ASIS International 58th Annual Seminar and Exhibits – October 2010
I just returned from Dallas and the big Show. The exhibit space was huge and impressive. (Obviously clients are spending a lot of money on security.) There was considerable diversity in the offerings, but I spent the majority of my time looking at firms that provide guards and then firms that offer systems to monitor guard performance.
There were more firms offering “web based” systems. While you had to ask to determine what that really meant I left Dallas feeling confident that GuardChecker offered the only true Software as a Service (SaaS) business model. Others sent data to offsite servers, but that was about the only change to what has been offered for years.
All existing systems continue to have limited ability to adapt to a specific client’s business. Without significant expense, clients are limited to only standard reports. None have the ability to summarize or compare various different sites or providers. None had the ability to summarize information at various organizational levels (districts, regions, etc.) within larger companies.
Clearly RFID is becoming more affordable and several firms offered new, improved RFID hardware. By far, the most impressive hardware seemed to be coming from places outside the US. I talked with several companies and we will begin exploring an agreement to test what hardware seems to work best with GuardChecker. Stay tuned, but at this point I am optimistic.
Also there is a growing trend to use GPRS to transmit data from the collection device to the web. While they use a protocol that is more common outside the US, service actually exists for us. As we explore RFID, we will also investigate how available and reliable that service may be for our clients.
One issue facing almost every exhibitor is how to deal a client’s internal IT department. That remains a hurdle for all our clients and us. The “say no” IT folks remain alive and well. Perhaps the GPRS will permit us to transmit data without having to go through a very small, one way hole in their fire wall. Stay tuned.
Improving Guard Force Performance
All conscientious people want to improve performance whether at play or at work. Performance improvement for either an individual or a group is greatly and positively influenced by the following steps:
- Clearly define in discreet, measureable terms those routine performance results that are associated with success.
- Collect routine performance data (as frequently as practical), by individual and/or group, that are associated with success.
- Quickly provide feedback to the individual and group based on those measured results.
- Consider this to be a process of continuous improvement, where Steps 2 and 3 repeated on a regular, frequent basis.
Sounds easy, but frequently we do not define success in quantifiable terms. If defined, we do not actually collect and evaluate the discreet daily results. Finally, if we provide feedback on those daily results, we do it too late to positively impact performance.
It the manager permits poor performance to continue without corrective feedback, he or she inadvertently endorses subpar performance and over time creates a under performing culture.
Sports provide an excellent example where all three steps occur in a timeframe that can truly impact performance and eventually success. Most other businesses do not!
Of course, success is also significantly affected by talent and a bit of luck. Regardless, success will NOT be consistently achieved with continuously improving performance.
Oversight Inc’s GuardChecker easily enables the security managers to do just that.
- Step 1 is accomplished during the initial setup. The performance metrics are created using the security provider’s contract, and the Post and Special Orders associated with that site.
- Step 2 is accomplished by the guards using the Service on a regular basis. The results are provided to the Security Manager through flexible, management reporting.
- Step 3 is a management action, but GuardChecker reporting enables the manager to monitor improvement over time.