Time to upgrade UK’s security Industry with Digitization & Automation

Olivia is a 28-year-old dynamic operations assistant who works for a UK-based security contractor. Her organisation has approximately 15000 people across the UK registered as JanitorialCleaning staff and Security Officers. With a large and diverse client base, the contractor manages up to 200 Janitorial and Security shifts a day on average. The contractor enjoyed a good rapport with its clients and was renowned for its professionalism, reliability, and competitive pricing. In January of 2022, however, it started pouring for the company, and Olivia, who was quite an expert operations person, found herself gasping to bring things under control.nbsp;Robbers on a milk run: nbsp;Owners of a large-scale warehouse had engaged the contractor to provide 14 SIA licenced officers for 247 physical security cover at the premises. For almost a year, security officers were regular and presented themselves for duty as on contract. However, during an eventful January evening, the duty officer did not show up at the warehouse. Olivia was not contacted; therefore, an alternate officer could not be arranged – the premises remained unguarded. The following day, Olivia was shocked to see the news: “Warehouse robbed by two masked intruders – approximately £ 1 million worth of laptops stolen”. The warehouse owners called Olivia and said they would take the company to court for damages. nbsp;Friendly threat at the Bank:An established bank was one of the company’s valued clients for three years. They engaged licenced and trained security officers to supervise entry points at the bank. In mid-January, on a usual Tuesday, the bank manager called Olivia shortly before the close of business and told her that an unlicensed person carrying out the shift had misbehaved with one of their customers. Olivia called the officer she thought was on duty. She discovered that the officer gave his badge to his friend and sent him to cover his shift. Although Olivia tried to assure the bank manager, they considered the event a gross breach of contract and terminated their engagement with the company. The bank also filed a formal complaint with SIA. nbsp;Rumble at the residence:One of the company’s oldest contracts was providing door supervision for a residential building. On a Monday morning in January, the owner called Olivia and told her that a security officer had physically assaulted one of the new residents late Sunday evenings and that this resident had filed a formal complaint with the police. After speaking with the officer, Olivia reviewed hardcopies of his documents which she found to be current and complete. The police found details that the officers files did not reveal. The police informed Olivia that the officer had a history of physical violence and that his SIA badge was cancelled. nbsp;Aspects that jeopardised Olivias company nbsp;Olivia’s company is presently litigating cases on two fronts. They are fighting a £3 million lawsuit for loss of property and gross negligence for the incident at the warehouse. In addition, SIA is conducting an in-depth inquiry for malpractice for the happenings at the bank and the residential building. Olivia’s company may lose their SIA registration as an ‘approved contractor’ in addition to losing up to £3 million. Olivias company did not have vital systems that put it in such a dire situation. nbsp;There was no mechanism in place with the company for Olivia to know if an officer had reached the shift on time or not. Without such information, the company could not manage blow-outs appropriately.No mechanism at Olivias company could verify the security officers identity on a shift. Without such a system, the company could not confirm if an SIA-licenced security officer was on duty or someone else who was not registered with them. nbsp;Olivia could not have known since her company only collected physical documents from officers. They were not linked with the SIA database and, given their workload, did not bother much with BS7858 vetting. nbsp;nbsp;Where EarnFlex shines nbsp;Relying on people-power alone in an era where technology can be a solid ally to run operations efficiently is quite unwise. EarnFlex.com is an industry-leading front-line resource provider that has combined people-power with AI power to render reliability and confidence along with regulatory compliance and delivery assurance in service operations. nbsp;Geo-mapped security personnel: All SIA licensed security personnel registered with EarnFlex are mapped within a set perimeter around the client’s site for arranging alternate officers quickly and reliably. This reduces ‘blow-out’ risks to nearly 0%.nbsp;Current SIA licence check: Our system automatically connects with the SIA database and checks each officer’s SIA licence status at multiple stages: at the time of assigning the shift, when the officer starts the shift (book-on), and finally, at the time the officer concludes the shift (book-off). Without book onoffs, the officer does not get paid, and management is immediately notified. nbsp;nbsp;Shift Delivery Assurance report: Our AI-powered system automatically conducts a 10-point verification once an officer initiates ‘book off’ to ensure the shift was delivered as contracted. This final report is presented to our operations department to confirm. Once the verification review is complete, the change is marked as ‘completed’, and a soft copy is shared with the client. nbsp;Keeping track of each security officer registered with the company requires tactful arrangements. Failure to do so can bring castles down in a mere month. We welcome a conversation with you on how EarnFlex can ensure your rapport and fortunes working in the services industry grows further. nbsp;