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Jason Towse has significant expertise in security with a 16-year career in the industry. He joined MITIE in 2012 from Securitas where he was account director for Sainsbury's. He began his security industry career with his own company, offering retail detective services. He then progressed to working for various private security companies, working on their retail contracts. Jason joined Chubb in 2001, enjoying several roles including operations director, commercial director and head of retail, and managing director for aviation. He transferred to Securitas during the acquisition in 2011.
When did you last review your standard operating procedures document file?
It’s probably gathering dust on a shelf in your control room – and when policies and procedures are left on the shelf, so does your ability to respond to incidents effectively.
Paper-based documents almost become obsolete as soon as they’re printed and filed on-site, making it difficult to update several versions and maintain any sort of quality control and consistency across the portfolio.
Sadly, team members aren’t even always sure of where policies and procedures are held, which leads to incidents not being properly recorded.
So how do you ensure a security team is using the correct, most up-to-date operational documents?
Streamlined
As with most efficiency and effectiveness improvements the answer lies with going digital; online or e-documents are flexible and immediate updates can be made instantaneously, just once for every site.
This type of central hub and information repository creates a paperless environment in the control room, streamlining the operation.
It also means the security team across your portfolio know exactly where everything is stored and use the same processes and procedures, resulting in consistent incident management and reporting.
Embrace a paperless environment and you can take it one step further: why stop at procedural documents when there is no reason not to operate with a digital daily occurrence book? Thus you can manage tasks and record incidents occurring anywhere across your portfolio in one place, online.
Information can also be shared in real time with key stakeholders in the business at the push of a button, removing any time lapse and improving accuracy in delivering relevant data to the right people at the right time.
This is critical for incidents which could significantly disrupt operations – for example, bomb threats or protests, where response speed can minimise impact.
An online DOB system, which is fully auditable, adds an additional layer of security to the process. Such a system could transform traditional security management for the better.
Online process and incident management has a major beneficial by-product: data.
This information can be analysed to generate trend intelligence that contributes to the overall security strategy and how resource is deployed to mitigate risk.
Ultimately, transitioning to a paperless control room, with the attendant benefits of digital documents and process, is the future of effective, efficient security and incident management.
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Are Paperless Control Rooms the Future of Security?The paperless office never arrived, but the paperless control room is on it's way, believes Jason Towse of MITIE TSM.
Jason Towse
IFSEC Insider | Security and Fire News and Resources
Yes I agree automated operational procedures driven by workflows is a must. Also integration with other areas like operations, IT and BMS etc. gives a better situational awareness, We are already are doing this and have been consolidating Security, Operations IT, BMS control room into two redundant operations centres.
Christo Pothas
January 11, 2017 7:24 am
My name is Christo and I am a consultant in mining on the Africa continent.
We are doing a due diligence study for five mining ventures in remote part of South Africa, where three diamond mines are located.
We want to employ the best technologies, to ensure that our products ends up in our pockets and nowhere else?
Please advice, global best practices for access, mine plant and process until product is delivered by helicopter to our head quarters.
Christo Pothas
January 11, 2017 7:29 am
Everything on site is vandalized, which basically allow us to start from scratch. The client is familiar with the best practices in Belgium and Israel, but not in the South African mining industry?
Christo Pothas
January 11, 2017 7:48 am
grahame please advice, have you got a footprint in Africa? Can you quote to provide and install systems in remote parts of Africa or can you train South Africans to do what to do from scratch?
Start, with the control room as basic, to hard core access control, with multiple systems where product is handled, obviously with camera’s everywhere, wireless to stop potential sobotage?
Yes I agree automated operational procedures driven by workflows is a must. Also integration with other areas like operations, IT and BMS etc. gives a better situational awareness, We are already are doing this and have been consolidating Security, Operations IT, BMS control room into two redundant operations centres.
My name is Christo and I am a consultant in mining on the Africa continent.
We are doing a due diligence study for five mining ventures in remote part of South Africa, where three diamond mines are located.
We want to employ the best technologies, to ensure that our products ends up in our pockets and nowhere else?
Please advice, global best practices for access, mine plant and process until product is delivered by helicopter to our head quarters.
Everything on site is vandalized, which basically allow us to start from scratch. The client is familiar with the best practices in Belgium and Israel, but not in the South African mining industry?
grahame please advice, have you got a footprint in Africa? Can you quote to provide and install systems in remote parts of Africa or can you train South Africans to do what to do from scratch?
Start, with the control room as basic, to hard core access control, with multiple systems where product is handled, obviously with camera’s everywhere, wireless to stop potential sobotage?