When your place of business needs custodial work, general maintenance or repairs, you want to find workers that can do the job affordably. Sometimes, considering their moral fiber and trustworthiness falls to the wayside. The most commonly stolen assets from employers are money and time, and maintenance workers could be part of this issue.

Follow these security tips when maintenance workers are in your building.

1. Establish Clear Expectations

It’s not always easy to predict how long a maintenance project will take.

Prior to starting, have a discussion with the hired workers to overview a timeline. Understanding the timeline allows for both parties to know the expectations of each other. This also presents an opportunity to review where they will be working. Particularly, these topics should be discussed:

  • Start and end dates. What days will they start and end the project?
  • Working hours and lunch break times, When will they be entering and exiting the building? Is it during your work hours? When will they be stopping work for breaks, and do they leave the premises at that time?
  • Spaces they can use. In which areas will they be working? Where are they permitted to go besides work zones? Are there areas they cannot enter? Using an access control system is an effective way to give them the access they need.

This conversation will ensure all parties are on the same page to ensure quality work and maximum security.

2. Monitor Affected Spaces

In the event that employees are unable to work in the office space during maintenance projects, consider monitoring work spaces with equipment, such as video surveillance that is viewable from your smartphone. Whether you’re protecting from theft, building damage or after-hours burglary, video surveillance is a 24/7 solution. Beyond monitoring spaces being utilized by maintenance workers, consider installing them near these locations:

  • Entryways and exits
  • Employee break rooms
  • Rooms with expensive equipment or sensitive documents
  • Windows

Review your legal liabilities before choosing video surveillance locations. There are certain spaces in which you are prohibited to record visual or audio footage. Check local and state laws, and use signage to signal your use of cameras.

3. Promote Safety and Building Efficiency

There are a myriad of effective solutions other than video surveillance to secure your business. Because maintenance workers will have a more intimate understanding of your building after their work, you can’t rule out their ability to break in beyond working hours or after their contract ends.

Ask yourself, “Is my business security up to par?” Also, look at the risks that are posed by the newly idle or vacant spaces in your workplace. They become vulnerable to new problems like fire and flooding.

Review these other measures for protecting your business:

  • Monitored burglar, fire, and carbon monoxide alarms. This equipment is especially useful during maintenance when work on the building could cause security breaches or fires from electrical adjustments.
  • Mobile solutions. Have the ability to arm your system, check on your building’s status, lock and unlock doors and watch a security feed even if you are away.
  • Energy management. When maintenance is being performed, consider reevaluating your energy systems to see if your business is efficient. Energy management systems help you measure this efficiency.
  • Environmental hazard monitoring. Systems that include hazard monitoring are also especially useful during maintenance. They can detect pipes bursting, floods, or other environmental factors that become more likely as the building receives modifications.