Security for distribution centres and warehouses with a long perimeter, rows of loading and unloading docks and 24/7 logistics involving external drivers. We design, install and maintain integrated DC security that meets shipper and insurer requirements without impeding the flow of goods.
A distribution centre has a fundamentally different risk profile from an office or a production hall. The site is large, the perimeter often extends for hundreds of metres, the docks run in long rows along the facade and the operation has no fixed closing time. The goods are rarely everyday consumables and more often high-value and international, with electronics, pharmaceuticals, branded goods, automotive parts and high-value e-commerce consignments whose value per pallet quickly mounts up. The greatest threat is therefore not the opportunist burglar but organised cargo theft or a targeted perimeter breach during the quiet hours between midnight and the first shift.
Cebec designs DC security in layers. The outermost shell is perimeter detection using radar, infrared beams, fence-detection cable and thermal cameras that flag an approach before it reaches the facade. Around that sits site CCTV (video surveillance) across the grounds themselves, with number-plate recognition and AI object recognition at entrances, car parks and outdoor storage. Every alert carries video verification so the alarm receiving centre (ARC) can distinguish a genuine event from a fox or a gust of wind. The innermost shell is dock access control with logging per driver and per dock, linked to visitor management for pre-registration and to your warehouse management system for the day's runs. Optionally, we design in line with TAPA Facility Security Requirements (FSR, the freight-security standard) for shippers who require it contractually.
We design for a wide range of logistics operators, from regional and international logistics service providers to national chains with multiple DCs, e-commerce fulfilment, food distribution and pharmaceutical distribution. You get a single point of contact for perimeter, video, access and alarm receiving centre, with a design that suits your operational rhythm and the requirements of your customer. For organisations with multiple sites, we provide central management across all locations.
A DC security plan combines systems that each cover a specific part of the risk. Only when working together do they deliver an installation that intercepts cargo theft, perimeter breach and fire damage at an early stage. Below are the six building blocks that every project starts with.
Radar, infrared beams, fence-detection cable and thermal cameras see an approach before the fence line is reached. Technology chosen per zone prevents false alerts caused by vegetation, rain or animals. Explore the options under perimeter & site security.
HD and 4K cameras around the main gate, dock apron, parking bays and outdoor storage, with number-plate recognition and AI object recognition that distinguish person, vehicle and animal. Read on under CCTV & video surveillance.
Badges for your own staff, codes per shift and number-plate or card authorisation per dock for external drivers. With an audit trail for every movement, so you can always trace afterwards who was where. More detail under access control.
Detection in line with NEN 2535 (the Dutch fire-detection standard) for the warehouse, with aspirating systems for high racking where conventional smoke detectors respond too slowly. Control signals to smoke and heat extraction, sprinkler and compartmentation. More under fire alarm systems.
An alarm receiving centre (ARC) with direct video verification and response protocols that take account of dock movements, shift changes and key-holder procedures. More under monitoring & alarm response.
Access control and CCTV rarely stand alone. Linking them to your warehouse management system for driver pre-registration, to visitor management for visitors and to the emergency response organisation for incidents makes the installation part of day-to-day logistics rather than an island of technology.
No two distribution centres are alike. The size of the site, the type of cargo, the shipper's requirements and the operational cadence of the operation determine where attention needs to go. These six themes recur in almost every DC project and shape the design.
The gain lies in the seconds between approach and facade. Detection beyond the fence gives the alarm receiving centre room to verify and respond before the intruder is inside. Once a breach reaches the facade itself, part of the loss has often already been incurred. That is why we choose techniques that begin outside, not inside.
A DC that stands still for ten minutes at the gate costs a full run. Security must therefore not block the flow of goods, yet it must still record what passes. With number-plate pre-registration, automatic barrier opening and logging without a manual step, you achieve registration without affecting throughput.
Shippers in electronics, pharmaceuticals and branded goods often impose TAPA Facility Security Requirements or their own audit checklist. That touches perimeter, CCTV retention, dock procedures and key management all at once. We design the installation so that audit deliverables form part of the handover. See TAPA security for the FSR context.
A DC sees tens to hundreds of external drivers at the docks each day. Pre-registration via dock management, a temporary pass or code per dock and a log for every movement make the difference between a paper visitor register and a workable audit trail that is usable in the event of an incident.
High racking calls for aspirating detection and a fire alarm system that forms a single whole with sprinkler, smoke and heat extraction and compartmentation. A conventional smoke detector responds too slowly above ten metres. With battery storage or high-density e-commerce cardboard, every minute of earlier warning counts.
For chains and international logistics operators, several DCs are in scope at once. A central management platform for CCTV, access control and alerts ensures that the regional manager or HSE coordinator keeps an overview without logging in separately at each location, and that audits are demonstrably uniform across sites.
A DC project almost always begins with a combination of existing installations, a growth plan and requirements from the shipper. Four steps that bring the technology measurably into order without the operation grinding to a halt.
Our consultant walks the site together with your operations manager, security manager or facility manager. The perimeter, dock apron, outdoor storage and existing installations are mapped, and we gather customer, insurance and any TAPA requirements.
You receive a design with detection zones, dock procedures, a camera coverage plan and links to your WMS and visitor management. For larger DCs we work in phases, so that part of the site is already under surveillance before the full installation is in place.
Our engineers schedule work around your planning and shift patterns. Penetrations through fencing, cable routes along the dock apron and connections to your network are carried out with minimal disruption to inbound and outbound traffic.
After installation we test every detection zone, every camera and every signal transmission. You receive the VEB certificate, audit documentation where applicable and an instruction for emergency response staff and gatekeepers. From then on you fall under our service organisation for maintenance and a 24/7 fault service.
A DC installation comprises several disciplines that are aligned with one another. The links below give in-depth insight into each component, from sector context to key-holder service.
In the Netherlands a distribution centre faces two kinds of obligation that run in parallel. The first is statutory and concerns fire safety under the Buildings Decree (Bbl) and the Working Conditions Act, with a fire alarm system in line with NEN 2535 (the Dutch fire-detection standard) where the building's use function requires it, an evacuation alarm in line with NEN 2575, extinguishers, emergency lighting and compartmentation. The second is contractual and runs via your insurer, who in almost all cases works with the VRKI risk classification for industry and, on the basis of sector, cargo and historical loss record, determines a security class of which intruder detection, perimeter and CCTV are part. In addition, a shipper or international customer may impose further requirements, for example TAPA Facility Security Requirements (FSR, the freight-security standard) or their own audit checklist. We assess all three strands during the site review and translate them into a single integrated package.
An ordinary commercial building often has a compact footprint, a limited number of entrances and a fixed closing time. A distribution centre is almost the opposite, with a large site, a long perimeter, several main gates, a row of loading and unloading docks, external drivers as a daily norm and an operation that runs 24 hours a day. As a result the focus shifts from a facade alarm to perimeter detection, from simple badge access to dock access control with logging per driver, and from a local alarm panel to an alarm receiving centre connection with direct video verification. Fire safety is different too, because a warehouse with high racking calls for aspirating detection where an office can make do with optical smoke detectors.
Yes. We design, install and maintain installations that meet TAPA Facility Security Requirements (FSR, the freight-security standard) Class A, B or C and supply the technical documentation you use during audit and recertification. The TAPA audit itself is carried out by a TAPA-accredited third party, not by Cebec and not by TAPA itself, so that responsibilities remain separated as the standard prescribes. We know how the common TAPA auditors in Europe apply the FSR checklist and align handover and documentation accordingly. For the substantive FSR pillars, classes and audit procedure we refer you to our TAPA security page.
False alarms undermine every response, all the more so at a DC where the night shift and early planning carry the operation. We work with layered detection in which perimeter detection first gives the alarm receiving centre an advance warning, which it verifies immediately via the camera covering that zone. Only on a confirmed event does a genuine alarm follow, directed to the key holder or patrol. In addition we choose detectors with AI object recognition that distinguish person, vehicle and animal, so that a fox or a gust of wind does not trigger an alert. Per dock we set time windows within which traffic is permitted without an alarm, and outside those windows every movement counts as a potential incident.
Yes. For distribution centres the VRKI class for industry is typically 3 or 4, depending on the type of cargo and the value per consignment. On every project we carry out the VRKI analysis and align the design with your insurance adviser or your insurer's loss-prevention department. The package contains electronic as well as structural and organisational measures, because in practice the VRKI relies on a combination. After handover you receive the VEB certificate, which insurers in the Netherlands accept as supporting evidence, together with the underpinning documentation. On policy renewal or a claims assessment we provide additional information where needed.
The choice depends on the zone, the length of the perimeter and the desired false-alarm tolerance. Fence-detection cable is an affordable and reliable baseline along an existing fence and detects climbing and cutting. Infrared beams suit long straight stretches without vegetation and provide a very sharp detection line at some distance from the fence. Radar covers wide zones with a single unit and combines well with outdoor storage where there is no fence. Thermal cameras detect person and vehicle on the basis of heat imaging, even in complete darkness or fog, and are indispensable in zones where visible light is undesirable. In practice we often combine two or three techniques so that an alert becomes an alarm only after confirmation by a second sensor or by video.
A DC without visitor management works with a paper visitor register and a manual barrier, a combination that becomes unmanageable with a hundred drivers a day and provides no usable audit trail in the event of an incident. With visitor management, drivers are pre-registered via your dock management or WMS, the driver receives a temporary pass or code for the assigned dock and the system logs arrival, dock occupancy and departure. For an unregistered driver, the system directs them to the intercom at the gate, where the gatekeeper or planner makes a decision via video. Afterwards it can be seen per dock and per time who was present, which is essential for customer audits and for any incident analysis.
Yes. For organisations with multiple distribution centres we provide central management across all locations. CCTV, access control and alarm signals come together in a single platform with rights and reports per location, so that a regional manager or central security department keeps an overview without logging in separately at each DC. Maintenance, annual inspections and certifications run via one contract and one point of contact within our integrated installation management service, with the same service levels across all sites. That saves considerably on coordination and ensures that inspection cycles and TAPA or customer audits are demonstrably uniform per location, including for acquisitions or new-build sites that come into scope later.
Our consultant reviews your distribution centre, maps the requirements from insurer, customer and legislation, and delivers a tailored design and schedule. Without obligation and free of charge.