To say that companies need to watch their bottom line in this economy is an understatement.  Every opportunity should be taken advantage of whenever a firm can identify areas to reduce wasteful spending, shrinkage, energy loss and more.

Security companies can actually play a big role in reducing financial losses of many kinds, not just stopping vandals or catching thieves.

Pictured above are several security systems from access control to video surveillance.

To that end, you may have heard of the term security “integration”.  Quite simply, this happens when a security company allows its various systems to talk to one another and achieve a higher security result than if systems were stand-alone.  It’s sort of like synergy.

Integration is the answer to many of the 12 issues listed below that plague many companies, especially those in manufacturing. So we’ve listed the issues along with a brief product and/or solution that security provides.

1. Employees that prop doors open:  Having an access control system (keyless) benefits you in many ways.  One such way is that a sounder goes off after a certain amount of time if a door is left open.
2. Unauthorized visitors who wander around your building(s):  The integration here would be between the access control system and the video surveillance system. 
3. Overhead doors left open which let out A/C or heat:  The alarm and access systems team up to ensure that these doors are kept secured.  As mentioned above, sounders would come into play if they are left open.  And if contacts between the overhead doors and the wall are not aligned in the closed position, the alarm will not be able to be set.
4. Employees who come in on the weekend without management’s knowledge:  This issue pretty much encompasses all tenants of security – access control, video surveillance and alarm.
5. Employees who claim overtime that they have not worked:  Card readers and video systems will provide access control audit trails on your software system and there will also be video evidence.
6. Doors left open all weekend or all night:  The security system will indicate on the keypad that a door is open.  Once again, this is an issue of the contacts not being aligned.  Also, the sounders will sound if the door is open for too long.
7. Employees or visitors who claim bogus accidents inside or outside of your building:  Video surveillance is the answer here.
8. Vandalism—internal and external:  Again, video, or CCTV, would provide the results needed.  Security lighting is also a strong preventative. 
9. Shrinkage:  Here, video would obviously isolate shoppers or employees stealing goods and access control would create an audit trail to indicate if a certain employee was in a given area from which goods may have been missing, for instance.
10. The need to change locks whenever some leaves your employment or loses a key:  Having a keyless entry system is the solution here—you can simply de-activate his or her card or fob.
11. Unauthorized 2nd and 3rd shift employees who snoop in offices:  This would encompass all systems—alarmed doors would keep the employees out.  Video would record their actions.  Access control would track where they went and prevent access as well.
12. Alarms which are tripped by employees who enter unauthorized doors:  Again, all systems would come into play here.