FACILITIES SECURITY GOALS & RESPONSIBILITIES
Emergency preparedness and security management go hand in glove. Today facilitymanagers have to think, plan, and manage in both realms. Tragic examples ofthreats becoming reality have proven the need for increased security. Within theUnited States this is a relatively new way of thinking because we have felt insulatedfor years. For European and Asian countries this has been a way of life, and theyhave developed good systems through the many lessons they have learned.
This section focuses on security management from the facility manager's pointof view.
Although there is some detail on specific types of security, the intent of thissection is to emphasize the importance of facility management in support of securi-ty requirements. Terrence Gillick, a security consultant in New York City, states it this way ". . . years after the attacks on the World Trade Center, facility executivesfind themselves increasingly focused on the safety of tenants and employees whenassessing physical risks and vulnerabilities, and other pressing concerns about secu-rity."
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That said, we believe that all facility managers must have some backgroundin physical security. We not only operate a facility and provide service to tenants, weare also responsible for their safety and security. Some facility organizations managesecurity directly as part of their mission. Other facility organizations provide supportto an established public safety organization.
In either case we, as facility managers,have a responsibility to understand the concepts of physical security and be able to relate these concepts to our own service support organization. We must beknowledgeable enough to provide competent advice to security staff and the orga-nization's leadership. Finally, we must understand the most appropriate securitycountermeasures that should be employed.
