Two security professionals from Burton on Trent have won a prestigious Regional Security Personnel Award for implementing new gatehouse security procedures to streamline operations.
Simon Webber, a Profit Protection Manager, and Mark Curtis, a Security Supervisor, work for security company Vision Security Group (VSG) and have been working for their client for a combined period of almost 12 years.
They have been awarded the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) Regional Security Personnel Award for Service to the Customer in the Midlands.
Simon and Mark were nominated jointly for the award following their implementation of a new gatehouse security procedure, which successfully combined streamlined operations with significant cost savings for the customer.
Previously, particular gatehouse procedures at the site meant that around 4000 double sided pages were printed and photocopied each month, incurring a huge cost in toner and print ink. Therefore, the client was looking to reduce these significant overheads.
Working together, Simon and Mark built upon Mark’s previous experience of Bluetooth technology, and implemented a new procedure whereby the previously printed information was transmitted to drivers via Bluetooth.
Virtually all drivers passing through the site had mobile phones with Bluetooth capability. As a result, the equipment was able to register contact with almost every phone. Using supporting signage and verbal verification from the officer booking in, acceptance of the Bluetooth transmission from the gatehouse exceeded 75%.
The trial period of this method was successful, with projections forecasting monthly savings of up to £800 for the client.
When a separate synergies project overtook the need for the Bluetooth transmission method at the gatehouse, Simon and Mark transferred the knowledge gained so far and utilised Bluetooth transmission to replace the manual distribution of printed health and safety information to the 540 visitors received at the site each month.
Again, cost savings were at the heart of this project. Simon and Mark ran a second trial which focused on the visitor reception process, beaming an electronic copy of the instructions directly to visitor handsets, vastly reducing the number of hard copies being handed out.
“The team had not been asked to go above and beyond to deliver the extra cost savings,” commented Darren Tough, Area Manager at VSG. “Simon and Mark took it upon themselves to assist in these savings.”
“Together, Simon and Mark created a more cost effective solution to address a problem for the client and further developed it to address other needs on site,” he added.
At a ceremony organised by the BSIA and VSG on March 7th, Simon and Mark said: “We enjoyed the excitement of bringing in this technological solution to the client and we were only really held back by the age of the equipment we could source ourselves. Winning the BSIA award has given us the taste of recognition and we are already engaging ourselves for next year’s application.”
Simon and Mark will now be put forward to the national judging phase of the awards. If they are successful in the second round of judging, they will then be invited to attend the Association’s annual lunch on July 16th where they will be presented with the national award.
These esteemed awards are currently in their fifteenth year – having been sponsored by Camberford Law since their inception – and serve to acknowledge the successes of those working within the security industry.
The BSIA would also like to thank Camberford Law plc – specialist insurance brokers to the security industry – for their continued support.
For more information about the BSIA’s Security Personnel Awards, this year’s winners or to find out more about the Association, visit the BSIA’s website: www.bsia.co.uk
