Does Your Access Program Have Your Back?

Do you only lock your front door and leave the back wide open? Hopefully, that is a rhetorical question and the answer is No. Sadly, that exact scenario is happening daily at many facilities across the country. The loading dock is a building’s backdoor and, in the hustle and bustle of daily operations, it is often “left open.”

The Risk Goes Beyond a Major Incident

Theft via loading dock is far more prevalent than more high-profile threats such as terrorism. A medium to large facility will have vendors and drivers coming and going at all hours with little oversight from security or building operations.  How do you know who is supposed to be on the loading dock and when?

Criminals understand it’s much easier to have their victim’s hand something over or grant them access than it is to sneak in/break in and steal something. Today’s practice of brokering freight makes this method of theft increasingly easy.

Many suppliers post loads available for pickup on unregulated online services, and carriers bid on or schedule loads through these listings. Carriers receive the information they need to pick up the loads and then come to the facility; without real notice, without proof of identity. Sometimes, thieves will steal the identity of a legitimate carrier and use that to accept the brokered load. The unidentified (or worse fraudulent driver) arrives at the warehouse to pick up the load and drive away.

In addition, loading docks become a perfect place for facility staff or employees to walk out with company property, or to facilitate theft by propping open doors or otherwise giving accomplices access to the warehouse.

Daily Business vs. Real Security

Lack of security results from multiple competing needs. Business operations need to run: the garbage has to go out, office supplies must come in, deliveries must go out on time and important packages received promptly; contractors need to come and go and improvement projects need to be finished on schedule. It can be a chaotic, volatile environment, one that requires a diligent balancing act to ensure security and compliance.

Keeping a record of truck and driver identification—driver’s license, identification, license plates, phone numbers – is a must to help secure the loading dock. The key is to make sure they are who they say they are, verify their contact information, and – when possible – match them up to a scheduled and approved visit.

A loading dock system should be in place to streamline the procedural process. The system should provide a comprehensive vehicle management system to include real time monitoring of all vehicles, en-route and on-site, whether in short term staging, at a specific dock or in transit.

Building Intelligence Inc. (BI) is a New York City based corporation that provides facility management solutions that support a comprehensive secure operation that serves to generate efficiencies, traffic management, risk mitigation and cost/resource allocation. Our solutions include loading dock management, event management, visitor management and various forms of scheduling and vendor management.