INSIDER | 5 Tips to Safeguard your Jewellery Workshop

How secure is your workshop?

During busy seasonal making periods, take care not to become complacent with your security. Take a moment to look around and assess if you and your stock are safe and secure during busy seasonal periods.

These quick and relatively inexpensive suggestions to help make your workshop more secure to safeguard yourself and your stock.

These essential tips have been provided by Central Locksmiths Ltd in Birmingham.

1. Fit a spyhole and chain to your workshop door

A spyhole will allow you to review whose is knocking before you open the door. This first line of defence is a simple solution that can be quickly and easily fitted yourself if you are handy. A screw on security chain on the inside of your door will add an extra layer of security once you open the door.

2. Fit window alarms

Adding a battery operated stick on vibration window alarm to the inside of vulnerable or low windows will make someone think twice before deciding to break in because any disturbance to the window will set of a very loud high pitched alarm.

3. Secure high value items away each night

Obvious, but it is surprising how many valuable items can be left out on a bench overnight pending the next step of construction. Jewellers, if you can't afford a standard safe a small electronic desktop bolt down safe is a convenient way to store on-going projects overnight.

4. Fit hinge bolts

Regardless of the number or type of locks you have fitted to your workshop door, the most vulnerable area of the door then becomes the hinge side. To protect this side of the door as much as you can it's a good idea to fit a pair of hinge bolts, easily fitted yourself if you are handy. These steel pegs provide extra locking protection.

5. Get British Standard

One of the most popular Chubb Deadlocks fitted (3G114) is no longer approved by insurance companies to be British Standard compliant, and this could have serious consequences to any insurance claim you may need to make.

Any insurance assessor will know if your lock is compliant - do you?

The correct British Standard deadlock model is Chubb 3E114

- www.centrallocksmiths is a member of The Master Locksmiths Association and undertakes work for West Midlands Police