Design the Office for a Company - Case Study Example

Title: Security Management (Student Name) (Student Number) (Course Name) (Tutor’s Name) Institution. 21 May, 2008 Presented to the Managing Director of TCV Abstract The security of a building during its designs depends on the type and location of the building and also what needs to be secured in such buildings. This security must or have to depend on the regulations and codes, there relationship with other building systems, the total cost (initial and maintenance) and its flexibility in the foreseeable needs. It is therefore important to develop the security details during the designing of the building.  Table of Contents. 1.0 Introduction………………………………………………………………..1 2.0 Building Design…………………………………………………………….1 3.0 Security System Components………………………………………………3 3.1 Lighting Security……………………………………………………3 3.2 Door Security………………………………………………………..4 3.3 Security Containers…………………………………………………5 3.4 Building Envelope Security…………………………………………6 3.5 Access Security……………………………………………………..7 3.6 Other Areas Security……………………………………………….8 4.0 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..8 5.0 Reference……………………………………………………………………10 1 1.0 Introduction. The designing and the construction of safe and secure buildings is the major goal in the view of architects, owners, engineers and the project managers. The building and the design of the security should address various perspectives in keeping the occupants save; prevention from such hazards as demonstrations and civil disorders, natural disorders, criminal activities and natural disasters (James 2003, pp. 123 - 150). This report discusses the physical risks that are associated in the building that the organization will relocate to in 2009. The report discusses the risks that are associated with the organization and possible areas of intrusion. The organization is a bank that employees a total of 20 employees. The employees are required to access specific parts of the bank and other parts require approval from the administrative staff. 2.0 Building Design. The building is a bank and contains various offices; managers, operations, records, marketing, human resource, assistant manager and the secretary office. There is also the security container which is used to store all the bank information, and to get its access the entrance is through the manager’s office. There is a long corridor that is used by the tellers and other people who are accessing specific parts of the organization floor. There is an open area where the customers wait and operate there business. The reception area that doubles up has the customer care is next to the door. 2 The main entrance to the bank is a waiting area for the lifts that ply the upper floors and there is also a staircase for the same access. There are security lights that are at each corner of the building and are used to control the wall perimeter. The long parts of the walls are span by glass windows. There are various doors that lead to various parts of the building. Diagram 3 3.0 Security System Components. 3.1 Lighting System Security lights are among the best and practical ways in the prevention of crime within the office setting. Through statistics it is shown that those buildings that are well lighted, the crime rate are reduced due to deterrent nature of the lighting. Its deterrent since it’s able to expose any criminal and makes them feel vulnerable and insecure. With good lighting security the organization can detect and recognize movements in the areas that may have been overlooked. For the best outdoor lighting the shielded and downward directed light is most successful. The right installation of the system and the glare of the light will enable the witness to know the information and features that are associated to some one who did the crime. There are various types of security lights; Higher Intensity Discharge (HID) and Halogen (Michael 2003, pp. 76 - 120). Recommendations The organization should heavily invest on lights that are of both categories. The HID is mostly used because it’s long lasting and efficient due to its magnetic or electronic ballasts in addition to the gas. These are applicable to the outside scenarios. The halogen lamps are used inside the buildings since they don’t require the warm up period like the HID. Other security details that can be employed are the occupancy sensors or the motion detectors. They are able to turn on and off the lights when motion is detected in the building and hence they are more efficient in energy savings. 4 3.2 Door Security The building has various doors that lead to various offices and parts of the organization. The main entrance door is the most vulnerable since it’s also within the lift waiting area. There are also the important doors to the safe and to the administrative offices. The doors should be made strong to withstand the tactics of the burglars. There are various techniques that can be used to monitor these vulnerabilities; alarms, deadbolts, door reinforcements and viewers (Paul 2001, pp. 13 - 45). Recommendation. Since the organization has different offices and entrances, the level of security also differs a lot. The main door is the most vulnerable and requires a lot of security measures. Since there are people who are waiting for the lifts, it’s better for the doors to have security films and should also be bullet proof. The doors that lead to the internal offices should be reinforced with the right type of screws and frames. In addition to the glass door a reinforced timber door should be used and also should contain a deadbolt and has alarm; this should mostly be applicable to the main door. 3.3 Windows Security The window, like the door is also vulnerable and it may become the, main access for intruders. In this building design there are windows that are spanning along the two parallel walls. This makes them most vulnerable since the intruders may decide to go through any point of the building. The intruders may try smashing the window glasses or 5 using other types of forces. Another risk that should be checked on is the ability of the window to select the view; there should be restriction in the visibility by both the customers and the outsiders (Rashi 2002, pp. 21 -31). Recommendation. Since, from the diagram the windows span most of the long walls; there security consideration should be viewed through various dimensions. First, the windows should be bullet proof which will prevent the windows from any object that is thrown to it. The windows should be tinted in such a way that the people who are inside can see what is going on in the outside part of the building and the people who are outside cannot see anybody who is in the building. This will increase the privacy of the customers. 3.4 Security Containers. Since the bank organization has various documents that are confidential and important plus the expensive business nature of banks, its security details should be the most important. In most banks and in our organization specifically, it stores various types of expensive items; jewels cash and documents. The security of these materials should be guaranteed (Stephen 2001, pp. 90 - 99). Recommendations. Due to the nature of our organization each office requires a security container and one that is designed specifically for the bank. Since each office deals with different office 6 duties the type of security container should directly be strong depending on the nature of the documents and what is stored. All these security containers should be fire proof and are able to resist all types of force. The codes or passwords to these containers should be limited to the administrative occupants. The security contain that is used to store the cash and jewels, the codes should only be know by the manager or to only those people who are entrusted with that section. 3.5 Building Envelope. This is the part of the building that separates the interior part with the exterior environment of a building. This serves as a shell that protects the indoor environment from the outside. The walls are most important because it encloses the building and should be able to support the integrity of the building. There are various risks that are associated with the envelope. Intruders can use heavy artillery to force down the walls or drill holes through the walls. Since it’s a storey building, the roof is better secured since there are occupants on the upper floors. The building envelope should be able to withstand climate and weather conditions (Randal 2002, pp. 45 - 70). Recommendations. The walls are the most important in this scenario. The walls should resist different types of force if exerted. Even though the use of heavy artillery is not common the building should be reinforced with metal bars. There are burglars who drill holes into the 7 walls to be able to enter the building. Alarms should be set strategically to sense these anomalies; they should be set to also prevent false alarms. The walls should be coated in a way that it is able to last for a long time without negative effects of the climate. 3.6 Access Security These are the areas that allow entrance or power to use some facilities. The bank has various duties and the security level of each part of the organization is different. The doors are the most important and are vulnerable to intruders who can also be the staff and workers in the same organization. There are other parts like the security containers that should be accessed by specific people (Stephen 2001, pp. 90 - 99). Recommendation. The doors that lead to the different offices should be locked most of the time if the person who is supposed to use it is not around. The doors should have dead locks to prevent it from picking by other workers or intruders. Sometimes there are the developed computers systems that will allow the use of cards that are allocated to specific staff and their level of privacy are stated in the cards. The security containers should have codes and regulations should be set to determine who is legible to access what areas of the building. The counters that the tellers use should also be bullet proof. 8 3.7 Other Areas There are other parts of the building that requires security. The airs tunnels and the sewage are other parts of the buildings that are vulnerable. Intruders can use these areas to access the internal parts of the organization or thrown in contaminants that will be unhealthy for the staff and other people who are around (Meyn 2007, pp. 23 - 78). Recommendations. Areas such the air tunnels should be hidden or located in such areas that they are not easily accessible. In the air tunnels there should be bars that prevent movement of large bodies. The sewage areas and drainage pipes should be secured with metal bars and alarms sensors that can sense large movents. 4.0 Conclusion. The organization is most vulnerable to the type of business that it operates. Any evil minded knows that the bank contains a lot of cash and other important artifacts and documents. Designing of such building security system should view these dangers in various dimensions. The door security should be put into the foreground during the designing of the physical security. Its ability which makes it to lead to various offices within the building increases the risk both for internal and external intruders. In this building the windows span the long length of the walls and are easily accessible by the external intruders. Taking the required measures like using the bullet proof windows 9 and visibility laminators, the intruder’s chance of accessing the building is drastically reduced. The lighting system is a key deterrent for the thieves. Well lighting both by the use of sensors and light emitting instruments will decrease the chance of the burglars and thieves from coming near to the building. The thieves will feel insecure and hence makes them to change there minds. The location of the lighting system is also important and the method that it emits the light. The height of the location of the light reduces vandalizing by the intruders. Access protocols and regulations should be well developed such that internal intruders are drastically reduced. Between the offices the staff should be allowed to access only the places that are entitled and ask for permission for those locations that they are not entitled. 10 5.0 Reference James, P. (2003), Buildings and Their Securities, London: Wiley Press, pp. 123 - 150 Meyn, P. (2007), Buildings and Security, London; Cambridge University Press, pp. 23 - 78 Michael, H. (2003), Future of Constructions, New York: Microsoft Press, pp. 76 - 120 Power,D. (2004), Identify why People react as they do, New York; New York Press, pp. 83 - 133 Paul K. and Laurie U. (2001), Construction and Management, New York; Oxford University Press, pp. 13 - 45 Randal, K. (2002), Future Architectural Security, California; Peachpit Press, pp. 45 - 70 Rashi, G. (2002), Research on Building Securities, London; Premier Press, pp. 21 - 31 Stephen, F. (2001), Why Secure Your House, London; Oxford University Press, pp. 90 - 99 Read More