Keyholding is a service whereby a security company (with an SIA approved contractor) will hold and safely store a set of keys and/or alarm access codes for client commercial premises.
Security companies must store keys and access codes in line with relevant British standards for the industry. This means that particular key practices and processes must be adhered to, such as:
- Client keys must be kept in a secure location with two forms of restricted access. This could be in the form of 2 coded doors, or 1 coded door and 1 key-only access door, for example.
This ensures that client property is kept safe, secure and that no unauthorised access is allowed. Only SIA-accredited security officers will have access to client premises.
Not only are these key practices adhered to at all times by the team at Key Control Services, all of our processes are audited internally and externally by auditing bodies, such as Alcumus and NSI inspectorate.
Keyholding services can really benefit a business. It allows you to keep your staff safe and have the protection of our trained security officers, 24/7.
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What is keyholder response?
Keyholder response refers to when a registered keyholder of a property responds to incidents, such as alarm activation or out-of-hours building damage.
The named keyholder could be one of the following:
- The building owner
- The Director or Manager of the business
- A member of staff
Being a keyholder may mean that you have to attend your business premises at inconvenient times or in dangerous situations. This is why enlisting the help of a keyholding company can be really beneficial to staff and to everyday business practices.
What does a key holding company do?
A keyholding company will be responsible for holding and storing your business premise keys and/or alarm access codes. They will attend your business premises for many reasons, such as when your alarm is activated or there are reports of a break in.
Your keys will be kept securely in an off-site location and will only be accessed by accredited security professionals in the event of an incident at your commercial location. This way, none of your staff have to risk attending a dangerous situation in unsociable hours.
How does keyholding work?
In the initial stages, our security team will assess your premises and will become familiar with the location. This will include an initial site survey, where we will aim to understand all areas of your business premises, such as points of access, windows, coded or key-lock doors and gates.
We will then collect our set of keys for the building, any external entry points and/or alarm codes. These will be stored safely and securely at all times.
From then, our keyholding service is simple and works as follows:
- A trained security officer will visit your premises in the event of alarm activation, reports of a break in or significant property damage.
[If you want to attend the premises with our security officers, you may be interested in our Key Holder Assist Services which allow you to be accompanied to alarm activation call outs.]
- The security officer will check the premises for intruders or damage and carry out any necessary, further action. This could include:
- Requesting police presence;
- Boarding up broken windows or securing doors;
- Turning off water or electricity if there is relevant damage.
- Our officers will then reset any alarms and re-secure all entry points.
- A full detailed report will be written up and sent to you in PDF form – this will give you all the details of the incident and ensure that you understand exactly what happened and what the next steps need to be.
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What are the benefits of using keyholding services?
There are so many benefits to investing in key holding services. Our services help to promote safety, productivity and security in the workplace.
Ensure staff safety
Having our trained security officers attend incidents at your property is far safer than expecting staff to attend. Our officers have plenty of experience with out-of-hours alarm activation and can undertake the correct procedures to ensure that everyone is kept safe.
Why send a member of staff out in the middle of the night, when you can have a trained security professional on call 24/7 to be deployed quickly?
Increase work efficiency and productivity
It may currently be a manager of the business or a director that attends alarm activations. Managers may have an important meeting the next day, so having them going out late at night is less than ideal.
Having managers or general staff on call is also known to reduce productivity.
Having keyholding services in place is great for business continuity and it helps to lessen the impact on business through inconvenient interruption. We can assist your business no matter where you are – we offer keyholding services in Manchester and throughout the UK.
Save money
Keyholding services may offer the opportunity to reduce insurance premiums. Having a registered key holder that is highly trained may prompt insurance providers to lower premiums, helping you save money in the long term.
Our services also help to reduce financial impact on your business. We deal with more than just simple alarm activations, such as:
- Burst water pipe: If a water pipe has burst at your property, our staff can be there asap, 24/7 to attend and turn off the water supply. This could greatly lessen the impact of water damage on your property and goods.
- Stormy conditions: Maybe a severe storm has blown some of your roof tiles off – this can be reported and our officers could attend out of hours and secure the property. This will reduce the risk of break-ins and will also eliminate the chances of water damage.
You may also have to pay staff extra to be a registered keyholder. It makes sense to pay a highly trained, on-call officer rather than relying on staff to deal with property issues effectively.
Save money with key holding and alarm response services today
Additional security measures
We are available, on-call 24/7. Our rapid response officers are experienced in dealing with alarm activations, so your premises will always benefit from our protection.
If there is a break-in, we can deal with the issue and notify you before you attend the premises. This ensures that no staff have to walk into a bad surprise in the morning!
We can board up windows and doors and can even arrange a locksmith to replace crucial locks, ensuring that your business is fully secured before we leave and limiting the impact on your working day.
We also have extensive technical knowledge, so can detect whether an alarm has been falsely activated or damaged. This stops any waste of unnecessary emergency service response.
Benefit no matter what industry
We work with a large range of businesses from all industries to ensure ultimate safety and security. Our services have benefited a lot of business sectors, including:
- Offices
- Retail
- Call Centres
- Schools
- Factories
- Hospitality, Pubs, Restaurants and Hotels
… and many more.
Key Holding and Alarm Activation Response with Key Control Services
Keyholding and alarm response services can really benefit a business. It helps to keep staff and commercial premises safe.
We are SIA accredited and our professional, trustworthy security team are on hand 24/7 to attend your premises and keep it secure. Purchase online today and pay a one-off fee for a 12 month contract, or spread the cost over 12 manageable payments.
For more information about our keyholding and alarm response services in Bolton or throughout the UK, get in touch with our team today. We can also discuss multiple site locations.
Alternatively, fill in the contact form below for a free quote! We can chat with you about our services and plan a date to visit your business.