A photo of the interior dock doors at Prolgois RFI DIRFT Sainsbury. The dock doors have yellow safety signage on them, and in the background there is tall orange racking.

Warehouse storage security management

The average warehouse experiences a lot of foot traffic on any given day. From employees to delivery drivers or visitors, hundreds of people are in and around a warehouse at any time. As a result, it can be almost impossible to keep track of them all. Because of this, security should be a primary concern for any warehouse manager.

When it comes to improving your warehouse security management, consider more than just securing the loading dock. While you may not want to imagine it, inventory is most at risk once it’s inside your facility. Having strong security measures in place will help safeguard the inventory on which you rely to make money. Here are some warehouse storage ideas and procedures to consider implementing.

Secure staff procedures

One of the most effective ways to improve security when it comes to staff and outsiders is with building access control technology, which allows you to permit and restrict access to your facility or secured areas within the building. With this technology, only the people with appropriate permission can enter your facility.

The same concept applies with your staff and where they can go inside the building. You can provide workers with keycards with clearance levels that permit or restrict access to certain zones in the warehouse based on job classification. Additional methods to strengthen staff security include installing motion detection devices and perimeter protection, as well as using remote notification technology.

Warehouse Storage Ideas

How you store inventory can also have an impact on security. For instance, expensive or highly desirable items should be stored in a locked cage. You can also install glass break detection sensors on your warehouse’s windows so that an alarm alerts the facility’s monitoring center any time a pane of glass is broken.

Environmental protections should also be used when inventory needs to be maintained at a certain temperature or humidity. With this type of security in place, you’ll receive an alert if the environment experiences a change that could affect inventory.

Using vertical storage techniques makes theft more difficult. Thieves usually want to move quickly and covertly. Making items hard to reach without the help of equipment lowers the risk of theft.

Best Practices for Warehouse Security

There’s a lot that goes into keeping your inventory and warehouse secure. To improve warehouse security:

Keep the areas designated for receiving and dispatching physically separated.
Do a comprehensive background check when hiring new employees.
Invest in ongoing employee training.
Eliminate manual data entry, and use RFID or barcode scanning instead.
Protect entrance and exit doors with a quality physical access control system.
Create and adhere to a security policy to remove trash and scrap from the warehouse.
Unload vehicles through separate channels.

Install a CCTV surveillance system so internal and external activities can be monitored.
Restrict visitors from roaming the premises, unless supervised.
Acquire an appropriate alarm system.
Establish a proper control for the outgoing shipping consignment.
Inspect all vehicles that enter and exit the warehouse.
Implement security lighting inside and outside the warehouse.
Place guards at all entrance and exit checkpoints.
Review, test and maintain the warehouse security system on a regular basis.

Learn more

Start implementing these strategies to reduce the risk of theft, lower operational costs and create a more profitable warehouse. Learn more about how our warehouse operation best practices could lead your business to more success.

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Warehouse storage security management

Secure staff procedures

Warehouse Storage Ideas

Best Practices for Warehouse Security

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