For a company, not only does investing in security alarms keep your business premises and clients safe, it will also safeguard the security of your employees. To ensure total security, you need to consider updated industry practices when it comes to commercial building security in Montreal. Find a security company that specializes in alarm response to advise you on the right alarm equipment to install that will suit your business.
It is one thing to install a properly working alarm, but it is another to know how to effectively use and respond to it. Once you have an alarm installed, you need to alert all the employees working in the company and plan a proper training on how they need respond to a security alarm. If any of the employees sees danger and triggers an alarm, the rest of your staff need to know how to react to the alarm to ensure everyone stays safe. These are simple guidelines on how employees need to respond to a security alarm to ensure that everyone remains safe.
Never turn off the system unless it is a false alarm
It is not uncommon for systems to trip and raise a false alarm. You need to inform your staff that they should never be in a hurry to turn them off. They first need to verify the cause of the alarm before they respond accordingly. Before the alarm can be verified, all employees need to remain calm in their stations. You can use the monitoring station to check if all departments are ok. If you notice any suspicious activity, you need to immediately notify the law enforcement.
Alert the security firm
Most alarm systems have been designed to send a direct alert to a security company in case of emergencies. Not all alarms have sirens and some are silently triggered to send a signal to a security company. Once the security firm gets the alert, they usually give a grace period of time which ranges to a couple of seconds to minutes before they can call. They usually give this time to allow one to disarm the system in case it is a false alarm. If you are sure that the alarm is not false and the security company has not called you, you need to call them immediately from the monitoring station.
Get a safe place to hide
Once the alarm has been verified to be a genuine alert, all staff should be instructed to remain in safe places. In case of a burglary, employees away from the exact scene of crime should quickly find safe rooms where they can lock themselves until help arrives. If there are any clients around during the incident, the staff should direct them where to go for safety. For those employees who come in direct contact with the burglars, they should remain calm and be cooperative as they wait for security to arrive. You should advise your employees to never engage with the burglars directly.
Perform effective after-incident response processes
Security firms ensure that they respond to alarms as fast as they can in case of a security breach. Together with the police, they try their best to neutralize any situation to ensure safety for all. Once peace and order has been restored, you need to call for a roll call to ensure that every employee is accounted for and is safe. Check for any injuries or casualties. If there are casualties, ensure that you call for an ambulance immediately. Depending on the severity of the situation, you can let your employees have the rest of the day off to give the security firm enough space to conduct their investigation on the incident.
