Preventative Maintenance Provides Added Value – Like any building operating system, your electronic security systems require regular preventive maintenance to keep them working as designed to ensure your employees, students, and visitors are safe and secure. Although your security system can go years without needing any major maintenance, you don’t want to take a chance on something failing when you need it most.
Building And Properties Are Fluid
Most buildings and properties are fluid, always going through changes, which can impact the effectiveness of your security system if not monitored. Additionally, weather can significantly affect the operation of your security system. Dirt, salt, and water can wreak havoc with exterior gates, doors, fences, and cameras if not routinely cleaned and maintained.
Preventative Maintenance Reduces Human Error
Many security systems provide some level of self-diagnostics, or you have deployed a system health monitoring platform designed to self-diagnose and alert the end-user about any possible problems, failures, or breaches within the system as an inbuilt attribute. These notifications, however, can be easily overlooked because of human error or complacency. A crack in your security system could be enough for an intruder to access your building or property. Hence, you must regularly check your security system and ensure that your security team understands the importance of following through on any alerts, notifications, and update availability.
Keep Things Clean
Ensuring doors, devices, and cameras are clear of dust, dirt, and debris will ensure your electronic security systems operate efficiently and as designed to mitigate risk. Dust, dirt, foliage, insects, spiders, birds, and other animals can easily disrupt the effectiveness of your security and video surveillance systems. To keep your system operating at its highest level of performance, keep your cameras, security devices, doors, gates, and fences clean and free of debris.
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Preventative Maintenance Should Include Periodic System Testing
Periodic preventive maintenance and testing of your security systems, cameras, devices, doors, gates, and permitter fencing are crucial. You do not have to wait for an intruder to try to gain access to your property or facility to be sure that your security system is at 100%. A significant aspect of your security system testing should ensure that all devices communicate within the system to an internal operator or a third-party central station. You want to rest assured that all alarms and notifications are being received and functioning as designed.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, you have spent a lot of money installing the latest access, intrusion, and video surveillance technologies. Like your car, they need routine maintenance to keep them running at their peak performance. Please don’t wait until it’s too late. Purchase a support service plan that includes regular preventive maintenance to ensure your systems operate as designed. Not sure what plan is the best plan for your needs? No worries, the CGL Electronic Security team can customize a plan to meet your specific service needs. To learn more, visit the CGL website or contact me at mikem@cglsecurity.com.
Mike McGuirk, Vice President of Sales, CGL Electronic Security
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