The Guard Shack as Nexus in a Data Center 911 Event

Anyone who is trained as a first responder of some kind, will tell you that seconds and minutes are precious and matter enormously in saving lives. If the worst should happen, there is an urgent need to quickly and immediately locate those who most need help. Not every building can be fitted as your data center's security center, and guard booth manufacturers know this. In today’s world, the events and situations previously thought to be impossible or unlikely, have become one of the many things a responsible employer and guard booth manufacturer will have thought out and planned for.

Despite the widely held assumption that it will be the police that come to the rescue when there is a violent incident, the reality is that many emergency situations happen too quickly. Statistics show that most situations that ultimately require law enforcement intervention, for example active shooter situations, are over before police can arrive.

As such, it is crucial to rescue and tactical operations that there be a point of contact on site when they arrive, so they can quickly get the most pertinent information and correctly assess the situation. Often times with so much of security linked to technology, it is easy to forget that a guarded modular guard house is often the nexus of most of this coordinated activity.

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While much of your data center's security relies on computers and programming, such as an alert notification system, controlling magnetic locks and keys, managing the emergency alert system, and enabling a panic alarm for the front-line staff who tend to be most at risk, there are security measures that cost pennies and rely on common sense initiatives.

Initiatives such as keeping an up to date printed company directory with photos, labeling every door so a trapped employee can quickly identify and provide their location within the data center, designating a failover location in the event of an evacuation, and putting together and maintaining a fire box with all the materials, information, and keys that police and first responders will need in the event of an emergency.

The mobile guard shack must be set up in the most effective location as the first point of contact for all these initiatives. This is not to say that technology does not also play a key role in saving lives; in a situation where seconds matter and lives are on the line, being able to control access from a mobile guard shack and deploy guards to either free trapped people or block off access and secure an intruder is critically important to your data center's security.

Ensuring the security of your personnel and visitors requires a mix of common sense, and attention to detail. Saving lives requires a central coordination point to manage all these combined endeavors and make sure that every effort counts.

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