nb: collaborative post

What is a testing facility? It’s where your latest products and services are being, well, tested. But it’s much more serious than it sounds. Competition is incredibly fierce at the best of times, but since we’re not in a recession, getting a clear edge of your rivals is critical. That’s why companies like Samsung, Mercedes and BAE Systems, all have unique test units whereby you need security passes to enter, it’s closed off to the public, the media aren’t allowed to interview anyone that works in them unless given clearance and so much more. But why does this occur? It’s because your- ideas and products that will beat the competition could potentially put you ahead of everyone else and put others out of business.

Physical security

Around every testing site, there is physical security. No matter how many CCTV cameras, you need to have a team of guards to patrol the premises and make it secure. Use a professional Security Company that has a history of being trusted to manage situations whereby trespassers need to be caught or shunned away. They will also have bright clothing to make themselves visible, which deters most spies from trying to gain entry. They will also have equipment such as radios, torches, smartphones to make contact with senior staff and scanners to let only the people with ID cards through the gates. They are experienced and trained to keep everyone working at the site, safe and notified of suspicious activity.

Who do you trust?

The chain of command is so important to keeping secrets in between the four walls of the testing site. That’s why only senior staff should be allowed to conduct operations on the site. It’s never a good idea to hand over control of a project to a junior member of the team, even if it’s for a day. So, good communication between C-suite ranking members is highly desirable. Managers and employees need to work together to make sure that everyone is tight-lipped and not talking about what they do, outside of work. It’s not uncommon for journalists to approach key workers and try to squirm out a story which they can print or talk about. Corporate espionage takes similar measures to. Just have a policy of not sharing information with strangers at the bar.

Identity recognition

Facial recognition is very common now, so your CCTV cameras should have that feature enabled. This allows you to spot people who should and shouldn’t be at the site. Fingerprint locks are also something that you should be willing to implement. Keycard swiping units are classic but they still have an attraction despite duplication fears ever-present. You can also have iris recognition scanners so that only selected staff to have access to the most top secret areas of your business.

Testing facilities are almost never talked about in mainstream media, but we all know they exist. It’s where companies experiment and find new ways of beating the competition. But don’t allow critical information to spread, keep it safe and secure from the outside world, with these measures.