Safety and security should be the number one priority in any commercial building. This means that there should be thorough safety plans for both employee and customer safety. This is often one of the first plans designed before opening the businesses doors to the public. Some of the most important safety precautions include the following steps.
Secured doors or locks
Commercial businesses are especially prone to theft. It is fairly simple for a criminal to case out a business and to know when people will be present and when they will not be. Because the majority of break ins occur after business hours, this means that the doors should have a secure locking system. Usually, a simple door lock is not enough. The locks should be reinforced and the doors should be made of a high quality material. This prevents a criminal from kicking in the door for access to the business. Additionally, a monitored alarm system can help prevent break ins. Some of these monitoring systems also offer fire alarm monitoring services, ensuring that the business is fully protected.
Emergency exit plans
If an emergency does occur, like a fire or some type of emergency threat, both employees and customers need to know the best way to exit the building. Creating emergency exit plans reduces panic and increases safety measures. These emergency exit plans should be placed in each room and be easily read. Hotel and motel fires cause an estimated 15 deaths and 150 injuries every year. These numbers can be reduced ever further, if people are aware of the best way to exit during a fire.
Advanced fire alarm system
Fires are a risk in any building, commercial or residential. The best way to reduce the risk of fire is to prevent the possible damages. Installing an advanced fire alarm system notifies employees of the fire danger, allowing them to quickly exit the building. Additionally, the fire alarm system immediately requests assistance from the local fire department. The few seconds saved by otherwise having to call the local fire department can be the difference between major and minimal fire damages. However, the fire alarm installations are not enough to reduce risk.
The fire alarm design needs to specifically fit the type of building that it is monitoring. For example, warehouse fires used to be much more common than they are today. Fires in warehouse properties have declined substantially over the past 30 years, from 4,700 in 1980 to 1,200 in 2011. Much of this decline is due to the fact that the fire alarm systems are designed and placed specifically for the type of building that they are monitoring.
Fire sprinkler systems
Fire sprinkler systems and alarm systems are not necessarily the same thing. A fire sprinkler is an addition to the fire alarm system. It allows the sprinklers to begin putting out the fire, reducing the risk that it could get out of hand before the fire department arrives to the business. Fire alarm sprinklers have significantly reduced the damages associated with commercial fires. The combination of automatic sprinklers and early warning systems in all buildings could reduce overall injuries, loss of life, and property damage by at least 50%. Fire sprinklers in addition to fire alarm systems are the best prevention against damaging commercial fires. It is also important to keep up with regular fire alarm maintenance and fire alarm repairs to ensure that everything is constantly working properly.
Safety is important when it comes to commercial businesses. You have the responsibility to provide a safe working and safe shopping environment to those that enter the building. You can improve the safety of your commercial business by installing an alarm system, reinforcing the doors and locks, installing a fire alarm system, and using fire sprinkler systems.
