Building Management System - Report Example

Building Management System Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Building Management System Introduction Apparently, security managers play an instrumental role in ensuring safety of people and property (Olson & Wu, 2010). Therefore, business owners should ensure that they install effective security systems to reduce premises’ risks to internal and external threats. On the other hand, facility managers are planners who oversee smooth running of all operations in a facility. The following paper wishes to provide reasons why both security and facility managers need to work together. In doing so, the paper will start by outlining the main responsibilities of security and facility managers before discussing the relevance of their working relationship. The Responsibilities of Facility Managers Notably, a facility managers is a strategic planner who is plays a critical role of helping in organizing daily operations of a given facility as well giving special attention to the premises in which a particular building is located (Plunkett, 2008). In this way, a facility manager is responsible for overseeing different aspects of activities in a premise which include management of vendors and contractors in organizing and arranging for the maintenance of the premise as well as looking for new ways of lowering costs (Monczka, 2011). In this case, it is important to note that as facility managers, being able to properly multitask is one of the key essentials for achieving success. As the name suggests, management is the main general responsibility of a facility manager (Moeller, 2011). Therefore, a facility manager is often heavily involved in the daily management of employee maintenance such as cleaners, messenger’s, among others on a given premise. The facility manger is also responsible for organizing these employees into teams with the objective of meeting the set goals for the business. Apparently, a facility manager may as well work to implement and develop employee schedules and dealing with other minor problems that may arise among workers. At the same time, a facility manager will be expected to ensure that he or she complies with both state and local safety requirements for the premises including organizing for employees training , inspections of the facility as well as security issues of the premises. Further, facility managers are deeply involved in maintenance issues at a premise. Importantly maintenance entails an all-encompassing category which includes premises, building, and any equipment that is located on a property (Jennex, 2008). In fact, maintenance is considered as one of the most critical priorities for any facility managers especially in making sure that all areas of the premise are effectively maintained as well as ensuring that they are kept in good working order at all times. Specifically, it should be noted that facility managers are also responsible for the cleanliness of the premise by for instance ensuring that any catering or vending in the premise meets the requirements of codes. The responsibility of ensuring that available space is used efficiently is all stakeholders are also one of the key roles of facility managers. Although in some cases contractual obligations may be assigned to other persons, facility managers are also in charge of ensuring that negotiated contacts with vendors and clients who may be working on the business are properly undertaken (Kouzmin, 2015). Notably the contracts may range from advertising to catering and lawn care in most cases. As facility managers, it is critically important note that before agreeing to any contractual services from a given vendor, they need to first obtain bids for the respective service from various providers in order to make sure that the facility is getting the maximum benefit for the money that is being used. In this way, facility managers are tasked to draft and review any necessary contracts after the price has been agreed upon including the preparation of presentation or documentation on the work being conducted for the owners of the facility or business (Afren, 2010). Finally, after all the work has been completed, facility managers must ensure that it is completed on time based on the contents of the agreement. Another responsibility of facility managers is the management of operational costs, which one of the key task in a given premise. Facility managers are required to come up with strategies and ways of cutting out costs while at the same time maintaining the business premises. In this way, facility managers are tasked with the role of creating budget for all expenditures from their departments and work throughout the business year in order to keep the costs at reasonable levels of the amount budgeted. Strategic adjustments on emergency basis are as well expected to be made by the facility managers. Finally, as facility managers it the responsibility to make sure all expenditures are working effectively and that budgeting process follows business policies and other codes of ethics with the aim of creating a more efficient working environment. The Role of Security Manager Security of a building or a business premises entails many aspects such as physical security of ensuring that property and people in the facility are well screened among other responsibility (Kendrick, 2009). However, ensuring that all systems and process are working properly to minimize the possibility of accidents or intended crime, security mangers faced enormous responsibility that requires collaboration with other stakeholders such as the facility managers. At the same time, it is crucially important to ensure that electrical systems and automated systems are updated and regularly checked to guarantee safety for not only those working in a facility but also the property in the premises and the entire building (Bedeian & Wren, 2009). However, it is crucial to underscore the fact that in large organizations, the role of security managers is divided into two which include technical security and program security. Under technical security, security managers are in charge of systems as well as the team has been tasked with their management. In such scenario, security managers’ typical set of controls include data leakage protection, firewalls, international business systems, patching, vulnerability scanning, encryption, pen testing, among others. On the other hand, in program security, security managers are expected to be highly engaged in not only risk mitigation but also risk management (Hampton, 2009). Typically, security managers will be involved in the evaluation of vendor risks, examination of vendor terms of service or contracts, assisting various teams in the organization to understand different policies such as third-party risk and data privacy issue among others. Based on the above reality, one of the core responsibilities of security managers is to ensure that crimes are not only prevented but also investigated (Jacoby, 2010). Admittedly, it is not possible to completely eliminate security risks at a facility but security managers are tasked with minimization of crime by prepetition risky routes through which criminal can use to affect systems in facility. For instance, it is the responsibility of security managers to make sure that fire equipment is at the right place and at the right time. However, the prevention of crime for the security managers also entails launching an investigation on the cause and the best strategies to be put in place to avert reoccurrence of a crime or an accident. In this case, security managers have the responsibility of providing recommendations on what needs to be done by the other leadership and departments based on the outcome of an investigation. Further, security managers are responsible for ensuring that they work in liaison with other relevant departments and agencies such as cybercrime fire and safety bodies (Rubenstein & Geyser, 2013). Importantly, by working in liaison with such bodies, security managers are able to be updated on the changing faces and tactics of threats which informs the strategies to be taken to minimize the risks for a given facility. At the same time, liaison helps to understand what is expected of a business or premises in terms of following the regulations in the security aspects. Additionally, it is the responsibility of security managers to ensure that they monitor all operations and infrastructure as well as maintaining all security technology and tools (Lambert, 2008)... Notably, security managers should monitor security systems or issues that may in one way affect the smooth running of operations in a premise. For example, security managers should regular go through logs and alerts to avert any security threats. Maintaining tools as well as technology aspects of a facility could either be a shared responsibility or required of one’s leadership. Other responsibilities of security managers include monitoring compliance to regulation, implementing new security technologies, continuously auditing policies as well as controls, ensuring security stays on the facility’s radar and detailing out the security incident response program. The Relevance of Working Together Between Security and Facility Manager In references to the roles and responsibilities of both security and facility managers, it is clear that there is every reason why the two should work together. However it would be important to point out that the level of cooperation between Security and Facility Manager may be determined by the organizational policies and structure. Despite this, in most cases, if facility managers have been given the role of overseeing security systems, fire prevention systems and security staff, the management may have junior staff personnel such as sectional supervisors who will be supervising all issues security but report to the manager. Therefore, it should be underlined that facility managers must work in liaison with their security counterparts in ensuring that the facility is secured. Secondly, both Security and Facility Managers must work together in order to obtain security systems or equipment (Maier, 2014). Depending on the level of authority, the security manager is expected to recommend the required changes with the intention of improving the security of the facility to the facility manager (Leeman, 2010). On his side, the security manager should present the recommendations to the owner of the premise or contract with an outside firm in making necessary upgrades. During the upgrading of security systems, Security Managers are instrumental in advising the facility management on the best ways of repairing electrical, installation of HVAC systems including making sure those escalators and elevators are properly working. In addition, working together between security and facility managers plays a pivotal role of promoting and improving security of a premise (Lam, 2013). As noted above, one of the key roles of security mangers is the implementation of new security technologies. In this way, the security manager is expected to evaluate the existing technology and recommend the most suitable application for security issues. By working together with the facility manager, security manager is able think widely based on the security concerns that facility manager might be having. A closer relationship between the two helps in providing and articulating security issues with clarity. In this way, security manager is able to take necessary interventions. On the other hand, one of the roles of facility manager is to oversee all operations and mobilizing employee towards achieving specific goals (Monahan, 2008). On his side, security manager is expected to come up with suitable policy frameworks that will enhance safety of the employees as well as the property in the facility. In this way, facility manager has to understand the contents of the recommended security policies in order to oversee their enforcement. However, the security manager has the responsibility of explaining the new security strategies to the facility manager and other employees in the premises such as through the use of notice boards or workshops. Moreover, working together between security and facility manager’s help in the problem solving process. Notably, if there is any security problem or threat, pooling different skills and knowledge creates a pool of ideas that inform the solution to be applied. For example, if there are new technics of cybercrime that puts the premise in high risk of attack, both security and facility managers can pool their ideas tighter based on their personal experiences and knowledge and devise ways of handing such as threat. At the same time, sharing ideas in tackling security issues helps in saving time and energy. The working relationship between security and facility managers is helpful in detailing out the security incident response program (Marchetti, 2012). Admittedly, all facilities, especially the large ones are expected to have security response programs which need to be understood by all stakeholders. In developing such a program, the two mangers will work together in knowing the most vulnerable areas, the number of employees in the facility and how to reorganize them among others. Definitely, security and facility managers will have to cooperate in order to develop a program that will make the facility even more secure and less vulnerable to internal or external threats. As described above, one of the main responsibilities of security and facility managers is to work with other departments and agencies for the success of business in all matters including security. In this case, the main goal of security manager is to reduce the risk as much as possible. The security managers should work from technical controls to policy formulations with facility manager and other personnel within the premise in order to bring everyone on the same page. Conclusion The following paper has discussed the role of security and facility managers and the reason why they should work together. Based on the above analysis, it is clear that security managers are helpful to facility managers and vice versa in many ways. References Afren, K. A. (2010). Building Management System. 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