What are the common weaknesses identified during facility security evaluations?

The common recurring vulnerabilities that surface during security assessments include gaps in physical security, deficiencies in access control, lack of training for employees and other human errors, vulnerabilities in cybersecurity and technical controls, and inadequate response to any issues found. All these factors contribute to weaker security in a facility and must be addressed accordingly.

How do technology and physical inspections work together in security assessments?

Integrating technology and physical inspections in security assessments creates a powerful, layered defense that addresses both tangible vulnerabilities and digital threats. Here’s how they work together effectively: Cross-verification – Technology flags issues like a door forced open, and physical inspection verifies the actual condition. Coverage of blind spots – Inspectors can check areas that technology misses, such as poor lighting, damaged cameras, and hidden entry points. Efficiency & accuracy – Technology scans continuously and gathers data while humans interpret contexts to make informed decisions. Incident response – Technology detects and alerts, while physical responders investigate and mitigate the threat. Continuous improvement – Data collected from both methods feed into risk assessments, improving security protocols over time.

How to scope the facility security assessment checklist to a site’s threat profile, critical assets, and regulatory obligations?

Align the facility security assessment checklist with the three main pillars: Threat profile – Focus on the most likely and highest-impact risks your site faces, such as theft, vandalism, terrorism, or insider threat. Critical assets – Prioritize protections around the people, infrastructure, and systems that are most vital to business continuity . Regulatory obligations – Map checklist items to required standards, e.g., OSHA, CFATS, ISO, local codes, but go beyond compliance to cover best practices. The result should be a risk-based and compliance-aligned checklist, tailored to your site’s context and adaptable as threats or rules change.

Which standards and frameworks should the checklist align to, and how do we map controls to them?

Some of the key standards related to facility security are guidelines from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and FEMA guidance for critical infrastructure resilience, ISO 27001 and NIST SP 800 for cybersecurity, and relevant specifications from OSHA for worker safety. To map the checklists accordingly, cross-reference them to make sure that there’s no overlap and tag them based on applicable standards.

What objective evidence and test methods are required to verify each control?

Reviewing documentations, access logs, and physical and technical records are some of the tangible proofs to help verify existing controls. For example, for an access control system, objective evidence might include system configuration screenshots, entry/exit logs, and vendor service reports.

Facility Security Assessment Checklist

Capture minor security loopholes before they evolve into bigger risks using facility security assessment checklists

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Facility Security Assessment Checklist Digital Report

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A facility security assessment checklist is designed to conduct structured examinations of a physical facility, its assets, vulnerabilities, and threats. This digital checklist can be customized to various facilities, such as schools, healthcare, warehouses, and medical facilities. Through the Mitti Platform, security professionals can use this smart checklist to:

Attach and annotate photos as supporting evidence during document reviews, facility walk-throughs, and interviews
Create corrective actions when nonconformances are found
Raise issues and categorize them according to the level of urgency
Send a heads up when the facility security plan is updated
Sign off reports with digital signatures from management and key stakeholders

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Why Mitti digital checklists?

Free to use for up to 10 users
Eliminate paperwork with digital checklists
Generate reports from completed checklists

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What is a Facility Security Assessment Checklist?
Importance
What to Include in a Facility Security Assessment Checklist
How to Perform Facility Security Assessments
Facility Security Assessment Checklist PDF Report
FAQs About Facility Security Assessment Checklists

In this article

What is a Facility Security Assessment Checklist?
Importance
What to Include in a Facility Security Assessment Checklist
How to Perform Facility Security Assessments
Facility Security Assessment Checklist PDF Report
FAQs About Facility Security Assessment Checklists

Eliminate paperwork with digital checklists

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Article by

Jona Tarlengco

4 min read

4 Sept 2025

What is a Facility Security Assessment Checklist?

A facility security assessment checklist helps a facility security officer (FSO) perform an extensive internal scan of a facility’s current infrastructure, its vulnerabilities, and potential threats. It helps determine the necessary solutions to achieve their desired future state of security through a Facility Security Plan (FSP).

Importance

A facility security assessment checklist provides a structured way to evaluate and strengthen the safety of a facility. What are the other reasons why it is important?

Identifies vulnerabilities – A checklist helps uncover gaps in physical security and operational practices, such as visitor management. This allows organizations to proactively address weaknesses before they become risks.
Ensures compliance – A structured assessment ensures the facility meets requirements and standards set for their industry, which helps reduce the risk of fines, liability, or operational shutdowns.
Protects people and assets – By assessing security controls, organizations can better protect employees, equipment, and intellectual property.
Supports emergency response – The checklist often includes evaluating fire safety routes, alarm systems, and communication protocols. This improves readiness for natural disasters, accidents, or security breaches.
Promotes consistency – Using a standardized checklist ensures that all facilities are assessed with the same criteria, ensuring no critical area is overlooked.

What to Include in a Facility Security Assessment Checklist

Because an FSA requires an extensive review of a facility, a checklist would be a helpful guide to make sure that all details are checked and no major components are missed. In line with this, what key elements should be included in a comprehensive facility security assessment checklist?

Background/details about the facility
Risk assessment methods
Assigned security personnel
Vulnerabilities found
Possible security threats
Response to threats, incidents, and breaches
Threat assessment
Security training
Physical inspections (internal and external)
CCTV Surveillance
Alarm systems
Interviews (manager, employee)
Other notable observations

How to Perform Facility Security Assessments

The evolution of technology comes with the transformation of security threats. Criminals discover new mechanisms to break through the most stringent of security systems. Without physical or facility security assessments, building occupants are exposed to threats that can harm their assets and put them at much higher risk.

To ensure the effectiveness of facility or physical security assessments, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to conduct a facility security assessment using a checklist:

Step 1: Identify current assets and potential risks.

Every facility will have its own infrastructure and vulnerabilities to its security program. A chemical facility possesses its own unique set of threats, as opposed to those of a school building, federal facility, or marine port.

It is important to carefully examine the company’s assets, strengths, and weaknesses in building access control systems, and the consequences of the security risks associated with the facility. This will help inform the FSO to know which threats are high-priority.

Step 2: Interview occupants of the facility.

The foremost objective of facility security assessments is to protect people; property comes next. It is only practicable to consult the inhabitants of the facility to get valuable insights on aspects such as security policies, building access paths, current protocols, and the history of theft incidents. These insights will make it easier for FSOs to devise a security plan that best suits the facility’s occupants.

Step 3: Communicate assessment results to the management.

There should be a medium to directly discuss the security assessment report results with management, as they have the means to allot resources for implementing the FSP. Details that should be included in the report are:

Date of the facility security assessment
Types of tests performed
Summary of security vulnerabilities identified according to priority
Recommendations and specific steps on how to address the security holes

Step 4: Schedule regular facility security assessments.

Performing regular assessments is critical to remaining current with security configurations and systems as technology continually evolves and new threats emerge. Some building administrators find it effective to conduct full facility security assessments annually, while others may prefer twice a year. However, companies can opt to do smaller inspections monthly to prevent potential issues from becoming big security risks.