Whether you operate a manufacturing company, construction firm, automotive garage, or even a real estate office, you need to control visitor access.
Safety concerns for the visitor have traditionally been first in the minds of business people. You did not want visitors in dangerous shop areas or startling unsuspecting line workers. Now, safety and security for your staff must be considered the first priority.
In the modern day world of single-issue vigilantes and crazed spouses, access must be restricted. Every employee needs to be able to identify other employees or permitted visitors and report all others.
Besides relatively benign unwanted guests like the curious or the misdirected, some individuals are up to non-violent mischief inside your workplace. A glimpse at your operations or process, a hint as to your suppliers, or some other industrial espionage may be the target of the trespasser.
Simple confrontation generally resolves these issues. In larger companies where not everyone knows everybody, uncontrolled visitors have become a workplace threat.
Even a violent threat.
Security is important, vigilance a must.
Visitors should be welcomed by a receiver who either knows the purpose of the visit by prearrangement or discovers the reason quickly and handles the request decisively.
Prearranged meetings require someone to escort the visitor to the correct location and hand off the visitor to the appropriate personnel.
Unsolicited and unexpected visitors must be contained in a secure area before allowing admittance into the main operations area.
Procedures for drop in callers may sound paranoid, but the recent workplace episodic violence suggests caution.
Never allow unknown individuals access to the main working area without proper screening in place. Who are they? Why are they here? Do they know anyone in the office? Are they dressed appropriately for their stated purpose? Do they have identification and contact information?
Everyone should be escorted through the space.
No spouses or significant others should be allowed in without expressed permission from the employee. These relationships can be volatile, and it sounds better as a company policy rather than an individual one.
Employees should report any unknown, unescorted, un-credential-ed individuals to security immediately.
