Security and Finance Strategy SEC/481
Instructions:
Imagine you are the security manager for a startup company and they have asked you to create a budget for the security department. The company will be a 200,000 square foot warehouse that stores electronics. There will be 10 loading doors, 10 offices for staff, and a shipping and receiving department. The warehouse has 5 entry and exit doors aside from the dock doors. The parking lot has 50 parking stalls.
Write a 1,400- to 1,750-word proposal in which you design a budget for security of the warehouse, its contents, the staff, and customers.
Include the following in your proposal:
- 24 hour security protection – How many security officers do you recommend for this type of a facility? The cost per officer for a full year. The total cost for the security staff.
- Salary for the security manager per year.
- Fire system installed (number of pull stations, smoke detectors & control panels installed).
- Approx. how many fire extinguishers will we need throughout the building? What type and cost per unit?
- Burglary system installed (type and quantity of door alarms, motion sensors and control panels installed).
- Do you recommend a fence around the exterior of the property? If so, what type?
- Do you recommend a vehicle for exterior patrol? If so, what type and the cost.
- Do you recommend a Segway type device for interior patrol? If so, the cost.
- Cameras installed for interior and exterior (total number and the type that will be used).
- The type and cost of lighting will you use on the exterior parking lot.
- What is your recommendation for the “high end” electronics that come in? Explain the costs involved, if any.
- Miscellaneous – Any other expense that you might think of will need to be added and explained.
There is no set dollar amount for this proposal but be as detailed as possible. There should be a total dollar amount for operating costs of the security department.
Solution.
Security and Finance Strategy SEC/481
- Introduction
This budget proposal gives detailed information and budget of the security measures that should be implemented in the 200,000 square foot warehouse used to store electronics. Warehouses contain large closed and open spaces that can be difficult to monitor by the security staff or floor supervisors. More so, warehouses that are filled with equipment, supplies and inventory require a clear view of all the areas including the delivery areas on the outside of the warehouse. The large quantities of merchandise found in warehouses make them more susceptible to theft, pilferage, and burglary. Warehouse are prone to both external and internal theft. External theft is theft perpetrated by outsiders – people from outside the company. Internal theft, on the other hand is theft perpetrated by a company’s employees and contractors.
Delivery service personnel such as truck drivers also pose some form of security risk. Some drivers are fond of stealing from companies when delivering or picking goods. Since most drivers are allowed in stores when loading or offloading goods or commodities. It is easy for them to pack or take some extra commodities. Low wages are also another reason for employees stealing from warehouses. There are various ways through which employees can steal from companies. Some load the goods in their cars while others load them in trash bins then pick them on their way out. Apart from human beings, security risks are also posed by natural disasters such as fire. Both employees and merchandise in a warehouse should be protected. The protection can be done various ways such installation of CCTV cameras, proper locking devices, fence, proper lighting system, fire extinguishers etc. the remaining part of this proposal shows the items and manpower that should be implemented together with the costs involved in order to ensure the security of the warehouse.
- Project Description
This project, carried out by the security department, entails implementation of security detail of a 200, 000 square foot warehouse that stores electronics. The security detail is set to protect the staff, customers and the contents stored in the warehouse. The warehouse has ten offices for staffs, ten loading doors, thirteen internal and external, fifty parking stalls in the parking lot, loading stalls, shipping and receiving area, shipping and receiving office, and main storage area. To ensure the security of the staff, customers and contents of the store, all the mentioned areas should be well secured with security equipment and security staff. This includes installation of CCTV cameras, employing enough security staff to word day and night, fire system, burglary system and fence among others. This security system will prevent theft of commodities by both internal and external thieves. For instance, employees will not be in position to steal items because they are closely monitored by the company’s CCTV cameras. The security staff employed will also check both employees and truck drivers at every exit point. Fire extinguishers and alarms will come in handy to ensure that electronics and employees are safe in case of fire. The burglary system, fence, CCTV cameras and sensors, lighting, and security staff among others will help keep off external thieves. Investigations are also easily conducted in areas where cameras are installed. This is because cameras provide first hand evidence in crimes.
- Cost Elements
- Security staff
A security guard will be paid 10.5 dollars per hour and is expected to work 12 hours a day. Since the warehouse is operational 24hrs a day, there will be two shifts, the first group reports at 6am in the morning, to release the night shift guards, and leaves at 6pm in the evening after night shift guards report. Day time shift will have a total of eleven security guards. Three will guard the three parking lots, one will be at the reception, one at the loading stalls, two at the shipping and receiving, and two at the gate. Night shift will have two additional security guards that will patrol the warehouse compound. This makes the total number of security guards, employed by the company, twenty two. The company should also has one security manager to handle issues related to security. The security manager will be paid 40 dollars per hour.
| Person | Hourly rate | Number of hours per day (for each guard) | Total monthly pay per guard | Total pay per year (for each person) | Total pay per year for all the people |
| 24 security guards | $10.5 | 12 | $3,780 | $45,360 | $1,088,640 |
| Security manager | $40 | 8 | $9600 | $115,200 | $115,200 |
| Total costs | $1,203,840 |
Justification
Security guards are very important in ensuring the security of both employees and goods. The security guards will ensure that all the trucks that leave the premises are checked at the gate for any extra loads. The employees will also be screened and their cars checked to ensure that no employee carries goods out of the company premises. The guards at the parking lots and loading stalls will also ensure no commodities leave the premises. The security manager is responsible for handling all security issues and organizing safety trainings for all the employees. Threat awareness trainings are very important to ensure that employees are well equipped to handle arising threats. It also helps employees understand the procedures instituted by the company to handle threats.
- Equipment and Materials
The warehouse should have eight fire extinguishers. Four of them in the main storage area placed next to exit doors. Probably the doors next to the reception, loading stall, staff offices and the exit next to parking bay. The staff offices will have two while the loading stalls and reception will have one each. These extinguishers will also be placed next to exit doors. Extended price in the table means the total cost of all the items. Two smoke detectors should be mounted on walls of the storage area, each door should have a door alarm, and motion sensors should be placed at each of the five exit doors (Piasecki, 2012). There should also be 11 CCTV cameras – four on the four sides of the warehouse to monitor activities in the parking lots, external doors and loading stalls. The rest of the cameras will be in different positions inside the warehouse. Apart from cameras, LED pack lights will be mounted on the walls of both sides of the warehouse to help light up the packing and compound.
| Item | Quantity | Unit price ($) | Extended price ($) |
| fire extinguishers | 8 | 17.5 | 140 |
| Smoke detectors | 2 | 22.6 | 45.2 |
| Door alarms | 13 | 10.5 | 136.5 |
| Motion sensors | 5 | 12.7 | 63.5 |
| Invisible Electric fence materials | N/A | 800 | 800 |
| CCTV cameras | 11 | 49 | 539 |
| LED wall mounted pack security lights | 4 | 149 | 596 |
| Total costs | 2320.2 |
Justification
Storage or cargo handling facilities such as warehouses should have proper physical barriers that can guard it from unauthorized access. Measures should also be put in place to ensure that property is not destroyed in case of any natural disasters like fire. Alarms and surveillance cameras are good at monitoring the premises and preventing unauthorized accesses into the warehouse. If the activity records from the cameras are periodically maintained then it is easy to trace perpetrators. Well positioned surveillance cameras will help trace employee activities inside the warehouse thus allowing transparency among staffs and interaction with customers (“Warehouse / Factory Security Package”, 2013). Proper lighting in the warehouse, especially the parking areas and the entire compound at large is also important in ensuring security of both cargo and staffs. Door alarms will also prevent unauthorized accesses to rooms inside the warehouse. For instance, unauthorized employees cannot force their way into certain rooms because the door alarms will alert the security personnel. This will also prevent free and unnecessary movement of staffs in critical/important areas.
Since the warehouse stores large quantities and high end electronics, it is important to have measures in place that can be used to mitigate natural disasters such as fires. The fire extinguishers and smoke detectors come in handy in case of fires. Smoke detectors are placed in the main storage area because it is an area that is rarely accessed and therefore detecting fires that originate from this area can be difficult. The smoke detectors raise and alarm upon detecting smoke in the area to alert the security personnel. Fire extinguishers are placed strategically next to exit doors. It is recommended to place them next to doors because in case of fire, they can be easily and accessed by people from outside or those rushing from the room to secure places.
- Labor
| Labor category | Contractor | Total cost ($) |
| Burglary, fire and lighting system installation | ADT company | 850 |
| Electric fence installation | America fence | 945 |
| Total costs | 1795 |
Justification
Security of the warehouse is a very critical issue that should be handled in a critical manner. The company should therefore ensure that the companies that are contracted to install the system are authentic and offer quality work. This can be done by gauging other people’s testimonials. For instance, ADT is known to be among the best burglary system installers in the USA. Their alarms are also known to be the best and they periodically monitor their alarms after installation. America fence is also a renowned company that installs quality electric fences.
- Summery costs
Given the above mentioned categories of expenses, the total cost of the security installation is as follows:
| Element/ item | Total costs ($) |
| Security staff | 1,203,840 |
| Equipment and materials | 2320.2 |
| Labor | 1795 |
| Total cost | 1, 207,955.2 |
- Conclusion
This
budget proposal is set to allow the security department to smoothly carry out
their activities. If the system is installed, then it will be easier for the
security department to monitor employee activities – their daily activities and
customer relations. It will also help prevent intruders from outside from
accessing the location. Though the total cost of the project is $1,207,955.2, the
company should be ready for any miscellaneous expenses that may arise during
installation.
References
“Warehouse / Factory Security Package” (2013). Retrieved from https://www.completealarms.com.au/business-security/warehouse-security-package/
Piasecki, D. (2012). Warehouse Fire Safety. Retrieved from http://www.inventoryops.com/fire safety.htm