Talk With Tenants About Security Needs
November 26, 2012
Today's tip is to remember that one key to security in multitenant buildings is also the oldest, lowest-tech option available: Talking. One reason communication is so important is that different tenants often want different levels of security, says David Duda, associate partner at Newcomb & Boyd.
"Some may want significant screening of visitors and deliveries prior to their entry onto the property; others may have little concern for the screening that takes place," he says. "Some tenants may feel that the act of screening is too invasive and may drive off clients or customers."
Face-to-face communication can go a long way toward alleviating problems. Government buildings frequently contain several departments or agencies, says Duda, and these tenants may well have different needs and require different systems. What's more, the tenant systems often communicate with different locations off-site.
On one project, says Duda, the solution was a "security summit meeting" that pulled together representatives from each government department and agency involved in the project. "We mounted floor plans for each area on the walls of the conference room and went from tenant to tenant and floor by floor through the building until we had reached a consensus as to the specific security measure to be implemented in each area," says Duda.
Once tenants had bought into the conceptual aspect, specific technologies could be chosen.
Another important step is to delineate building procedures and security systems with the tenant. One frequent issue, according to Fred Miller, president of Security Resources Group, is that a building owner's procedure for adding or deleting people to and from the lobby security database is not kept up-to-date.
Suppose an employee leaves a tenant firm but the tenant never updates the database. "There might be 3,000 people in the building but 5,000 people who have access to the building because their access privileges weren't removed promptly," Miller says. "It's a common problem."
Situations like that show why it's so important that owners stipulate security system expectations from their tenants. Informing tenants and clearly spelling out lease requirements — terms and conditions, too — is part of the owner's obligation.
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