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Securing buildings and valuable objects.

Here you will find useful information and guidance on how we secure buildings and valuables at UiB

Main content

The University of Bergen owns and manages a large portfolio of buildings, valuable objects, and collections. A large share of the buildings, objects and collections are vital for research, education, and knowledge dissemination at UiB.

In order for UiB to meet its obligations to society, and act in accordance with Norwegian laws and regulations, it is necessary to secure buildings and valuables against any unwanted incidents. In the sections below, you will find the information you need about different aspects of the security work taking place at UiB.

Professional advice and support

The security professionals at the Estate and Management Division of UiB can provide advice and support within several fields related to building security and how to secure physical valuables. Guidance, quality control, courses, seminars, answers to questions etc. related to the following issues, can be provided.

  • Object value assessment and security analysis.
  • Security measures and planning.
  • Roles and responsibility within security work at UiB.
  • Relevant rules and regulations.
  • Security routines.
  • Fire safety.
  • Risk and security control.
  • Established framework agreements with suppliers. For example, private security service providers.

We have also created a Microsoft Teams room called “Sikring av bygg og verdier” for the units at UiB. This is a good place to ask questions, share experience, get access to relevant documents, and also share the unit’s security plans if needed.

For more information, please contact the person responsible for planning at your unit or send a message to post.sikkerhet@eia.uib.no.

Roles and responsibility for security at UiB

Security work at UiB:

Security, together with information security and HSE, form the main areas in the overall security work done at UiB.

Each of these areas are maintained according to their own guidelines, and with support and specialist knowledge provided by the Estate and Facilities Management Division, the IT Division, and HR.

You will find the collected rules and regulation governing security work at UiB in the university rules pages. See: Del 1 Overordnede rammer — Regelsamlingen documentation (uib.no)

Uib units:

The line mangers are responsible for the security of physical valuables at the unit.

This responsibility entails that:

  • During normal day to day operations, at the signing of a lease agreement, and during building projects
    • necessary criteria and security goals for that building should be defined
    •  the line managers should conduct the necessary assessments, analyses, and take actions following the security guidelines and available templates.
  • Resources and assets for risk reducing measures must be provided. If these measures are expected to be considerable, the decision should be lifted to the appropriate management level.
  • A report on the status of the security situation at UiB is provided to the University Director (this will be a part of the annual report from the security organisation at the Estate and Management Division).
  • Routines and procedures that supports and supplements the security guidelines should be created where necessary.
  • Security should be considered in context with drills, verification, plans and general awareness. Security drills should be conducted every other year as a minimum.
  • A person responsible for security planning, who will facilitate and coordinate questions and issues related to security, and convey these to the Estate and Management Division, should be appointed at the unit.   

More information about the responsibility of the line managers can be found here (NO).

The Estate and Facilities Management Division:

  • Will provide professional guidance and support to the units at UiB regarding how to secure valuables and building perimeter security.
  • Will, while cooperating with the units, maintain the perimeter security of the buildings.
  • Are responsible for the operation of technical infrastructure in buildings that UiB owns or owns through the UiB real estate companies. This includes security and opening hours for doors in the buildings’ perimeter security, water systems, electrical systems, fire safety systems, and climate control, unless other agreements have been made in the lease or service agreement.
  • Will have a coordinating role during assessment and ordering of security for valuables.
  • Will maintain service level agreements with the units at UiB that covers physical security services, alarms, and similar services.
  • Will produce and deliver access cards for UiB users.
  • Follow up on and coordinate the security needs of the units during building projects, and in the case of the signing of lease agreements with external actors.

For more information about roles and responsibility for security at UiB see here (NO).

Security control

Security work at UiB is founded on risk-based security control. This involves a continuous process of improvement where the work done should be based on findings from object value assessment, security analyses, status for the security work done at the unit, and risk assessment for society in general. The goal is to prevent rather than react.

In order to help facilitate this work, we have constructed an annual schedule with check lists for the units (faculty, departments, centres, the University Museum, and the UiB Library).

Security control for building projects has its own guidelines (NO).

Security analysis and object value assessment

Security analysis and object value assessment are important tools for security control at UiB. The classification of a valuable object determines whether extra considerations should be taken when conducting a security analysis. The line manager is responsible for conducting and documenting these analyses.

Note: This is not the same as risk assessment connected to HSE and emergency preparedness.

Object value assessment

All units at UiB shall conduct an object value assessment of their physical valuables. This is a basic mapping and assessment. The assessment is done in the Template for object value assessment (NO).

Security analyses

At UiB we differentiate between two types of security analyses. A simplified security analysis should be conducted in the event where objects of high or very high value have been classified. A detailed security analysis is conducted yearly for a few selected units. The detailed analyses are approved by the University Director.

We have created a template with guidance for simplified security analyses (NO).

Common for both types of security analyses are that they completely or partially cover the following phases and assessments.

  • Start-up.
  • Value assessment.
  • Security goal.
  • Mapping of potential unwanted events that can lead to damages / loss (burglary, theft, vandalism, fire, water leakage, and indoor environment).
  • Probability assessment of threats.
  • Presenting the overall risk environment.
  • Short description of strategy and security measures.
  • Verification and control.
  • Revision (at least twice a year).

For security analyses during building projects, see the UiB rules and regulations.

Risk acceptance

An important part of value assessment is risk acceptance.

Value assessment:

  • For moderate valuables, simple security measures should be considered (it may be acceptable to forego security measures in some cases).

Security analyses:

    For moderate risks, simple security measures should be considered (it may be acceptable to forego security measures in some cases).

    • For high security risks, security measures should be prioritized.
    • For very high security risks, measures must be implemented immediately.

    Only the University Director may agree to accept high or very high risk that remains after security measures have been implemented.

    Read more on the UiB rules and regulations page (NO).

    Why value assessment and security analyses

    • They help UiB follow national rules and regulations, internal demands, and expectations of us as a university.
    • We increase our knowledge about what valuable objects the university possess.
    • We grow more aware of what kind of incidents that could affect our valuables.
    • We evaluate ourselves, and our roles and responsibilities.
    • We increase our knowledge through sharing our experience and competence through the work process.
    • We gain insight into what security measures we currently have in place, and what we are missing, if any.
    • Assessments and documentation help provide local and central management at UiB a foundation to base their security decisions on.
    • The security analyses and any findings will be transferable to other areas of UiB facing similar challenges.
    • Documentation gives us the ability to track decisions and measures taken for future revisions.
    • The work process creates ownership and anchors the security work at UiB.
    • We try to predict incidents (preventive rather than reactive).  

    Tips and tricks for a successful process

    • Line managers should take the initiative and be committed to the process.
    • Security goals and success criteria should be discussed and approved early on.
    • Make sure to dedicate enough time to meetings and discussions.
    • Don’t let too much time pass between each work-session.
    • Pick a person to be responsible for planning and implementation.
    • Consider whether the process could benefit from cooperation across UiB units.
    •  Use cross-disciplinary working groups combined with administrative and practical knowledge.
    • Use different knowledge sources and references. For example, studies on security, prior risk analyses, incident statistics etc.
    • Critical thinking, good reasoning and documentation of the recommendations being made, makes the decision-making process easier for management.
    • Workgroups should not be too large. Around 5 members are enough.
    • Use short deadlines for when measures should be implemented. Security measures should always be up to date.
    •  Look at the big picture, and take other work at the unit, such as moving and building projects, into consideration.

    Also see the provided templates and guidelines in the rules and regulations collection (NO) for more information.

    Goals and governing documents

    Governing security goals

    Følgende sikkerhetsmål skal gjelde for arbeidet med sikring av bygg og verdier:

    • The following goals are relevant to all security work at UiB:

    • UiB security control shall be risk-based.
    • Buildings and valuables shall have clearly defined security goals.
    • UiB shall have a good picture of all its valuables and implement measures to protect these and the buildings where they are kept.
    • Behind every security measure there needs to be good, knowledge-based assessments, and employees and students should be included where needed.
    • UiB must always balance transparency with the necessity of protecting valuables, based on relevant national rules and regulations.
    • Life and human welfare should always be prioritised over valuables.
    • Systems and security measures that protect the valuables at UiB need to have redundancy solutions in place.
    • All employees, students, and external contractors should know of UiB’s security requirements, and strive to follow these.

    The security goals and any security work done at UiB is founded on the Managementn system for securing buildings and valuable objects (NO).

    About the management system

    • The system is a governing template for how to work, manage, and measure activities connected to security work, and works in accordance with UiB’s obligation to society, scientific goals, and laws and regulations.
    • It describes the units’ goals, strategies, responsibilities, roles, and obligations.
    • It is a part of the governing rules of UiB’s internal control systems, and the rules collection.
    • It shall help ensure that buildings and valuables at UiB are kept secured in a systematic, planned, and acceptable manner.  

    Reporting security non-conformities

    Security non-conformities are incidents or other events that has led to damage or may lead to damage or loss of valuables and buildings. These include:

    • Violation of the security control system.
    • Breaking the law.
    • Break-ins and unauthorised persons in or around the buildings.
    • Significant damages to buildings.
    • Damage and loss of physical objects as a result of fire, theft, vandalism, water leakage, or indoor climate.

    Users of the buildings are responsible for reporting on and registering damages and security non-conformities. The threshold for reporting these incidents or asking for further guidance in connection to them is low.

    You can report security non-conformities through the same system as HSE issues at UiBhjelp.

    Incidents that should not be reported as security non-conformities.

    Damages to buildings or building needs should be reported on in Lydia through Uibhjelp.

    Urgent needs should be reported to the respective management area or the security guards at UiB, depending on the time of day and availability. Errors with alarms should be reported directly to the security guards.

    Other incidents that threaten people’s life and well-being, for example robberies, threats, and violence, should be reported by following the HSE guidelines. See the HSE-pages for more guidance.

    Follow up

    The main responsibility for following up on reports of security non-conformities lies with the line managers. In practice this work is done through UiBhjelp where user-operators have been appointed.

    The line managers must appoint a user-operator for UiBhjelp and should be informed about the cases that are relevant for their area.

    The security organization at the Estate and Management Division should be informed about all security non-conformities at UiB, assisting in writing reports to AMU and LMU about security non-conformities, and will, if needed, assist the line managers in following up HSE non-conformities in accordance with the “Control System for Securing Buildings and Valuables”.

    More about roles and responsibility for following up on security and HSE non-conformities, see the guidelines of the HR division (NO).

    Building security and security notification

    In the case of immediate danger to human life, welfare, and safety, you should always notify the police (110), fire-department (112), and ambulance (113) first.

    The security guard service at UiB is provided by an external security firm. After 2.30 PM, the security guards are also handling requests from employees concerning building management issues. The guards should be contacted if you observe any suspicious persons or activity in the buildings.   

    UiB security phone number:  55 58 80 81.

    Break-ins, burglary, and vandalism

     

    Procedures in the case of break-ins and theft.

    Prevention.

     

    Surveilance cameras

    Regulations for use of surveillance cameras at UiB are found in the UiB rules and regulations (NO).

    The guidelines put forth a set of criteria that must be met before any cameras are put up.

    These guidelines regulate both already existing and new cameras.

    • The line-manager is responsible for assessing the need for any surveillance cameras outside or inside the building, and for applying for such a camera to the security advisor at the Estate and Management Division.
    • The Estate and Management Division are responsible for advising divisions at UiB in the use of surveillance cameras.
    • The security advisor at the Estate and Management Division are, together with the data protection officer, responsible for approving or declining requests for surveillance cameras.

    Event security

    Security needs should always be assessed at the planning of events at UiB. Se prevention at events.

    Violence and threats

    See violence and threats at the HSE portal.