ASIS study finds emergency headcount confidence gap for security teams

New ASIS International research sponsored by FacilityOS finds 32% of security professionals lack confidence their organization could account for everyone onsite during an emergency. The study points to a broader visibility problem for visitors and contractors, even as access control keeps unauthorized entry low.

Why it matters: - Emergency response depends on knowing who is inside a facility, where they are, and whether they can be reached quickly. - The research suggests many security teams can stop unauthorized entry, but still lack reliable real-time visibility into visitors, contractors, and packages. - That gap raises the risk of slower evacuations, delayed assistance, and weaker incident response.

What happened: - ASIS International released benchmarking research, Excelling at Security Controls and Visibility, sponsored by FacilityOS. - The study was fielded in May 2026 and drew 942 responses from security practitioners and consultants across more than a dozen industries. - The practitioner survey included 506 completions and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4% at the 95% confidence level. - The separate consultant survey included 131 completions and is directional rather than statistically significant. - The research was presented at GSX Global Security Exchange in Atlanta, Georgia, Sept. 14-16, at FacilityOS booth 1833.

The details: - Thirty-two percent of security professionals are not confident their organization could account for everyone onsite during an emergency. - Only 18% are completely confident they can account for everyone onsite. - Nearly two-thirds of respondents, 65%, reported fewer than one unauthorized access incident per week, regardless of facility size. - Only 41% said they know all visitors in a facility, where they are, and when they leave. - Security professionals were more confident reaching employees in an emergency than non-employees: 66% were completely or mostly confident they could quickly reach staff, compared with 53% for visitors and contractors. - Seventy-two percent want to improve visitor management processes. - More than one-third said their organizations have no set process for tracking high-value or otherwise important inbound packages. - The survey notes some figures do not sum to 100% because of rounding. - The survey audience was promoted as a security controls and visibility study to an ASIS member audience, which may skew the sample toward more advanced practitioners than the profession overall. - FacilityOS says its platform is deployed across more than 7,000 sites worldwide and is used to automate facility processes tied to compliance, safety, efficiency, and site security. - FacilityOS said the integrated platform serves manufacturing, industrial, healthcare, higher education, and other mission-critical environments. - FacilityOS has offices in the United States, Canada, and Europe. - ASIS International says it has 34,000 members and was founded in 1955.

Between the lines: - The findings show a mature perimeter problem: organizations appear better at keeping people out than at accounting for the people already inside. - Visitors and contractors create the biggest visibility gap, which suggests manual check-ins and fragmented records may still be common. - The package-tracking result points to a broader operational blind spot beyond people-management alone. - ASIS and FacilityOS are using the report to frame visibility, not just access control, as the next security upgrade.

What's next: - FacilityOS is using the report to showcase its security tools to GSX attendees and other security leaders. - The full report, Excelling at Security Controls and Visibility, is available now. - FacilityOS directs readers to learn more. - ASIS International directs readers to learn more about ASIS International.

The bottom line: - Security teams may be winning the access-control battle, but many still cannot confidently answer the simplest emergency question: who is onsite right now?