Recent activities have brought the topic of terrorism back to the forefront of our minds. Security and facility personnel are once again confronted with an elevated risk environment and the responsibility of responding accordingly.  As a whole, terrorism response plans in the United States are robust and well-developed, but the loading dock is often a major gap.

We’ve come up with some steps you should set in place to better manage vehicles and vendors coming in and out of your building or facility. Start by implementing these practices to ensure there are no security gaps in your facility.

• Vet Vehicles and Vendors (outside of your facility if possible)

Vehicles and vendors must be properly vetted before entering your building. Designate a checkpoint area prior to letting a vendor into your building to keep risk at a minimum.

• Schedule Vendors and Deliveries
  

Deliveries and vendors should be scheduled in advance in order to be vetted and approved. Those vendors and deliveries that have been approved should still match up to an expected delivery date and time.

• Verify your Drivers and Know Who’s on your Loading Dock
  

Whether you keep a list of registered vehicles and vendors on your device or in the cloud, it’s important to always know who’s scheduled to come in and when. Vet your drivers as well as your vehicles by matching license plates and Driver’s Licenses or other Government IDs.

• Keep a Record 

Whether on a database or via lists, everyone who’s coming in and out of your facility should be kept on record with their time of entry and exit. This will also be helpful should you need it for audits and also a good practice for Incident Response and Management.

• Use a Watchlist 

Instantly cross-reference scanned Driver’s Licenses or other IDs against third-party watchlists (e.g. No-Fly List, Registered Sex Offender List) that can be customized to meet your site’s needs, or create your own based on one or multiple buildings or facilities.

• Pick SAFETY-Act-Certified Products

When it comes to securing your loading dock, pick a SAFETY-Act Certified product that has been vetted by the Department of Homeland Security and deemed as anti-terrorism technology. This will also shield your facility of liability.

• High-Risk Areas: Accept Prescreened Vendors Only

If your building or campus is on high-alert due to warning signs of suspicious activity or you have a designated sensitive area, only accept preregistered vendors in your facility. Vet them in advance and keep them in a database of approved vendors.

Building Intelligence helps you vet your visitors, vehicles, and vendors, including alerting you when a vendor’s certificate of insurance is about to expire. See SV3 in action by scheduling a demo with our team.