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A day in the life of a corporate estate’s security control room.
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In today’s corporate world, security control rooms serve as the front line for safeguarding assets, ensuring employee safety, and maintaining operational continuity. Equipped with Zinc’s integrated platform, operators manage a wide range of activities from incident response to compliance and health and safety.
Let’s dive into a day in the life of a corporate estate’s security control room, where real-time monitoring, verified threat intelligence, and seamless communication converge to maintain a safe and secure environment.
08:00 – Morning briefing – setting the stage for a secure day
The day starts with a comprehensive handover from the previous shift and a morning briefing, where operators, security teams, and other corporate risk teams review recent incidents, pending investigations, and the day’s planned activities.
Roles Involved:
Control Room Operators; review overnight incidents, check system statuses, and ensure all security tools and communications systems are operational.
Management Team; provides a summary of key incidents, outlines priorities for the day, and assigns tasks to operators and on-ground security and health & safety teams.
Front-of-House Staff; briefed on visitor protocols and any additional requirements for the day, such as special events or high-profile visits.
Senior Leadership (Optional); Receives an overview of key risks and security measures in place, ensuring alignment with business operations.
Maintenance Teams (Optional); Highlight scheduled maintenance or repairs that may impact security operations or health and safety protocols.
Zinc’s platform is central to this handover, providing a consolidated view of the previous shift’s data. This collaborative approach ensures all departments are aligned and prepared for the day’s challenges, supported by real-time data and communication through Zinc’s platform.
08:21 – Unscheduled Contractor Arrives
An unscheduled contractor arrives to complete air conditioning repairs in a high-security area, prompting the control room to verify credentials and log their entry and exit.
Roles Involved:
Front-of-House; checks and clears contractors and visitors upon arrival.
Security Manager; authorises high-security area access based on clearance levels and approval from the Facilities Management (FM) team.
Control Room Operators; monitor access points and log contractor movements.
Throughout the day, Zinc’s platform tracks daily occurrences, such as deliveries, visitor management, and equipment check-in/outs or status checks.
09:30 – VIP Visit
A high-profile VIP is scheduled to visit the head office. The control room coordinates with front-of-house staff to ensure a seamless and secure experience by pre-registering the VIP’s details, enabling quick access to check them in upon arrival. Security teams are briefed to escort the VIP, and designated areas are monitored more closely through the platform’s live surveillance and body camera integrations.
Roles Involved:
Front-of-House Staff; checks the VIP in, provides them with a pre-registered access pass, and alerts the control room of their arrival.
Control Room Operators; activate a temporary escalation of monitoring for the areas where the VIP will be present.
Security Teams; are deployed to escort the VIP and ensure their safety during the visit.
Senior Leadership; is notified once the VIP has safely entered and departed the premises.
This highlights how the control room leverages Zinc’s platform to streamline coordination, enhance security, and maintain a professional and efficient atmosphere for important visitors.
Throughout the day, Zinc’s platform is used to log visitor activity. If an existing visitor management system is used on-site like Smart Spaces, the visitor data is automatically integrated with Zinc providing a seamless transfer of contact information.
10:19 – Unauthorised Access Incident
An incident is reported from an office area regarding unauthorised access by an individual without proper clearance. The system alerts the control room, where operators assess video footage and access logs through the platform. They follow a pre-defined workflow to initiate an investigation.
Roles Involved:
Control Room Operators; verify the alert and escalate it.
Security Teams; respond on-site to apprehend and question the individual.
Senior Leadership; is informed of the situation if it poses a risk to corporate assets or operations.
Upon identifying the unauthorised access, operators alert the nearest on-ground security team through Zinc’s incident management tool. Security arrives promptly, investigates, and clears the area, logging findings in the mobile app. The control room then completes a detailed report and initiates follow-up actions for security improvements.
With Zinc’s incident management module, the control room team monitors real-time reporting, alerts and processes the incident end-to-end.
12:31 – Fire Alarm & Evacuation
A fire alarm is triggered in one wing of the building. Zinc’s platform sends an immediate mass notification to all employees, directing them to follow the nearest evacuation routes. The platform ensures that emergency communications reach everyone, from front-of-house staff to senior leadership.
Roles Involved:
Security Manager; coordinates with emergency responders and ensures evacuation protocols.
Health & Safety Department; oversees evacuation procedures and assists with muster point checks.
Senior Leadership; is updated on the situation as it unfolds, helping them communicate with external stakeholders.
When the alarm is triggered, the control room immediately dispatches an officer to assess the fire risk at the location. After a two-minute investigation, an automated alert is issued to building occupants through Zinc’s mass notification system. This alert delivers messages to all staff in the impacted areas, providing instructions on smartphones and screens across the facility. Fire marshals conduct a headcount at evacuation points and communicate clearance updates to the control room. Following a brief investigation, it is determined that the alarm was a false trigger caused by a faulty sensor. Once the building is confirmed to be secure, employees are allowed to re-enter.
With Zinc’s mass notification module, the control room team communicates to building teams, staff and occupiers via multiple channels and pre-determined escalation triggers.
15:03 – Loading Bay Chemical Spill Incident
A maintenance team reports a chemical spill in a loading bay area. The control room logs the hazard, initiates immediate containment, and notifies the Health & Safety team for further action.
Roles Involved:
Health & Safety Department; supervises the cleanup, verifying adherence to safety protocols.
Security Teams; secure the area to prevent unauthorised access during cleanup.
Control Room Operators; log the entire process, ensuring compliance documentation.
The control room coordinates with on-ground staff and the Health & Safety team to implement cleanup protocols. Zinc’s platform tracks the cleanup process in real-time and updates the control room, which monitors air quality levels in the area. The system also logs compliance checks for future audits.
Zinc’s platform is instrumental in reporting and managing health and safety concerns across the estate.
16:54 – Suspicious Bag
During a routine patrol, a security officer reports an unattended bag in a common area, triggering the suspicious package protocol. Using Zinc’s platform, the officer logs the incident, and the control room sends a notification to management and the site’s designated safety team. The officer completes the automated task to cordon off the area while a thorough risk assessment is conducted.
Roles Involved:
Security Teams; conduct scheduled patrols and log any unusual activity or incidents via Zinc’s mobile app.
Control Room Operators; monitor patrols in real time and respond to requests for additional coverage and escalates incidents when required.
Security Manager; reviews patrol logs to identify and address high-risk areas.
Senior Leadership; reviews compliance reports to confirm adherence to corporate policies and regulations.
Shortly after, a staff member approaches the security team to claim the bag, explaining it was accidentally left behind. Security verifies the individual’s identity and ownership of the bag before confirming its contents are harmless. The details of the interaction, including the staff member’s name, time of claim, and verification process, are logged in Zinc’s incident management system. This ensures a complete record is maintained for audit and training purposes.
The control room then clears the area and updates the incident log to reflect a resolved, non-threatening outcome.
Control room operators manage on-site security patrols with Zinc’s patrol management module, ensuring coverage of high-traffic areas. As teams patrol the premises, Zinc’s platform provides real-time updates, enabling the control room to track patrols and redirect them as necessary.
Ensuring compliance with industry regulations is a key function of the control room. Zinc’s platform enables automatic logging of compliance activities, such as safety drills, equipment inspections, and training completion, making documentation readily available for audits.
17:03 – Weather Alert – Snow
Throughout the day, Zinc’s platform pulls in threat intelligence from trusted sources. The platform identifies a weather warning for heavy snow inbound to the area, the control room sends the threat alert to senior leadership, who decide to send non-essential staff home. Mass notifications are sent, and Zinc’s platform tracks when employees safely exit the premises.
Roles Involved:
Control Room Operators; review threat intelligence feeds and escalate as needed.
Senior Leadership; receives regular briefings on threat levels, adjusting operational decisions as necessary.
Security Teams; implement additional security measures based on updated threat levels.
Using this module, operators analyse and verify these alerts, which may include weather warnings, protest alerts, or local crime reports. Verified information enables the control room to proactively adjust security protocols as necessary.
18:00 – Handover & Reporting – Wrapping up the day:
As the shift ends, the control room team prepares a handover report for the evening shift team, summarising incidents, threat assessments, and compliance checks. Zinc’s platform generates a daily report, providing a comprehensive overview that allows security managers and senior leadership to review the day’s security landscape.
Enhancing Safety Through Coordination and Technology
A day in the life of a corporate estate security control room is dynamic and demanding, requiring constant vigilance, seamless communication, and coordination across multiple teams. With Zinc’s platform, the control room has a robust, integrated solution that enables proactive incident management, efficient communication, and compliance tracking, ensuring the estate remains safe, secure, and resilient against both expected and unexpected challenges.
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