Industrial Security is Critical to Industrial Safety - Sounds like an obvious statement, doesn't it? Still, many companies do not necessarily see the two as related. How are safety and security connected? One can't exist without the other - it's like describing two sides of the same coin.

A standard perception is that industrial security consists of access control and theft deterrence. The issues of personal and personnel safety are equally critical to the overall health of any company. Personal safety is each individual's responsibility, assuming there is a safe work environment. Your security operation should routinely observe the overall operation and report any obvious or suspicious deviations within the environment. Safety at the department or company level is very much related to your overall security operation. Underlying all security efforts within your company must be a philosophy that insists on creating and maintaining a strong and safe work environment.

Properly trained security guards and officers are an integral part of any health and safety plan. In today's regulatory environment, with the involvement of multiple governmental agencies, compliance can seem overwhelming. The cost of compliance, while expensive, is small when compared to the cost of accidents resulting from non-compliant conditions and actions. Insurance companies and regulatory agencies recognize the benefits of a comprehensive plan and often will reduce your premiums if you have such plans in place. On-site security guards are an important resource to ensure day-to-day implementation and compliance.

A thorough safety plan will encompass health and safety regulations which apply to specific areas of your company. By investing the effort necessary to create an effective safety plan, potential hazards are identified and methods to mitigate any danger will be devised. The implementation of the safety plan is enhanced by security officers who understand the plan and who recognize proper and improper procedures. Access to potentially dangerous operations must be tightly controlled to reduce the chance of injury to untrained workers.

Guards who understand the safety aspects of your operation will have an awareness of what is normal, and more importantly, what is not. Early recognition of a potentially unsafe situation greatly reduces the chance of a catastrophic accident, both to personnel and your facility.

Your security program is only as effective as your least informed employee.

An incident is going to happen regardless of how well you prepare or how hard you try to avoid it. What counts is how much damage you can avoid by early and effective detection and mitigation with countermeasures.