How Secure are Mobile Offices from Crime and Break-Ins?

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While isolated mobile offices look as though they are prone to prowlers and vulnerable to vandals, they’re actually much safer than meets the eye, thanks to a wide variety of available security components and accessories.
 
For starters, most mobile office units are steel-enforced — some made entirely from corrugated steel — and come with standard door and window locks. Security systems resembling those used to protect bank vaults include the Tri-Cam three-point interior locking system, which features interlocking bars and a D-ring plus discus mechanism. This is the system used by Mobile Mini of Tempe, Ariz., with which either a padlock or the company’s ContainerGuard Lock can be used. ContainerGuard’s all-steel construction with hidden six-pin tumblers and sheath is a sure foil for any burglar tool, from crowbar to drill.
 
In addition to the standard locks, “we have additional security options that we offer to make the containers more secure,” said Troy Hudson, sales specialist at Container Technology, Inc. of Morrow, Ga.
 
“We can install a lockbox on the double-doors, which helps protect a standard padlock from bolt-cutters, grinders, etc. We can also install our security swing-arm gate across the personnel door, which also has a lockbox on the end. The main door itself is an outward-swinging door with a lockable handle and deadbolt lock. If those handles were removed, an intruder would still have to work through the swing-arm to gain entry into the side door. We can also install a set of four security bars on each window.”
 
“We can put heavy-duty door bars and industrial-strength window screens on a unit if it’s a shady area, like a city, and the customer wants to prevent break-ins,” added Devin Alexander, inside sales rep at Williams-Scotsman of Baltimore, Md.
 
Deadbolt locks and security bars and screens are two of the three standard ways to beef up mobile office security, according to David Santos of Valtran, Inc., located in New Bedford, Mass. Single- and double-cylinder deadbolts are more difficult to unlock without the correct key than the more frequently used spring bolt lock. Moreover, the vertical deadbolt was designed by lock pioneer Samuel Segal to withstand pry-bar jimmying attempts. Security screens do not significantly block the sun from entering the office space, thus saving you electrical expenses during the day and easing the minds of workers and business clients with a clear indication of security.
 
Closed-circuit video monitoring is the third most common mobile office security measure. Placing multiple cameras facing different directions — or in separate rooms or trailer annexations walled or partitioned off from each other — allows for near ubiquitous coverage of your mobile office space. Camera images can then be captured on a console consisting of multiple monitors or a single split-screen monitor. “A closed-circuit television system provides a reliable means for you or your security team to keep tabs on several areas of your office simultaneously,” said a spokesperson for Cassone Leasing of Ronkonkoma, NY.
 
A mobile office trailer itself can also provide added security to a company property as a checkpoint or guardhouse for security guards to check IDs, grant visitor passes, record license plates of incoming cars, and more. “Threats against personal safety, security for financial information gathered during transactions, concerns about break-ins or issues in a parking lot or garage, can all be addressed through the use of on-site security services,” Santos added.