Choosing the right security company
When choosing the right security company, it’s important to ensure they can provide immediate responses through an unbroken chain of communication from their own 24/7 monitoring control Centre and response engineers. This needs to be in conjunction with the right security, health and safety accreditations and appropriate licenses. This, combined with effective internal training procedures and flexible plans to suit your security requirements is the key to finding the right security company.
Security Guard Training
Any security company can conduct training but it’s important to ensure it’s done effectively by a Documented training matrix with regular refresher training, normally 6 monthly. A training matrix also provides the ability to train all staff equally and to a high standard, highlights where extra training is needed, monitoring of staff performance which is vital in a larger organisation. With over 100 security guards on active patrol, this is crucial in maintaining Veritech’s high standards.
Management has a direct responsibility to keep training up to date with all UK Legislation which is consistently changing. An automated quality management system (QMS) will provide daily alerts to all management, enabling the company to be fully compliment to all security and health and safety legislation. You can keep yourself up to date with all the latest SIA Legislation changes below:
https://www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/Pages/about-update.aspx
A Genuine 24/7 Security Control Centre
Looking for a company with an in-house control centre and their own response officers should be a priority when choosing the right security company. Installed security measures are only as effective as the control centre watching over them. Many companies are using outsourced centres which can lead to an ineffective call out time and response officers arriving after the damage has been done. By operating its own 24/7 centre they can instantly follow up on any Infra Red perimeter security beam alerts with the site PIR Cameras, this allows immediate dispatch of first response units and notifying the police. Despite high initial and operating costs, the drastic reduction in false call outs provides lower end costs for our clients with greater peace of mind.
A Range of Security Options
Flexibity and adaptibility are key considerations when choosing a security company. Choosing a company that can support future plans as well as existing ensures a long lasting partnership. While most can provide CCTV or Manned Guarding, further security measures may be neede in the future. Will you need a Concierge desk? Will wireless access control systems be needed? Having one port of call for all these services ensures no gaps in the security chain of communication.
Accreditations
SIA Licensing is the minimum requirement for security companies operating within the UK, many others exist which help further demonstrate a companies commitment to professionalism and continuous improvement. You can read through Veritech’s external accreditations here.
Industry Specialisation
Not all security guard companies are the same, each has their own list of clients and industry specialisations. When choosing a security guard company you should look for one with experience dealing with the unique challenges your industry presents. For example;
- A business situated next to public areas such as schools will need to ensure adaquete measures are in place to avoid CCTV recording images of adjacent buildings.
- In construction a close relationship is needed to ensure contractors are able to freely conduct work out of hours while vandalism is still prevented.
- In defense industrys closed loop systems need to be impemented to prevent targetted cyber attacks.
SIA Licensing
Every security guard must have a fully valid SIA license in order to work in the UK security industry. Created in 2003 after the 2001 Private Security Industry Act they report directly to the home secretary and ensure compliance with the law. While an important certification we also advise looking elsewhere for measures of quality.
Veritech is one of the UK’s leading security companies, for over 10 years it has innovated and is proud to have never lost a client. Get in contact or learn about veritech’s range of services.