Need help from Mall Security Officers

[FireEMSPolice]

Ok, I have been asking my management for a while to put signage on the corridor doors/service entrances that say "No public access" or the like.

What happens is that some people dont pay attention to the mall hours (and the anchor hours are slightly different) and people get trapped inside the general mall area when the anchors close the gates. So they see the red "EXIT" signs (ones required by fire code) and they enter the corridors thinking it goes to an exit. Most do not. Well, they get lost in the maze of corridors and we have to get them out and advise them that there are dangers in the corridors at times and for the security of the tenants, they may not enter them unescorted or unless they are a mall or tenant employee. Some don't take a liking to that and some apologize.

So I talk with the Mall Manager today and he tells me to see what other malls got as we want to be tasteful about this as this is the side of the door in view of the general public and we are an upscale mall.

Can anybody snap a pic and give me the mall name with it of their corridor doors with such signage on it so I can submit ideas? Thanks!

[NRM_Oz]

Just to add fuel to the fire, a small shopping centre had someone trapped in a fire door (external ground floor door was blocked and secured some how) resulting in the elderly person looking for the toilet to die after 5 days. SOP's were for checks 3 times a day and this proved that these were not being done. The dangers of entrapment are more at risk with multi-doored premises such as shopping centres.

[FireEMSPolice]

Oz, I think you are taking my post a little out of context it seems. There is no way to become entraped. Doors will open from the inside and the corridor doors (unless its an exterior door) cannot be locked. The ones that can, can still be opened from the inside to an escape.

We just want to keep the public out of the service corridors. The only people allowed in those are mall & tenant employees, service contractors and delivery people (UPS, FedEx, etc).

[msofin]

My understanding of the fire codes in Pennsylvania in a nut shell:
You can lock some one out of the building, but anyone inside the building must be able to leave at anytime. Any corridor that may must be free of any obstacle that would prevent someone from exiting the building.
The best way to handle this would be to post signs that state "Emergency Exit Only". But the security staff should be patroling these corridors to ensure there are no obstacles that must be over come to leave the building.

What do you think of this: For corridors that have exterior exits that are not so easy to find, have red arrows painted on the floor that will direct anyone in the corridor to the emergency exit.

[OMG_Ihatethisjob]

Do like Walmart

Walmart was the first one I've observed using this term, then most businesses in California jumped on the bandwagon. They had replaced the sign "Employees Only" to "Associates Only." You could propose the following, and show the list to other staff members on how they can modify and improve on it.

"Tenant Associates and Deliveries Only. No Public Access"

"Merchants, Associates, and Deliveries Only. No Public Access"

Associates and Deliveries Only. No Public Access"

"Do Not Enter. Deliveries and Merchant Associates Only"

"Do Not Enter. Mall Staff, Associates, & Deliveries Only"

[NRM_Oz]

Actually the cause of the accident was the fact that the locks were faulty 1 way exit points had at street level, some idiot had placed a dumpster up against the outward swinging door blocking it from being open. This was probably best described as a 3 level shopping centre (like a strip mall in the US) which was finally demolished and made room for apartments.

Signs mean you are covering your backside if someone does go wandering through an area that is restricted. Point though - what about people of non-english speaking backgrounds ?

To get past this at one of our store outlets, a STOP sign (universal) was used with the words NO ENTRY STAFF ONLY in 1 inch letters. It all depends on the powers that be but I would try and use a symbol as it is to visually remind people NO ACCESS. Do you have any building codes that give examples ?

[OMG_Ihatethisjob]

...what about people of non-english speaking backgrounds ?

Here's one I found; it supposedly used all over Europe.

http://www.simplesignshop.com/cpshop.cgi/restricted_access_sign/simplesignshop.31257510

[FireEMSPolice]

Any door pictures?

[LPCap]

I have a few from some major malls in the US. I'll post them for you.

[NRM_Oz]

Actually I should thank you all for raising this point as this is something I raised with the idiot property manager in our new DC about people who will recognise a sign but not words - universally. Like here your YIELD sign is the same as our GIVE WAY signs - same shape so we know in the USA to treat them the same - just need to get the cars on the correct side.

As part of the corporate workplace safety team I will see how we go and pass on any information of interest.

[FireEMSPolice]

I have a few from some major malls in the US. I'll post them for you.

Thanks LPCap! I look forward to them

[LPCap]

Thanks LPCap! I look forward to them

A few things:

I have some pics from three different major malls in very affluent parts of the East Coast.

Most of the service corridors are not signed, but the few that are say "Authorized Personnel Only" Most of the corridors are signed on the outside vs the inside of the mall. I am not sure if that is what you are looking for. One of the malls is a General Growth Property and the other is a Westfield property. The third is a PREIT owned property.

I am assuming that you want pictures from the inside, so I will have to work on that.

The malls around here have extensive security programs with state of the art CCTV, four-five vehicle patrols, uniformed/undercover security officer patrols, bike patrols and police substations. I'll work a contact and see if he will get in touch with you in regards to corridor usage/safety.

[FireEMSPolice]

Thanks LPCap. Post any pictures you got and identify the mall. Anything is better then what we got (nothing).

[LPCap]

Bear with me. I will get them up.

[LPCap]

This is from a PREIT Mall in Philadelphia, PA "The Gallery".


These signs are exterior signs posted on all corridors and service hallways. The insides do not have signs.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f131/bombastics/security003.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f131/bombastics/security002.jpg

I have others from major malls, I just have to find them and post them on photobucket. They are a little nicer than these signs, but I figure if a major mall developer is fine with these, your mall should be as well.