Security doesn’t have the luxury of shutting down in the midst of a crisis. Yet in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, it may be days or weeks before some Texas building facility or security directors can physically access their organization. That’s why it’s always wise to be prepared before a natural or man-made disaster strikes.
Your enterprise business operations are at their most vulnerable during emergency events. This is when you must rely the most on your security systems to protect your assets. Questions every security director should ask themselves are: How resilient are our systems? Is our facility still being protected? Is our data safe?
Two focus areas to ensure you have the necessary capabilities and protection to better survive a catastrophe are power backups and a centralized operational approach.
Power Backup
A power loss is likely during many disasters. Without an emergency/backup power source set up, your systems could be useless and security could be seriously compromised. Systems must have adequate internal backup power, lasting between eight to 24 hours. Backup power should be designed to support all components of a system for a consistent amount of time. You don’t want locks failing before card readers or vice versa.
Assuming your network is still operating, that may be enough time to remotely look into your facilities, assess the damage and safely shutdown computers and other vital systems.
In the event of prolonged power outages, primary power should be supplied by the facility’s uninterruptable power supply (UPS) system when available. However, this is not always an option at some facilities.
When choosing UPS units or generators consider:
- The power requirement of your security equipment
- How long you will need the equipment to function
- The priority of your systems. Identify the most critical and provide them with the longest-rated backup power sources.
System design should consider primary power (building power), backup power (system internal batteries) and the third power that must people don’t think of, your electronics’ memory.
Your security systems components contain a significant amount of programming in their local memory. Some systems require a small watch-like battery to maintain configuration when all power is lost. Having these on your three- to five-year preventive maintenance schedule can ensure your system functions normally once power is restored without any intervention.
In many cases, systems don’t come back to life as we would like. Designing systems with the ability to remotely reboot can eliminate the need for a costly service call and have a system operational in minutes, not hours or days. The ability to reboot and recycle power during the recovery process could vary greatly between system types. This is why it’s important to implement systems based on a centralized operational approach.
Regularly test the backup systems to ensure they will work when needed. Some companies lease their generators. These lease agreements typically include a monthly inspection by the provider. Also, be aware that during an emergency most grid-connected solar systems won’t work – even if the sun is shining – in order to protect utility workers and the grid during restart.
Centralized Operational Approach
Recorded video, access control audit trails and other security system data may be critical to ongoing investigations, training and compliance issues. Utilizing virtual application and database servers provide flexibility so you are not limited to one physical location for critical data. Additionally, the ability to divert crucial events to alternative or off-site facilities provide situational awareness that may be critical during and after a disaster.
In the event of an emergency or evacuation, a centralized operational approach provides not only the ability to monitor but to also remotely diagnose and initiate a corrective action, which helps ensure system functionality.
Obviously, there are no guarantees planning will get a business through catastrophic events and natural disasters such as Harvey. But with advance preparation, security can play a vital role in getting operations back to normal.
About the Author:
Tom Echols is general manager for Palm Beach, Fla.-based Security 101’s global accounts division.
