As a business or company owner, you are legally obligated to keep your staff’s workplace safe, even if it’s just the parking lot. To extend the security of the working environment outside of the office building, office parking lot safety is crucial.
Office parking lots can be threatening, as you are most vulnerable when you leave the office for the day and walk to your car. You pay less attention to your surroundings during this time. An office parking lot also needs proper attention over different seasons and weather conditions.
Here are seven essential tips to be followed to maintain a safe and secure office parking lot.
1. Hiring Security Personals
A key factor in the area’s safety is the security personnel stationed around the parking lot. When hiring trained security officers, make sure you hire them based on their ability to work on flexible schedules.
This is because criminals first try to read the working schedule of the officers to predict a gap in security coverage. But by working on flexible timings, this prediction becomes difficult.
2. Installing an Adequate Surveillance System
In the US, parking lots are the third-most common location for violent crimes like kidnapping, vehicle theft, property theft, and accidents. CCTV cameras keep track of and immediately record events like thefts and accidents. Installing highly configured camera systems with higher resolution is a must.
It is highly recommended to use a surveillance system consisting of IP cameras, as they require less cabling. This one operates by transmitting video to a network video recorder that makes use of power over an Ethernet network.
Make sure your CCTV cameras come with facilities like night vision and motion sensors and are resilient enough to withstand adverse weather conditions.
3. Proper Indoor and Outdoor Lighting
If your office parking lot is indoors, it requires good lighting for traffic and pedestrians, but it also needs to reduce shadows beyond these areas so that attackers or thieves can’t hide there. Elevators and stairwells should have proper lighting as these places are prone to high risks.
Minimize glare, uplight, and backlight with enough illumination for outdoor parking lots. The CCT (correlate color temperature) range of 3500k–5000k is suggested for outdoor parking lights. The CCT refers to “warm white” or “cool white” colors that the human eye perceives.
Adequate lighting also helps to illuminate blind spots and shadows and helps in easy CCTV monitoring of the parking lot.
4. Parking Ground Maintenance and Care
People usually don’t notice the surface while walking in the parking lot. People can trip and fall on the cracks and thorns on the ground. This is more common in an office environment because, after the end of the shift, employees are usually in a hurry to get home.
The grounds can deteriorate over years of vehicle use. Signs of wear and tear must be treated as soon as feasible to prevent the emergence of more expensive problems. Your office parking lot can last longer with preventive maintenance such as seal coating, crack sealing, and asphalt restoration.
Ensure that sidewalks, paths, and other surfaces are free of obstructions like holes, poles, debris, or pebbles that could cause a slip and fall. A proper drainage system is also necessary during harsh winter and rainy weather, especially for outdoor office parking lots. There should be no water bodies in the walkways or parking areas.
5. Implementing Necessary Signs and Barriers
It’s important that your office parking lot design and structure comply with state parking regulations and local and state codes regarding parking lot signs, barriers, and indicators. This helps your employees with a safe and better parking experience.
The No Parking and Accessible Parking Sign
This is necessary when heavy vehicles like trucks for office supplies or machinery are to be parked in the parking lot. Using the normal parking space can obstruct the easy passage of other vehicles.
Directional Arrows and Signs
Accidents are the last thing you want to happen in your office parking lot. Make sure that traffic routes are marked with arrows and directional signs to avoid collisions. You can use yellow and black paint along the walls or reflective tape to place the necessary signs for the directions.
Stop/Do Not Cross Barriers and Speed Bumps
The stop barriers are used while repairing the parking surface or during situations like loading or unloading heavy materials. Polyester tape is used as a barrier to surround the specific areas of the parking lot to prevent accidents. Speed bumps are needed for controlled speed while taking a curve.
No Cell Phone/Text Sign
These signs are necessary to raise a sense of awareness among office employees. A lot of car accidents happen in the parking lot due to a lack of proper concentration while talking on the phone or texting while driving. The results of a collision with a car can be fatal.
6. Emergency Phone Booth
If the office parking lot is big enough, you might consider installing one or more phone booths for urgent situations your employees might face. Having these emergency phone booths around the parking area deters crime and guarantees that assistance will be provided quickly in case of an emergency.
The panic button of the booth raises the alarm system and alerts the security officers to be aware of any misconduct in the area.
7. Planting Greens
You will be surprised to know that the parking lot contains a lot of pollution. Cars and motorcycles emit gasses and leak toxic materials like grease and oil all over the parking area.
Moreover, due to a lack of trees and plants, office parking lots can emit large quantities of carbon dioxide, making them unhealthy for your employees.
Everybody looks for a shady spot while parking their vehicle. For the outdoor office parking lot, you can plant trees to cope with the heat and sunlight. An office parking lot is not ideal for trees and plants. Some trees attract flies and insects, and you don’t want your employees to have to deal with that.
Elm trees are an ideal choice as they are salt-tolerant by nature. Maple and oak trees can also be planted as they grow tall enough and are narrower.
Conclusion
An office parking lot can be a safe and secure place for both people and vehicles with the right safety precautions and proper maintenance with attention to health measures.
Our seven tips can help your office parking lot be a more accessible and friendly space for your employees.
