Brain Food: Holistic Security Design - Mitigate Vulnerability, Reduce Risk & Keep People Safe
Brain Food: Holistic Security Design - Mitigate Vulnerability, Reduce Risk & Keep People Safe
Safety and security of people and assets are among the highest priorities for many organizations today. With the prevalence of violent events throughout the U.S.—active shooter events, assaults, civil unrest, etc.—building owners must plan for the safety of their building and its occupants. Including security needs during the design phase provides the most effective and cost-efficient solutions for mitigating emergency events, avoiding the potential loss of life, and providing an overall robust security program.
To create a safe environment, the security design of a new facility or campus must go beyond basic camera and access control devices to a holistic approach that blends security strategies with technology. It’s also crucial to understand the difference between safety and security. Safety is the perception of how safe a person feels in their environment, while security refers to the various layers of tactical implementation used to achieve the desired level of safety. An owner shouldn’t have to choose one or the other—an effective security design can accomplish both.
This holistic approach evaluates everything from the layout of hallways and exterior sight lines to the fencing or vegetation used at the perimeter of the property, in addition to the technology typically used for security cameras, access control systems, and visitor management. Each strategy plays a role in providing the optimum safety for your building, people, and assets.
This session will provide strategies to mitigate vulnerabilities, reduce the risk of violence, theft, and unauthorized access to your facility and assist in managing your campus footprint to keep your people safe in an emergency situation.
Presenter
Ryan Searles
Security Consulting Group Leader
Ryan Searles, CPD, is the Security Consulting Group Leader at IMEG. He specializes in security assessment and protective services, including active shooter mitigation and response and crisis management.
Ryan has more than 20 years of professional experience and spent almost a decade in the U.S. Army, earning two Purple Hearts. After his military career, he worked as a contractor for the government, providing anti-terrorism and counter insurgency training for the different branches of the U.S. military and foreign militaries. He conducted intelligence, counter terrorism, counter piracy, and foreign advisor operations across five continents. Ryan leverages his comprehensive background and certifications to provide various types of security assessments, CPTED design services, security design, crisis management, active assailant, life safety, and enterprise-wide security and risk management services. He earned the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Professional Designation (CPD) through the National Institute of Crime Prevention, and has been named to the top 40 under 40 lists of Building Design+Construction, Security Systems News, and ENR Texas & Louisiana magazines.