationship with the owner, tenants, and building culture. | Officers can still be integrated, but the contract must define expectations, supervision, and site knowledge. |
| Owner workload | More direct control also means more responsibility for supervision and compliance. | Some workload shifts to the contractor, while the owner must manage performance and the contract. |
Whichever model you select, specify post orders, escalation paths, reporting requirements, training expectations, relief coverage, and who can change deployment. A contractor is not a substitute for informed building management; an in-house team still needs defined authority and oversight.
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The security director is the program owner, not merely the person who schedules guards. Responsibilities should include assessing the building and tenant needs, selecting people and technology, deciding where and when officers are deployed, monitoring performance, and coordinating security with property operations.
Put those responsibilities in writing. The director should know which decisions can be made independently, which require owner or tenant approval, and how emergencies are escalated. The role should also connect security with facilities, leasing, human resources, information technology, emergency management, and tenant representatives. Without a clear owner, access rules drift, incident information becomes fragmented, and no one is accountable for closing identified gaps.
How can officer mobility improve coverage?
Officers need a way to reach the places where problems occur, not just a fixed post. The appropriate method depends on site size, terrain, traffic, weather, and the speed at which an officer must respond. Options described in the Buildings example include walking, cars or SUVs, bicycles, and three-wheel Segways.
Map patrol routes and response times, then decide where a vehicle is useful and where visibility on foot matters more. Mobility should support regular checks of entrances, common areas, loading zones, and parking—not create an untracked patrol that disappears from supervision. Equip officers with reliable communications and a way to document significant observations, while respecting applicable privacy and labor rules.
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Mobility can also improve service. Robert Thomas of Harbor East Management Group said, “Our officers are on foot and on three-wheel Segways,” and explained that the team viewed officers as “ambassadors that provide information and help.” That customer-facing role is a site-specific practice, not proof that every building should use the same vehicle or service model.
How should a building control access?
Access control should make authorized movement easy and unauthorized movement difficult without creating unsafe bottlenecks. Start by listing every public, tenant, service, and emergency entry. Decide which doors require credentials, which can remain open during defined hours, and who can change those settings.
Card systems and turnstiles are two options discussed in the source article. Turnstiles differ in how physically restrictive they are, so select a design that fits the threat, traffic volume, accessibility needs, evacuation plan, and visitor process. A highly restrictive device can slow legitimate users or complicate emergency movement if it is not integrated with building procedures.
Define credential issuance, replacement, revocation, lost-card response, and after-hours access. Review permissions when someone changes jobs, leaves a tenant, or no longer needs a particular floor. Technology should reinforce a policy that people understand; it cannot compensate for unmanaged credentials or doors routinely propped open.
What is a workable visitor-management process?
A practical process confirms why a visitor is there, who is responsible for them, and when their access ends. In the Harbor East example, hosts registered visitors in advance; the lobby checked them in, verified the visit with the host, issued a visitor card, and kept a paper log alongside the electronic record.
- Ask the host or tenant to submit the visitor’s name, expected arrival, destination, and any escort requirement.
- At reception, verify identity using the process approved for your building and confirm the host is expecting the person.
- Issue a visibly different visitor credential with an expiration time or date.
- Explain where the visitor may go and whether an escort is required.
- Record arrival and departure, recover the credential, and investigate unreturned cards.
Maintaining a paper backup may seem redundant, but Thomas said it could preserve a record if a power failure caused the electronic log to be lost. If you retain paper or digital records, set access, retention, and disposal rules that meet applicable privacy and records requirements. The process should also cover deliveries, contractors, interview candidates, events, and visitors who arrive without advance registration.
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How do you manage elevator access?
Elevator controls should reflect the building’s floor plan and tenant agreements. Systems can allow a rider to reach selected floors while restricting others, but the policy must answer practical questions: Which floors are public? When are tenants allowed after hours? Can a visitor ride unescorted? Who authorizes temporary access for maintenance or deliveries?
Coordinate elevator settings with the lobby and credential system so a visitor is not admitted at the front desk and then stranded—or allowed onto floors the host did not authorize. Tenant preferences matter: some occupants may require escorts, while others may permit visitors to proceed directly after verification. Document exceptions and make sure officers know how to handle a malfunction without bypassing controls unnecessarily.
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Separate responsibility clearly. Building security generally manages common areas, while tenants manage doors inside their leased spaces. The boundary becomes a weakness when systems, credentials, and procedures do not communicate.
Use a written access matrix showing which party controls each door, who approves access, and how emergency responders gain entry. Where practical, coordinate systems so a credential can be revoked consistently and an incident can be reconstructed across common and leased areas. Require tenants to report changes in locks, construction partitions, occupancy, or sensitive-room use that could affect the building’s overall plan.
Do not assume a building-wide card system automatically secures a tenant suite. Confirm that interior doors close and latch, that access lists are current, and that staff understand tailgating, propped doors, and lost-credential reporting.
What makes parking security effective?
Treat the garage or parking lot as a separate environment with its own assessment. Review the structure’s entrances and exits, lighting, sight lines, pedestrian routes, payment or credential points, surrounding streets, neighboring land uses, hours of use, and reported incidents. Consider how people move between parked vehicles and the building, especially during low-occupancy periods.
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The Buildings article names cameras, access cards, intercoms, and emergency call stations as possible measures. They are options, not a mandatory package. A camera is useful only when its placement, lighting, retention, monitoring, and response process are defined. An intercom or call station needs a staffed destination and a tested escalation procedure. Controlled gates can limit entry but may create queues or emergency-access complications if poorly managed.
Fickes’s article reports figures attributed there to the Bureau of Justice Statistics: 11% of property crimes and more than 7% of violent attacks occur in parking facilities. The article does not state the year of those figures, and this source review did not independently verify the underlying Bureau publication, so do not treat them as current crime rates. Use current local incident data and a site assessment when setting priorities.
How can you implement the nine keys without overbuilding?
Use a phased plan tied to the assessment. In the first phase, document vulnerabilities, assign a security director or accountable owner, clarify emergency contacts, and fix obvious procedural gaps such as uncontrolled visitor entry or outdated credentials. In the second, align staffing, patrol routes, access permissions, visitor handling, elevator rules, and tenant responsibilities. In the third, prioritize capital projects—such as turnstiles, cameras, intercoms, or emergency call stations—whose benefits and operating costs are understood.
Write a short operating manual that officers, reception staff, property managers, and tenants can follow. Include normal-hours and after-hours procedures, lost-card handling, unauthorized-entry response, elevator exceptions, parking incidents, communications failures, and escalation contacts. Schedule exercises or walkthroughs appropriate to the site, record lessons, and update the plan after changes in occupancy or layout.
What are the limits of the 2016 example?
The Harbor East practices are a useful case, not a current standard or a product recommendation. The article does not establish present-day crime levels, legal requirements, cybersecurity controls, accessibility compliance, or the capabilities of today’s access and surveillance systems. Before implementation, confirm requirements with qualified security, fire, life-safety, accessibility, privacy, and legal professionals in your jurisdiction.
The durable lesson is the sequence: assess the property, choose controls that fit its risks, assign responsibility, and connect building management with tenants. A smaller building may need a simpler program; a multi-building campus may need centralized oversight and different patrol methods. The right answer is the one your people can operate consistently and review as conditions change.
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Frequently asked questions
How often should a building security plan be reassessed?
There is no interval specified in the source article. Reassess after a serious incident, renovation, major tenant or occupancy change, new access technology, or a significant change in the surrounding area, and set a recurring review schedule that matches the property’s complexity.
Can turnstiles replace security officers?
No. Turnstiles regulate a defined entry point, while officers handle exceptions, visitors, incidents, assistance, and conditions the hardware cannot interpret. The appropriate balance depends on the assessment, traffic, tenant needs, and operating budget.
What should a small office prioritize first?
Start with controlled entry, a reliable visitor process, current credentials, clear responsibility for security decisions, and an emergency contact plan. Add patrols, elevator restrictions, or parking technology only where the assessment shows a meaningful gap.
Is keeping a paper visitor log still useful?
It can provide continuity during an electronic-system or power failure, which is why it appeared in the Harbor East example. Balance that resilience benefit against privacy, retention, storage, and secure-disposal requirements, and limit access to people who need the record.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should a building security plan be reassessed?
There is no interval specified in the source article. Reassess after a serious incident, renovation, major tenant or occupancy change, new access technology, or a significant change in the surrounding area, and set a recurring review schedule that matches the property’s complexity.
Can turnstiles replace security officers?
No. Turnstiles regulate a defined entry point, while officers handle exceptions, visitors, incidents, assistance, and conditions the hardware cannot interpret. The appropriate balance depends on the assessment, traffic, tenant needs, and operating budget.
What should a small office prioritize first?
Start with controlled entry, a reliable visitor process, current credentials, clear responsibility for security decisions, and an emergency contact plan. Add patrols, elevator restrictions, or parking technology only where the assessment shows a meaningful gap.
Is keeping a paper visitor log still useful?
It can provide continuity during an electronic-system or power failure, which is why it appeared in the Harbor East example. Balance that resilience benefit against privacy, retention, storage, and secure-disposal requirements, and limit access to people who need the record.
