Securing Mobile Assets

The low-down on RV- and boat-storage security

By Steve Cooper

Running your business is supposed to include fun and profit,right? Somewhere, amid all the considerations facing you as a business owner,evaluate how your security plan is helping you do just thatrun your facilityfor fun and profit.

A risk-management strategy that includes a healthy dose ofsecurity measures will improve your peace of mind, boost business and assureinvestors. It's a no-brainer that as competition increases, security featuresare a differentiating factor for customers. Not sure where to start? Use abusiness approach to evaluate your need for change and determine where tointelligently invest to meet market demands. First, based on your experience orwhat you learn from others, consider the likelihood some threat will harm anasset or individual on your property. Second, determine the steps you can take to reduce the riskand minimize the results from any intrusion for intended harm.

Proceed Carefully

It's as easy as A, B, C, but it will take a little time and effort to think it through and write out your thoughts. Attack your assignment systematically. A: Do a risk assessment. B: Conduct a vulnerability evaluation. C: Decide which threats are critical and which vulnerabilities you can cover. You may want to consult with your local law-enforcement officials, bring in a management consultant who has specific experience, or call onthe expertise of a professional in the security business.

With or without help, step A is to complete a thorough riskassessment. Safety and security go hand-in-hand. You already know whatyour business is worth and what might result from fire or natural disaster, andyou have insurance and a protection plan in place. How about your reputationwhatis it worth? If someone's new boat walked off your lot or someone's boat motordisappeared, what would that mean in terms of harmful word of mouth in thecommunity?

Theft, vandalism and even casual damage from traffic on theproperty can be harmful to your business. No matter how much you remind tenantsof their responsibility to protect their own property and provide checklists,boat owners will expect your assistance in keeping their property secure. Whateffect is that having on your business as you grow?

Don't forget to consider new regulations in many areas of thecountry and how they will affect your business. The Maritime TransportationSecurity Act of 2002, signed on Nov. 25, 2002, by President Bush, is a landmarkpiece of legislation designed to protect the nation's ports and waterways fromterrorist attack. On July 1, 2003, the U.S. Coast Guard published new maritimesecurity regulations that implement significant portions of the act,requiring sectors of the maritime industry to complete security assessments,develop security plans, and implement security measures and procedures.

Many trade associations and organizations have struggled toget the word out, but it is your responsibility to know how you'll be affected. Some operators will be required to file formal security planswith authorities. But even if you don't fall under those requirements, it's nota bad idea to see how a systematic approach to measuring the risks for yourbusiness can help you.

It Takes a Thief

Each marina and service facility is unique, an importantfactor to remember when carrying out step B of your strategy. To evaluate yourmarina's vulnerability, take a walk around the facility with a digital cameraand think like a thief. Assess your weaknesses in perimeter security and accessto the property. Take note of lax attitudes in your staff and operations thatcan be exploited by someone determined to cause harm through theft, vandalism ora rules violation. Use the camera to create a record of your thoughts and usethe reminders as you write a plan.

More and more people are taking to the water. Anywhere you find more people, you have a threat of more unwanted incidents. That can mean agreater need for fencing and protection from neighbors. Yacht clubs and urbancenters have had the need for years, but industry changes may require even moremeasures. Here are some examples:

Once you see your facility with a fresh view, you will be ableto list those areas where an improvement is in order. Controlling access,improving sightlines from the marina office, upgrading lighting, enhancingvideo surveillance with new CCTV systems, and other answers will become obviousto you.

Critical List

Now comes step C, your assessment of how critical particularthreats can be to your business. The major ones are obvious. For example, if thegovernment is imposing change on you, you have no choice. But some threats aremore subtlethings your customers and prospects notice, items that will makeor break your ability to earn new leases and retain customers. Complete yourlist of threats. Put a business value on each suspected vulnerability youspotted in your photos. The exercise will lead you, step by step, to the bestbusiness answers for your operation.

Security experts speak about "hardening the target."Thieves and others bent on harmful activities can be deterred rather easily:

A wide variety of security solutions at a spectrum of costswill help you solve the problems you identify in your risk assessment.Manufacturers that specialize in facility security can provide options fromsimple to highly complex integrated systems. Security and access-control companies can give you local expertise in planning,installing, and servicing the systems you need to meet your goals.

Shopping Around

In what should you invest? Consider intrusion alarms,automated access control, tailored video-surveillance systems, and even on-sitecommunications such as integrated intercoms and sound systems. With your list of critical threats in hand, go shopping forthe systems that meet your most critical needs first.

Start with your office. Are your business assets protected byadequate locks, motion-sensing alarms and smoke detectors? Do you have strongpolicies and checks and balances about who can handle funds and how they accountfor it? Is your retail area under surveillance by personnel, cameras or both? Doyou have regulations and enforcement that protect your repair facility fromunauthorized personnel?

Consider outdoor threats. Do you have adequate fencing to keepunwanted guests from wandering through the property? Do you have code-operatedautomatic gates for parking and storage areas to help you control access andcollect delinquent rents? Do you have "eye in the sky" cameras keepingwatch over general activities throughout the facility? Do you have camerasplaced strategically to show who is entering various areas of the facility? Doesthe surveillance system give you quick review and image-download capabilities incase you have an incident? Is the video-surveillance system Internet-ready soyou or your monitoring center can see camera views from virtually anywhere inthe world?

Security Stardom

Location, location, locationif you have a corner on thebest bend in the river, you'll be more successful in your business. If you don'tcommand prime property on the lake, anything you do to help make your facilitystand out will bring you more business. People like the warm and fuzzy feelingthey get when they know their property is being better protected. Improvementsin your security system may be your ticket to more successful marketing.

Basic business-management practice says you must measure yourstrengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities. Fortunately, opportunity isfrequently found hiding on the flipside of a threat. Each step you take inimproving the security levels in your facility will pay a dividend. Your appeal to prospects increases while your peace of mindandfacilitygrow.

Use the systematic approach to think through your business onemore time. You'll find the best ways to meet the imposition of new regulationsas well as help your customers become more vigilant citizens. Better securitysystems will bring you positive word of mouth, the best marketing you can get.At the end of your analysis and the implementation of smarter security systems,you may find you are closer to the reality of running your business for more fun and profit.

Steve Cooper serves as part of the marketing team for DigitechInternational Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of security systems for morethan two decades. For more information, call 800.523.9504; visit www.digitech-intl.com.