Building & Facilities Operations

Tailgating is fun, right? Football, food, family, friends… forgive the alliteration, but what’s not to like?

Rewind back to real estate mode and you’ll see that tailgating doesn’t reference weekend football pleasantries, but instead the potentially dangerous outcomes of undocumented building entry. This sounds like it should involve stealthy espionage activity on behalf of the intruder, but undocumented entry can be the result of something as innocent as holding the door open for the person behind you.

There are strategies, though, to protect against undocumented entry. According to an article in Buildings magazine by Jennie Morton (10 Strategies to Prevent Tailgating), there are three categories undocumented building entry can be broken down into:

1. The Problem,
2. The Solution
3. Building the Culture

The Problem is simple to understand. Tailgating can expose your building to things such as domestic violence, theft, sabotage, and terrorism… to name a few. Additionally, think about the areas inside buildings that require restricted access. There are some places where you really do not want intruders such as laboratories, pharmacies, operating suites, equipment rooms, and data centers. Morton explains how you may want to restrict and track who can access valuable equipment, sensitive files, or toxic chemicals.

Still not convinced that tailgating is a problem? Morton says to “consider the security measures you’ve already implemented.” For example, Warren Rosebraugh presents the idea that if you already have a security system installed, you think that the building’s contents are important enough to protect in the first place. So then why would you let people move around the property freely anyway?

The Solution is made to seem simple by Morton as well. Building owners can choose to implement one, or a combination of, these ten security solutions:

1. Smart cards house multiple credentials on one card.
2. Security guards can visually confirm a badge matches the holder.
3. Turnstiles serve as a physical barrier and are good for high-volume traffic.
4. Laser sensors can detect multiple people.
5. Biometrics deter employees from sharing credentials.
6. Long-range readers can be used in parking lots and garages.
7. PIN numbers can be added to card readers.
8. Camera analytics enable remote facial recognition.
9. Visitor badges ensure temporary guests are documented.
10. Man traps or air locks require a double set of identification.

Finally, Building the Culture can be the most difficult category to implement. Installing the most advanced security systems on the market is all well and good, but what if the occupants of your building aren’t on-board with your enhanced security plan? This can detract from every measure in place. Morton says you need to “create a secure building culture.” Use clear expectations and consistent communication in order to shape behavior.  Make sure your occupants are aware of tailgating risks and keep them empowered to challenge any unfamiliar faces.

If you’re looking at all of this and feeling overwhelmed – take a deep breath… Jennie Morton is here to save you again. In another Building’s article (4 Tips for a Corporate Security Plan), Morton gives 4 clear-cut steps to installing or updating a security plan.

1. Provide a Standard. Ensures that a location hasn’t overlooked a security concern.
2. Circumvent Liability. You need documentation in place to prove you’ve taken appropriate action.
3. Avoid Micromanagement. Make sure your plan’s requirements are broad enough so they can be adjusted.
4. Rely on Experts. Don’t forget to take advantage of security professionals who interact directly with your buildings.

Thinking about making your building secure doesn’t have to feel like a heart attack. By following simple steps and implementing plans that your occupants can respect and uphold you’ll be able to keep everything under control and, most importantly, safe. Think about it this way: confusing your building lobby with the parking lot of the “big game” is probably not what you want to happen.

I do not mean winning a new customer, which is normally the primary focus of my job.   I’m referring to a recent project where we helped an existing client improve building security and a tenant service related issue, and solidified (secured) our relationship with that client in the process.   This is equally important to the health of any business…keep the clients you have happy.

The brief background on this project involves a client of ours in New York  (a very large, prestigious property) who uses the majority of our operations and maintenance platform, but was not using our visitor manager module.  They weren’t using it because they had previously installed a very expensive custom integration years before we got there that allowed their tenants to pre-authorize a visitor to the building as well as deactivate visitor passes, enroll new employees for access card activation and deactivate terminated employee’s access cards from the building’s security system. While the process worked, it required multiple applications for both tenants and building staff to use.

Additionally, the integrated configuration they had in place required the visitor system provider to make programming adjustments every time their security system provider made a change or upgrade to their system. This proved to be expensive, unmanageable and resulted in multiple system failures. – With a pending new required security system server upgrade coming, building management knew they needed to make a change and asked Building Engines to help.  Thanks to our terrific engineering resources here and a great partnership effort (which I’ll get into) we delivered a solution to the client that eliminated the need for co-managed upgrades and provided their tenants with a single application to use and a far better user experience.

…We also saved the client a significant amount of money over time by eliminating the annual cost associated with the other application.

The security system provider at this property is Lenel, a UTC Company and provider of the technology-leading “OnGuard” system. Pulling it altogether at the property was Henry Brothers, New York’s leading systems integrator.  In addition to being a complex project, what was interesting about this effort is that it required detailed cooperation from these two service providers.   Lenel & Henry Brothers bent over backwards to help us and the client achieve their objective.  The effort went so well that we joined Lenel’s partner program and they recently participated in our Webinar program and delivered an outstanding presentation free of charge to our audience entitled “Integrated Solutions for Enhancing Building Security.”  We find this kind of cooperation to be rare, particularly when the other service providers are larger and the effort doesn’t necessarily represent immediate revenue for them.  We look forward to the opportunity to work with both of them again.

While it’s great to win new business and that emphasis won’t change, helping existing clients and solidifying those relationships with this kind of effort is every bit as important to our long term health.  It’s also rewarding to work with partners who share the same values and commitment to customer care, service and quality work that you do.

The U.S Commercial Office market is suffering unprecedented vacancy rates which are expected to hit 18.6% in 2010 – close to the historic high of 19.3% set in 1990.  We are facing a “jobless recovery” as employers focus on workforce efficiencies and try to do more with less…or fewer.   Arthur Jones, Senior Economist, CBRE Econometric Advisors Jones’ believes that the current decade will be the first during the post-World War II era in which there is net job-loss in the U.S.  Ouch!

So how do we combat this decline? With government handouts like those seen in the auto industry with the advent of the “cash for clunkers” program?  No…No… Please no…!   These short-term, short-sighted fixes are going to extend the decline, not shorten it.  We need to invest in the future and with passage of the “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act” we might see the kind of industrial investment not seen in fifty years. 

We need to be proactive.   China and India are among the many countries investing heavily in clean-energy technologies that will produce millions of jobs.   Instead of rescuing old and dying industries with tax payer dollars here in the US, we need a longer term strategy that invests in new technologies and new business ideas that grow jobs from within.   America needs a farm team for jobs and this Act is just the kind of impetus required to put one in place.  Vote Yes with a letter to your representative.  

The Green Building initiative alone is a terrific example of what this kind of legislation can do for a struggling economy.  “McGraw-Hill Construction’s Green Outlook 2009 report “Trends Driving Change” shows that by 2013, the overall green building market (both residential and non-residential) is likely to more than double to $96 billion – $140 billion.”  The USGBC guidelines are creating new demands for materials, new infrastructural changes that will lead to new jobs, new construction and a healthier real estate related environment.   ”The Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found in a September 2008 study that a national green economic recovery program investing $100 billion over 10 years in six infrastructure areas would create 2 million new jobs!”  See, Green buildings Crease Green Jobs for a Green Economy.  That’s good news for all.