May 20, 2002—A national survey commissioned by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) showed that most building owners have strengthened existing security systems and procedures after September 11, such as adding security cameras, increasing security personnel and either installing or more rigidly enforcing card access systems. The “no exceptions” rule for all security measures likely will be more rigorously applied, the report notes.
Security measures most widely employed before September 11 include building alarm monitors (80.2 percent); lobby security controls (74.3 percent); surveillance cameras (64.9 percent); and employee background checks (60.9 percent). Perimeter barriers (14.9 percent) were cited as the least common security practice, with less than six percent of the respondents adding such barriers following the attacks. The single security upgrade most frequently utilized following September 11 was tighter vendor security, which included requirements for vendor identification, vendor check-in and requests for vendors to conduct employee background checks.
Survey respondents indicated far more concern with overall emergency preparedness than with terrorism. For instance, 56.9 percent of the respondents indicated security concerns over fire safety; 34.7 percent were concerned with civil unrest; and 32.7 percent identified power disruptions as a major concern. In comparison, only 11.9 percent acknowledged terrorist attacks as a potential threat, and 6.9 percent had concerns regarding biohazards. “Being prepared in general …appears to be more important than concern over ‘one time’ or ‘unlikely’ events,” the report says.
Less than 35 percent of the participants said safety concerns would influence their decision to acquire or develop an office building in the future. Of those who said safety would affect future acquisition or development, building location was the top concern.
The survey included responses from more than 200 ULI and BOMA members throughout the U.S. on specific security measures in place before and after the terrorist attacks, and on more broad-based actions taken to assure the safety and security of those working in the buildings and the buildings themselves.
For more information, contact BOMA.
