Why maintaining your security system is better for your bottom line

With customer footfall on the rise again following the difficulties of last year, it’s increasingly important to ensure your retail premises are up to scratch. 

Retailers and developers worldwide are beginning to focus on transforming their stores into experiential areas for customers to connect with their brand, but some of the most important decisions a retail or property business can make should – ideally – go completely unseen by the customer. 

Having a fully functional security system isn’t a nice to have – it’s a necessity. If something happens within the boundaries of a property and there isn’t an adequate record of what transpired, it can be very difficult to prove what happened and get down to the truth of the matter.

If a mother needs help in a change room and the emergency button isn’t working, that’s a problem. 

If someone steals merchandise and there’s no video evidence to help find them, that’s a problem. 

If a more serious criminal matter occurs and there’s no evidence to help police figure out what happened, that’s a problem. 

“It’s important to have your security systems functioning, both from a liability perspective so the centre can cover itself, but also from a security perspective, so the security team can manage the centre,” said H3C Plus Security director Nicholas Churchill.

“Some shopping centres can have a dozen different sets of amenities, and having those duress buttons or panic buttons working correctly can let the security team know there is a problem to bring to their attention.”

However, according to H3C Plus Security director Nicholas Churchill, security systems are easy to keep running at optimal levels – they just need regular maintenance.

“If you’re not maintaining and servicing them properly, essentially, they’ll fall apart,” said Churchill. 

“If the electronic security hardware infrastructure, servers, recorders, controllers, and the software isn’t maintained, you’ll get to a point where you need to undertake a massive capital upgrade due to degradation of the system. And that will obviously come with capital expenditure, and potentially liability.”

According to Churchill it doesn’t take much to keep a system running at its specified and optimum level. 

Security systems should, ideally, be checked by a security professional once a quarter. H3C Plus only employs certified security technicians to undergo these inspections, which are complimented with a maintenance report and recommendations to improve the system’s performance and safety.

These technicians check CCTV Video systems, access control, door plus duress alarms and sirens, as well as the center’s security software. This way, any fault can be rectified quickly, and any larger issue can be caught early before it goes on to become a bigger problem.

“Let’s say you’ve got 15 cameras that are offline, or you’ve got a monitor that isn’t behaving correctly,” Churchill said. 

“If you’re not rectifying these issues as they occur, they’re going to compound. It’s important to engage with preventative maintenance, and it’s also important to action the recommendations of these quarterly visits to maintain a healthy system.”

And, since repair and maintenance work tends to fall under operational expenditure, rather than capital expenditure, according to Churchill, it should be easier and more effective to maintain these systems and leave the CAPEX for other upgrades that will improve centres’ security standing.

“You can’t just deploy a million dollar system and expect it will perform for the next five years,” said Churchill. 

“It needs upkeep – otherwise you’ll be replacing it quickly.”

To get in touch with H3C Plus, and get advice as to how best to maintain your security system, visit their website today.