Warehouse Security Audit Checklist

A security audit tells you where your warehouse is exposed.

It protects your stock and people, giving you a provable record to show your insurer or any customer who asks about how your site is secured and how your security is reviewed.

Most warehouse security advice is a list of measures, which means knowing what to look at on your own site (and what to do with what you find) is the harder part.

This warehouse security audit checklist covers everything, zone by zone.

What A Warehouse Security Audit Covers

A warehouse security audit is a structured check of how well your site keeps people out who shouldn’t be there. Or how you monitor and control the people who can be inside.

It covers your physical security (fences, doors, locks and lighting etc), your security systems and guarding levels, as well as the procedures your staff follow every day.

A good security audit makes sure each of these security levels is doing the job it’s meant to – or uncover potential room for improvement – and it’s the groundwork for keeping your warehouse secure once all the gaps are closed.

Before You Walk Your Site

Before you start any audit, think about the prep you need, which is what will guide what your audit is looking for.

Start by setting the scope for your audit.

Are you reviewing the whole site, or the zones that have changed since your last audit?

In theory, it follows the same logic as a corporate security assessment.

Then bring in your site or warehouse manager (people who know your site well), someone from operations who knows the yard and the loading schedule, HR or whoever handles access for starters and leavers, and include your security provider.

Talk to your warehouse employees on each shift too. They’ll know which doors get propped open and how things realistically work on a shift, or what people do without thinking that could create a security risk.

You should also look to get hold of as much information as you can on how your security has performed in the past. This could be things like:

• Your incident and loss log, including any unexplained inventory discrepancies
• Alarm activations and false alarm history
• Your CCTV camera list and recording retention period
• Your access control user list and key register
• Visitor and contractor logs
• Your insurer’s security requirements
• Your last audit, and what happened to its actions

Any walkthrough should also be planned in twice. Once during the day and again at night.

What looks ok in broad daylight could look different in the dark, particularly when it comes to understanding how well security lights highlight areas, or create blind spots.

There’s no legal requirement for how often you run a warehouse safety inspection checklist, but we’d advise a full audit at least once a year, with monthly or quarterly spot checks on your highest-risk items.

If something happens in between planned reviews, bring the full audit forward and review everything from scratch.

Your Zone By Zone Warehouse Security Audit Checklist

Work through each zone and mark every item.

Note your evidence beside each mark (a photo, a log entry or a name).

Use the same warehouse audit checklist every time, so this year’s results compare with last year’s.

Perimeter, Fencing & Lighting

Your perimeter is the first thing anyone weighing up your site looks at and it can either deter someone from trying to get in, or make you look like an easy target.

So check it the same way an intruder would, looking from outside your fence.

• Are fences and gates intact, with no gaps, damage or lifted panels?
• Is the ground beside the fence clear of things like stacked pallets, skips or parked vehicles that could help someone climb over?
• Is vegetation cut back so it doesn’t block sightlines or camera views?
• Does enough lighting cover the whole perimeter, with timers that match your working hours?
• Are warning signs easily visible at every entrance?
• On high-value sites, are fences and gates rated to LPS 1175, the Loss Prevention Standard for the attack resistance of physical security products?

Gatehouse, Yard & Vehicle Control

Every load crosses your yard, so controlling vehicles is essential for controlling people and stock moving in, out and around your warehouse. A well-run gatehouse security operation makes most of these checks routine.

• Is there one controlled vehicle entrance, with any others locked or staffed?
• Is driver ID and paperwork checked against a booked delivery?
• Is every vehicle logged in and out, with times and registrations?
• Does traffic volume justify ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) at the gate?
• Are trailers parked out of hours in a secured, lit area?
• Are seal numbers recorded on arrival and on departure?
• Do drivers wait in a designated area, rather than walking your yard freely?

If you run a bonded warehouse (one approved by HMRC to hold goods before duty is paid) or hold Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status, check your approval conditions. Your gate and seal records may be part of what you have to provide evidence for.

Loading Bays, Goods In & Goods Out

In our experience, your loading bay is where warehouses are most exposed. It’s where your building is open to outside vehicles, with goods changing hands under time pressure. There’s also a large number of people walking around and new faces won’t always be a source of concern.

• Are dock doors and shutters closed between loads?
• Are drivers kept off your warehouse floor?
• Are seal numbers checked against paperwork before a trailer is opened?
• Are goods counted and reconciled at the bay, with discrepancies reported quickly?
• Does CCTV cover every bay, with an image clear enough to identify someone if you need to?
• Are returns and damaged goods handled in a separate, controlled area?

If the same lines or shifts keep showing unexplained inventory discrepancies, treat that as a security finding.

Doors, Shutters, Roof & Fire Exits

• Are fire exits alarmed and checked for being propped open?
• Are emergency exits clearly marked, unobstructed and never locked shut? (Escape routes have to stay usable at all times, so your security measures must work around them.)
• Are manual overrides on roller shutters locked?
• Are roof ladders, hatches and access points secured?
• Are skylights and roof lights protected?
• Do personnel doors close and latch on their own?

High-Value Stock & Restricted Areas

Your highest-value lines deserve their own layer of security inside the building.

• Is high-value stock held in a cage or secure room?
• Is entry limited to authorised personnel, with separate access permissions?
• Can CCTV see into the area, or has racking blocked the view?
• Are high-value lines counted more often than general stock?
• Is there a current list of who holds keys or codes to these areas?

Access Control, Keys & Visitors

Access control systems (keycards, fobs or biometric readers) are only as reliable as your records for who’s authorised to enter your warehouse, or not. So access control checks should cover people as well as your technology and processes.

• Are leavers’ fobs and codes removed on their last day?
• Is the full user list reviewed on a set schedule?
• Are PIN codes personal, rather than shared across a team?
• Is there a current key register, including master keys?
• Is the keyholder list up to date?
• Are visitors and contractors signed in, badged and escorted where needed?

CCTV, Alarms & Response

Don’t just treat this as a checklist that the solutions are present. Your audit should include a working test of each system so you know it’ll work when it needs to.

• Is every camera working, recording and aimed at what it should cover, with clean lenses?
• Is the night-time image good enough to identify a person or a vehicle in an incident?
• Is the retention period set and justified, with signage, in line with the ICO’s video surveillance guidance?
• Are the security cameras and alarm systems monitored? That could be an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC), or a National Operations Centre (NOC) like ours providing CCTV monitoring.
• Is your intruder alarm graded to BS EN 50131 (the European intruder alarm standard) and installed by an NSI or SSAIB certified company, with a police Unique Reference Number (URN) if you expect police response?
• Does the CCTV system meet BS EN 62676, the standard for video surveillance systems used in security?
• What does the false alarm history show?
• Who responds to alarms and what’s the expected response rate? Ask your alarm response provider for attendance times.

People, Procedures & Insider Risk

• Are security officers SIA licensed and screened to BS7858, the British Standard for security screening?
• Do agency workers and staff in high-value roles have checks that match their access?
• Are personal bags and phones kept off the floor, where your policy allows?
• If searches happen, is there a written, consented search policy?
• Is there a confidential way for staff to report concerns?
• Are shift handover and lone-working procedures written down and followed?
• Do new worker inductions cover security awareness, including how to report suspicious behaviour?

Independent Warehouse Security Reviews With ProFM Group

We’re SIA Approved Contractor security specialists, with NSI Gold certification for CCTV monitoring and BS7858-vetted officers.

At Lloyd’s Transport and Warehousing, our round-the-clock gatehouse team at their Tamworth warehouse checks in every delivery and keeps a complete log of who’s on site, when, and what they’re bringing in or out.

Our 24/7/365 National Operations Centre monitors alarms and cameras, with a 30-minute average response time.

Whether you’d like a free, no-obligation quote or a second opinion on your own audit, it starts with a conversation. Call us on 0808 501 5332.