Custom «Workplace Security» Essay Paper Sample

In any organization one of the things that the management seriously takes into consideration is the security of the place. It is important to note that there is tangible or physical security which deals with protecting the organizations’ infrastructure and intangible security which protects organizations softcopy information. This paper will outline and describe the basics of physical security at a workplace. It will include the types of locking systems that could be employed and a description of outer and inner perimeter controls and the roles of protective lighting devices in your response.

According to Autry, physical security is taking relevant measures to protect the building, assets and property from intruders (Autry, 2010). Some of these measures include the use of CCTV systems, locking hardware, video surveillance among others. There are three lines of security that most organizations use; the first line of defense consists of the perimeter barriers that surround the organization’s building and they include wire and wall fence, gate, security lights and in some cases surveillance system. For the lighting, there are different types of lighting system that are used; continuous, movable, standby and emergency lights and as for the surveillance system there is the microwave sensor and passive ultrasonic sensor systems. It is the continuous lighting system and the microwave sensors that are commonly used by most organizations. The second line of defense is the organizations / buildings wall, floors, ceiling and doors. It therefore important for the management to ensure that physical structure of the building is strong enough to withstand any external. The above two can be said to be outer perimeter controls since they protect mostly the outside of the building than the inside. The third security line is the interim layer that deals with protecting the office’s machines and equipment. One of the factors that determine the effectiveness of the security system, there is wafer, lever and cipher locks and each of them is used for a different function. The difference between the three types of lock is the design; the wafer locks are flat faced and all that a person needs to do is insert the key and unbolt the door while the lever locks use key and locks at the same. It is however the third locking system, the cipher locking system that is more complicated than the two. According to Ortmeier, the cipher system is mostly used by the US Army because of they are more secure of the two; in addition to that she states that this system is opened using a programmed keypad as compared to the other two that are opened using keys (Ortmeier,2008). Another difference between the two is that whereas the two keyed locks are used to maintain physical security in a building the cipher locking system is used control access to the organization. This means that it is only persons who have the access code of the lock that can be allowed access to a certain area in an organization.