In NYC most every office building I’ve visited requires you to show ID and sign in, some take a webcam picture of you and put it on a visitor sticker, some make you stand in front of a video monitor and state your name and what company you are visiting.
I was wondering what other cities building security is like?
I’ve worked in a number of office buildings in Toronto and England and most of them had the same kind of system: a security guard would watch the door in the lobby, and you used your card to beep your way in (in my experience, you don’t have to identify yourself to anyone very often). There are so many card-activated doors that it would be difficult to get anywhere without one. Visitors usually need to be accompanied by someone with a card. The cards are usually blank (mine are, anyway, as a temp) but sometimes have pictures.
I’ve never had to show ID as a visitor, but usually do have to sign in.
At this building, the security is the same as it was pre-9/11. The whole building is us, so there’s no variablity as to what company a person may be visiting. Security always has been a biggie here, and 9/11 didn’t do anything to enhance it.
We’ve still got the electronic ID badges and certain floors or areas of floors are still locked, except to those with appropriately-coded badges.
Visitors are closely scrutinized - they must be approved in advance by department managers (as well as building security) and must present photo ID.
The only visible additions to security are some more mantraps* to serve new departments.
Our security is non-existant. Anyone could wander in, and since we sometimes have customers (in the industrial sense, not the general public) or contractors in, they might not even get stopped when people don’t recognize them.
In the evening the door is supposed to be locked but often isn’t, and lots of people have keys - the cleannig people have been known to give them to their friends etc.
Is it any wonder that I am often armed when I work late, even though its against the company rules? All the company can do is fire me…
I work in a school. We are out for spring break but I just got an email that was sent to every employee explaining what we should do in case of a chemical or biological attack.
We should go inside if we are outside and be prepared with duct tape and flashlights. We should keep the kids calm by engaging in “light activity” and discussing what we are doing to keep them safe. They are going to turn off the air conditioning. Parents should not pick up their children unless instructed to do so.
IMHO, this sounds like we have a “plan” but in reality…its our arse. Should I show up next week with my duct tape? I coach during one period so I will be in the gym. How many roles of duct tape should I bring for that area? I teach in four different areas. Maybe I should get a tool belt. Hmm… maybe then I could keep up with my three hole punch, pencil sharpener, and stapler.
Seriously, I don’t want to think about it. We are so very broke! The district tried to lay-off one of our cops. We have two… for 2300 students. We need additional funds for this heightened security. Those funds will not be allocated. I am sure of it! Oh well, off to Home Depot for duct tape.
I work in a high-rise where the major tenant is an oil company. Security is pretty tight, but it’s not like walking into a federal building. We have two security desks in the lobby, and we all wear photo ID badges. The only time we scan them is at the readers that you pass to go into and out of the elevator lobbies. Guests get a temporary pass and can walk around unescorted. However, I’m willing to bet that security is much tighter if you’re visiting the oil company’s floors. I’ve been told that only a couple isolated banks of elevators serve its floors (and I know that all of the stairwell are locked to prevent re-entry).
Our previous building had no security at all save for a couple uniformed security guards that walked about the grounds and lobby. You just parked your car, walked into the building, and got on the elevator. Then again, a large chunk of that building was taken up by local radio stations.
The only other high-rise I worked in was somewhere between the two. We had access badges that didn’t have photos, but we never needed to use them except after business hours (where you needed it to get into the building and to use the elevator).