BRINGING IN THE PROS Third-party management firms often leave building security in the hands of the experts. "We have long hired security services from professional security providers," says Frank Thayer, vice president of technical services with Jones Lang LaSalle, a company that manages 41.5 million square feet in the Southeast. "Many of these firms have significant depth of experience. A number of them can provide a range of services. In addition to providing security guards, they can also provide security consulting and security auditing." He adds, "We see them not only as providing security but as being part of the solution in terms of advising us on what is going on in the industry." As Thayer says, there is a great deal of technology involved in security. However, "none of these [technological advances] is going to be the magic bullet that keeps our buildings secure. It is going to be a combination of fundamentals and some high-tech," he stresses. "There are a lot of little things that add up to good security." It is important, he explains, to make sure the people who have keys to secure areas are the people who are supposed to have keys. He adds that observant security teams that move around common areas are also vital components of building security. "Some buildings have elected to have security audits done by professional, highly skilled consultants to evaluate their current situation and to make sure they are keeping their systems sharp. I think over the long haul that is one of the things that will become critical," Thayer says. Next month, Southeast Real Estate Business will talk with national security expert Richard Maurer about security fundamentals and the latest technology involved in building security.

Across the nation, companies are reviewing and increasing security in their buildings. "Security in buildings has come to the top of any landlord/owner's list. It is also certainly one of the top things on a tenant's list. The landlord is worried about liability, and tenants want to take the position that [security] is the landlord's problem," says Jay Schwartz, partner with Atlanta law firm Smith, Gambrell & Russell. And where owners and tenants are concerned, so are third-party management companies.

Role of the Third-Party Management Company

"Generally speaking, third-party management companies' contracts do not include security as part of them, because we are not in the security business," says Wayne Etheridge, executive vice president, Southern region, with Insignia/ESG, a company that manages 35 million square feet of property in the South. "We manage the security for a property, meaning we, in the name of the owner or the property, hire a security company. Our role is to maintain supervision of the company, which means our property managers are charged with making sure security is onsite, complying with their agreement and providing the amount of security that is being purchased."

Eric Mandus, also a partner with Smith, Gambrell & Russell, further explains, "In the typical landlord's lease, they tend not to address [security] too much. But significant tenants will often require the landlord to maintain security, and most landlords will agree to that although they typically put in their exclusionary language. Most owners believe they have an obligation notwithstanding what is in the leases to provide security, particularly with regard to known problems. In most first class buildings, it is just considered a building amenity that they are going to have to provide."

"I think ultimately you see the landlord step up to the plate and provide the security coverage although they are very wary and try to stay away from liability issues as best they can," adds Mandus. Specific to managers of high-rise office buildings, he says, "They are trying to create a competitive building. In order to create a competitive building, you've got to provide a certain level of security. If your tenants don't feel safe, it is hard to lease your space. I think they are driven as much by market considerations as they are by legal considerations."

"Security is a key service program for us," says Carter & Associates' Mark Dukes, director of property management at Northpark Town Center, a three-tower, 1.5 million-square-foot office property in Atlanta. Northpark Town Center houses more than 100 companies. Some of these companies lease as much as 100,000 to 200,000 square feet, according to Dukes. Atlanta-based Carter & Associates manages more than 22 million square feet in the Southeast, including Northpark Town Center.

"The security patrol service we have at Northpark is contracted out and we manage that contract," says Dukes. Security team members "meet and greet visitors. They are on the property at all hours, so they see things that are out of the ordinary. We train our officers to be aware of their surroundings when they are walking through the property." In particular, security officers notice security and maintenance issues as well as risk management issues, such as spills and other fall hazards.

One of the challenges of multi-tenant facilities, according to Dukes, is meeting the individual needs of multiple companies, especially in terms of creating a welcoming atmosphere. Many companies "have visitors and first time employees showing up. A big challenge for us is that we really have to stay open, especially during business hours," says Dukes. "While we've tried to fine-tune our security procedures so everyone feels safe, we won't have a lock down, total-security-access environment here. Visitors and guests need to feel they can come and go freely."

Another challenge is having tenants that allow employees to leave the office with equipment. "We don't block people from leaving the building every time they leave with their laptop. That's not the environment here," notes Dukes.

Security goes beyond keeping criminals out and developing emergency procedures, stresses Etheridge. "There are a number of other issues related to security, like safety issues, product issues, utilization of OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) and making sure we are in compliance with codes."

"Security teams really do get involved in a lot of different types of things. Technically they are customer representatives just like the rest of us," says Dukes. "Those folks are monitoring more than just who is coming and going. They are monitoring life safety systems, elevator systems and mechanical systems. If any of our cooling systems, for example, have a failure at night or problem at night, they let us know."

And being prepared for emergencies is a big part of security. Carter & Associates has recommended emergency guidelines available to all tenants in written form. However, says Dukes, the building owner does not have the right to mandate that tenants come up with similar plans. "Security has been something people have brushed aside in the past," states Dukes, citing reluctance to participate in fire drills and inattentiveness to evacuation routes. "As a landlord representative in a multi-tenant situation, we have the ability to make recommendations and strongly advise, but we don't say to tenants, 'You are not doing this right.' It is a lease situation. They have the right to use the space," he explains.

When tenants do choose to come up with their own emergency procedures, management companies often work with tenants to develop their own security policies and procedures. Dukes says he has met with tenants since September 11 to work on developing procedures they lacked. "Security and safety are making their way to where they really belong, in the forefront of people's minds," he says.

Beyond lease contracts, there are also legal considerations that guide owners and managers in the amount of security they must provide. While each state has different laws, there is generally a recognition that "property owners have a duty to warn or protect people against known risk," says Mandus, adding, "There has been some debate about what that exactly means. In some situations, there has been some occurrence that took place, notifying the landlord there was a problem. You get into issues about how similar that incident was to the subsequent incident that occurred. In other words, if somebody was breaking into cars in the parking lot, does that mean that the landlord was under a duty to protect the people who parked in that garage against rape? A plaintiff's attorney will say, 'Certainly, yes, they had notice of this problem.' But a landlord's attorney would say, 'No, they had notice of car break-ins. They didn't have notice of a rape problem.' So you get into all these arguments about what the landlord knew and what the landlord was required to protect against."

Terrorism Will Affect Building Leases

"Here is the ultimate rub," says Mandus. "Either the owner or the operator is going to require the other to maintain liability insurance and name both of them as insureds. Ultimately, they are both looking to an insurance carrier to cover the risk. This works okay historically, but it is becoming an issue with the terrorist threat. More and more insurance carriers are wanting to add terrorism exclusion to their policies."

"I think we will see terrorism affect the way leases are negotiated in the future," Schwartz adds. "I am not sure that the terms of a lot of leases really address terrorism and security to the extent that they will coming up. In the lease today, the rules and regulations give the landlord the right to institute security that the landlord deems necessary for the efficient and safe operation of the building."

Schwartz explains that typical leases spell out opening and closing hours but not much else. Leases will become more specific in terms of security in coming years and they will address the cost of security, including security upgrades, as a specific cost to be passed on to tenants, he says.

Coordinating Security One thing Dukes finds crucial to coordinating security in a multi-tenant building is communication. With approximately 5,000 people working on the property, Dukes says tenant representatives play an important role in the building's security. These people, whom he calls "floor wardens," are responsible for communication between property managers and tenants on a regular basis as well as during emergency situations. Floor wardens help streamline communication. These are the contacts that building owner representatives use to disseminate information about new programs and changes, says Dukes. "They are charged with getting the communication throughout their employee base, so we don't have all the employees from that company calling us for the same things."

Floor wardens also play a role in building access. New employees go through Carter & Associates to get access cards, but, Dukes explains, "We need to have authorization that John Smith started working for X Company on the seventh floor and he needs an access card. He can't come to the office and say, 'My name is John Smith and they just hired me up there,'" explains Dukes.

He also says the company's Web site is a vehicle for communication on many matters, including security. "We have all the different manuals and documents on hardcopy and available to all tenants, but we have found that anything we publish on our Web site is easy for people to access where they are," he explains.

Tenant manuals have emergency information, including what the security teams will do and what floor wardens are expected to do during emergency situations. The manuals also have tips to help prevent emergencies.

Further, such communication should be short and simple. People are not going to read several hundred pages, repetitive information or information that pertains to other offices, says Dukes. He adds, "My advice would be to take a site plan of the space, put a big red dot where the exit door is and place that in different places throughout the suite, so that when employees are on the way to get a cup of coffee, they are reminded how to get out of the building."

Another facet of corporate communication is the orientation process. Dukes stresses the need for office managers and administrative managers to mention emergency exits at some point during the orientation of new employees. "It is surprising how people neglect that sort of thing. They teach new employees everything about the company, how to use the e-mail system and where the restrooms are. They walk right past the stairwell and don't say, 'Oh, and by the way, if there is an emergencySç' That is really all you have to do. Make sure these folks realize how to get from their cubicle in the middle of cube-farm to the exit door, to the stairwell and out of the building."

©2002 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.