Manufacturing plants are critical for the health of our economy. To maintain our Canadian lifestyle, it is crucial that these plants remain safe and operational, through the implementation of thorough security solutions.
Threats to the Manufacturing Industry
Before products are shipped to distribution centres, retailers, or even the consumer, they first are manufactured and stockpiled at their respective factory or plant. At any time, these factories can have millions of dollars’ worth of product and equipment on site, making them a tempting target for thieves. In the latter half of 2020, a phony Quebec trucking company made off with $240,000 worth of product from a beef-packing plant.
Another common threat to the manufacturing industry is property damage and vandalism. Vandals don’t have to worry about being spotted due to the often secluded locations of these manufacturing plants, in turn allowing vandalism to quickly become a big problem that can cost companies large sums of money. Common vandals include, but are not limited to, enraged employees, rebellious teenagers, and competitive companies.
Outside of security, workplace injury due to neglect of proper health & safety measures are another major threat to the manufacturing industry.
The protection of human life is of utmost importance, and Health & Safety protocols should never be overlooked. Additionally, companies that do not follow proper health and safety practices can be fined by The Ministry of Labour up to $1,500,000; while individuals can face fines up to $100,000 or even 12 month imprisonment(4).
Other manufacturing threats include:
Workplace Injury
Internal Theft
Fire
Cyber Attacks
Our Manufacturing Security Solution
When protecting your manufacturing sites from the aforementioned threats, it is important to deploy multiple layers of security. The first layer that we implement are anti-trespassing and video surveillance warning signage that are placed on the perimeter of the site.
The goal of these signs are to alert the potential criminal that the site is off limits and being monitored, which often deters them from entering. If the suspect continues onto the site, they will be identified by our strategically placed, industry leading security devices that utilize high resolution stationary and pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras.
Once identified, our video monitoring operators will utilize various security peripherals to deter the suspect. Voice commands are issued as a vocal deterrence, warning the suspect that if they do not vacate the site, police will be contacted. Our blue LED strobe lights are utilized as a visual deterrence, and to help guide law enforcement to the suspect location.
If the suspect still refuses to leave the site, our video monitoring operators will contact local law enforcement and provide them with critical details such as suspect(s) description, location, and behavior. While the police arrive on site, our operators continue to gather any information that may be able to further assist in the suspects’ apprehension and any subsequent court proceedings.
Once the incident is contained, our operators will create and log in-depth incident reports into our security information reporting platform, syncroReports. This platform acts as you and your teams access point to security reports, robust analytics, and live security feeds straight from your site(s)!
For areas that require an additional layer of protection such as building access points, equipment lockers, or factory interiors, we deploy our wireless intrusion alarm system, syncroDetect. This system comes equipped with both wireless door/window contact sensors and wireless indoor motion detection sensors which are placed on or within the area of importance.
Once these sensors are triggered, an alert is sent directly to our UL Certified Video Monitoring Center, where our operators utilize our security cameras to gain a visual on the location of concern and if necessary, contact local law enforcement.
Health & Safety Video Monitoring
To provide additional protection for manufacturing facilities, we offer our live Health & Safety Video Monitoring service. Our operators are trained to surveil your site during the workday, identifying any health & safety violations or hazards such as chemical spills, active machinery left unattended, or workers not wearing proper PPE.
Once identified, our operators will reach out to the primary contact and inform them of the violation. This service can be implemented on its own, or even integrated into your existing health and safety program.
Overall, through the implementation of state of the art security devices and innovative video monitoring services, we are able to keep your sites protected from both security as well as health & safety threats.
References:
- 1. “From hot tubs to beef- cargo theft on the rise in Canada”- Global News, Lauren Krugel, September 17, 2020
- 2. “Cheese worth $187k stolen from Tavistock dairy plant”- CBC News, N/A, August 21, 2019
- 3. “Ontario manufacturing company fined for factory accident that left child dead” OHS Canada, N/A November 15, 2018
- 4. ” The Occupation Health and Safety Act: FAQs” Ministry of Labour, N/A, October 2013