New Approach
The security and stability of a high-risk facility relies as much on the attentiveness and leadership of its security officers as it does on technology. In the wake of an incident when guards were inattentive on duty at an atomic power station, G4S, a provider of risk management and protection to governments and corporate customers, has formed Regulated Security Solutions (RSS).
Eric Wilson, RSS CEO, says the business of contractors providing security officers has evolved beyond labor augmentation — in which the contractors have supplied “bodies,” but not holistic solutions. RSS has been formed to package G4S’s various services in order to give the clients one solution. “We don’t have the ability to direct the industry’s future unless we have a total solution and complete control,” Wilson says. “That is why we took RSS in this direction.”
RSS provides critical infrastructures, including energy and chemical facilities, with security officer staffing, technology and strategic assessment and implementation. Beyond providing officers, RSS provides a solutions-based approach for the customer’s security personnel that includes training, leadership and technology-based education.
The approach was kick-started after security officers were videotaped being inattentive on duty at the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in York County, Pa. The officers were employed by Wackenhut Corp., a subsidiary of G4S. “This incident made RSS easier to implement,” he says.
“We know that technology is used to keep the ‘bad guys’ out in the nuclear industry, but it can also be used to enhance personnel performance,” he says. “It’s a new shift we haven’t seen to use technology to focus on internal assistance.”
RSS technology that Wilson says would have addressed the Peach Bottom incident is the ASA-200, a device that contains a motion detector that alerts management when a lack of motion is detected; and Keystone, an automated total quality improvement system that measures performance and identifies best practices. RSS is currently providing Peach Bottom with a demonstration of the ASA-200.
The incident could have also been avoided had RSS offered Peach Bottom its standardization approach to training, in which it requires passing certain leadership levels to work. This is provided by Risk Management Solutions (RMS) a division of RSS. RMS is made up of advanced security personnel, anyone with a special operations background or someone who has much high-risk facility experience.
At high-risk facilities, scalability is a big factor in improving a facility’s defense. “High-risk facilities are a much bigger win from a terrorist perspective. Even though the facility may be hardened — there is still a terror factor,” Wilson says.
But even with the potential threat these facilities represent, Wilson says that some, including chemical, are just beginning to get regulated. To make sure all facilities are manned and regulated, RSS has made a strategic decision to not sacrifice quality to retain business. “We want to show that sites that have RSS are better than those who have contractors or on-site service,” Wilson says.