Industry News June 2006
BUSINESS NEWS
In an effort to reduce alarm dispatches, members of the alarm industry have established the Police Dispatch Quality Award. Created by the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) and False Alarm Reduction Association (FARA), the award is designed to raise industry awareness regarding false alarms. It recognizes companies that have a commitment to work with law enforcement, implement proven practices, and develop new models of success to share with others.
The first recipient of the award is Vector Security, which has reduced dispatches from 1.37 to 0.8 per customer. The company credits external training, counseling for offenders, system design inspection, enhanced call verification, introductory training periods, and new technology control panels for its success. Special attention is given to the ten customers with the highest monthly false alarm rate and the ten with the highest cumulative rate.
The company, which serves more than 150,000 residential and commercial clients, was officially honored at the SAMMY Awards in Las Vegas. Custom Alarm was runnerup for the prize, reducing false alarms by 17.6 percent and dispatches by 42.3 percent. Atronic Alarms was also honored as a finalist because of its new quality assurance department.
PARTNERSHIPS AND DEALS
West Corporation is using an access control solution from AMAG Technology with an integrated badging system. Security Equipment, Inc., designed and installed the system.
American Safety and Health Institute has formed an alliance with St. John Ambulance Canada to deliver health and safety training products and programs.
Aventura Technologies, Inc., and IEP Ltd. have completed the installation of a video surveillance solution at the Apache Nugget Casino.
Checkpoint Systems, Inc., has signed an agreement with Carrefour to introduce an aggressive source-tagging program for reducing shrinkage.
Emerson Network Power is collaborating with Cisco Systems on a 15-city tour and Web cast schedule.
Employment Background Investigations, Inc., will offer its customers access to the USMA National Retail Theft Database through a collaboration with USIS.
F-Secure Mobile Anti-Virus will be available through Nokia to the users of four of the company’s devices.
Full Armor has announced that its PolicyPortal will extend MicrosoftNetwork Access Protection by providing additional security and configuration assessment capabilities.
Les Bijouteries Lavigueur has selected Omnicast from Genetec to secure its jewelry stores and headquarters.
Green Hills Software, Inc., has joined Texas Instruments Incorporated’s Third Party Network as a software and embedded services provider.
Imperva is providing protection for database of the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System.
IntelliVid Corporation has announced that CVS has expanded the use of its Video Investigator software in several regions.
MagiQ Technologies, Silicon Graphics, Qucor, and the University of Melbourne have formed a joint venture to commercialize diamond- encrusted single-photon sources for quantum cryptography systems.
Marlin Central Monitoring and Video Protein have teamed up to provide a standardized video solution with remote access via a single interface.
More than 600 surveillance cameras from Panasonic System Solutions Company were used to monitor activity at the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
Lider Supermarkets is using Pelco video security systems in all its stores, designed and installed by E y D Ingeniería y Servicios.
Resolve Optics Ltd. Was selected by Sekai Electronics to supply miniature zoom lenses for its RSC Series Head-Up Display camera.
Siemens Communications has been chosen to deploy, service, and integrate smart card solutions at Nova Southeastern University.
Triware Networld Systems, L.L.C., has installed an IT security network system at San Jose Credit Union.
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
AccessData Corporation has been selected to be a supplier in the Technology Transfer Program sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
The Department of Health and Human Services awarded a contract to Akorn, Inc., for the manufacture and delivery of medical countermeasures for radiological or nuclear incidents.
Gabriel Technologies
Corporation is supplying a custom-built locking system for shipping containers to the Department of the Navy. Global Security Systems has been awarded a contract by the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, in partnership with the University of Mississippi, to build a statewide emergency alert network for sending text messages via FM radio signals to emergency responders.
J.P. Hudson & Associates helped design and execute intelligent video systems for the Pittsburgh International Airport through a grant from the Transportation Security Administration. InterTECH Security assisted in the project.
Opticomm was selected by the Los Angeles International Airport to replace existing coaxial cables with single-mode fiber links connecting hundreds of cameras throughout the airport to the screening rooms.
Vicon Industries Inc. announced that South Sioux City, Nebraska, has integrated Vicon’s IP digital video solutions with its citywide wireless Internet service to improve security.
MARKETING AGREEMENTS
Digital Defense Group and Bio Digital Security Pty Limited have formed a strategic alliance under which Bio Digital will market Digital Defense biocards in Australia.
Digital Descriptor Systems, Inc., has appointed Mark Raymond as a manufacturers representative for CGM Applied Security Technologies, Inc., in Michigan and parts of Indiana and Ohio.
Earth Security Electronics, Inc., is selling a variety of intelligent video solutions from DynaPel.
DynaPel has appointed BCM Controls Corporation as an authorized reseller of its digital video products.
Genetec has granted CPE exclusive rights to distribute Omnicast throughout Eastern Europe. The two companies have already implemented systems in the Airport of Prague and the Technical University of Prague.
ICP Digital, Inc., has formed a strategic marketing alliance with Strand to collaborate on joint marketing initiatives within the U.S. education market.
One Source Industries has added the Datacard Group Security ID and Card Personalization Solutions to its product offerings.
SecureWorks has announced that PC Mall, ShedNet Inc., and Yeo & Yeo Computer Consulting have joined its VAR program and will offer SecureWorks services to their clients.
Siemens Building Technologies Group will have exclusive marketing and distribution rights in Europe for a container security solution developed by Commerce-Guard AB.
Sonasoft Corporation has teamed with Enterprise International for a strategic distributor partnership in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Temtec-STOPware has named Service Works Inc. as an authorized systems integrator and reseller for its badging solutions.
Zero International has appointed Southwest Architectural Sales, LLC, as its new sales agent in northern Texas; Claire H. Cusick Company, Inc., in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming; and L&T Associates in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and northern Florida.
AWARDS AND CERTIFICATIONS
AlliedBarton Security Services has been named to Training magazine’s Top 100 list for employee training.
Axalto is one of the “Hot Companies” for 2006 in the Info Security Products Guide.
Business Certainty from Cesura, Inc., outperformed traditional infrastructure and network monitoring products in independent validation testing by VeriTest.
DORMA Group North America’s Web site has been recognized by MerComm, Inc., with a 2005 Gold Mercury Award in the Corporate U.S. Web Site Category.
Genetec Information Systems Inc. has been certified as a Sun TekAlliance Partner by Sun Microsystems.
Genex Technologies has earned Frost & Sullivan’s 2006 Technology Innovation of the Year Award in biometrics for security applications. SAFLOK has given its Distributor of the Year award to HOTEK.
NeoScale Systems Inc. announced that the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology has awarded FIPS 140-2 Level 3 Certificate #621 to the company’s CryptoStor Tape.
Pacom Systems has received certification from the U.S. General Services Administration to offer its products to government agencies. The certification is part of a contract with Reliance Technologies.
Pixim Inc. has been named the winner of the Frost & Sullivan Innovation and Leadership Award in video surveillance technology.
PPM 2000 Inc. has attained Gold Certified status in the Microsoft Partner Program with a competency in ISV/Software Solutions.
The intrusion prevention service from SecureWorks received the Best Intrusion Prevention award from SC Magazine. The company’s iSensor V5.3 has received the NSS Approved Award from the NSS Group.
Tavcom Training has been accepted as an Investor in People organization, a British national standard that sets a level of good practice for the training and development of employees.
Vanguard Managed Solutions has been recognized by Cisco Systems as an Advanced Technology Provider.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Accurate Background, Inc., is rebranding the company with a new logo, tagline and Web site (www.accuratebackground.com).
ADT Security Services, Inc., is offering schools a free security checklist and site survey to locate potential security problem areas.
Advanced Digital Security Solutions, which operates under the Samsung 360º trade name, has opened a new fulfillment center in Denver, Colorado.
Anonymizer Inc. is developing a new anticensorship solution to enable Chinese citizens to access the entire Internet without filters and also without fearing persecution.
Bold Technologies is launching a Virtual Disaster Response Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Diebold is a founding member of Financial Solutions Providers, a nonprofit trade association for companies that deal with the financial services industry.
Forensic Resolutions has moved to a new location in Haddonfield, New Jersey.
Honeywell has announced that it will acquire Gardiner Groupe Europe from Electra Partners Europe.
Japan Communications Incorporated will acquire Arxceo Corporation.
Perimeter Internetworking has acquired Breakwater Security Associates.
PureTech Systems Inc. has created a Strategic Advisory Board of experts in aviation, ports, military, engineering, technology, and business.
SecurityNet contributed $5,000 to Habitat for Humanity to aid in construction of houses in the New Orleans area.
Smart Card Alliance has formed an Identity Council to increase awareness and education on identity issues.
Tyco Fire & Building Products is renovating its R&D facility into a new Global Technology Center for training and research.
ASIS NEWS
Workplace Violence Guideline Published
ASIS International has published the final version of its Workplace Violence Prevention and Response Guideline. The guideline is designed to help organizations understand the scope and far-reaching consequences of the problem that annually affects an estimated 1.7 million employees directly and millions more indirectly, and to serve as a practical tool in helping employers develop a proactive and reasoned approach to dealing with workplace violence issues.
The guideline—produced by the ASIS Commission on Guidelines—presents practical definitions of workplace violence along with the continuum of acts and behavior, from less to more severe. It also includes a classification of workplace violence incidents based on the relationship of perpetrator to victim. It then outlines prevention strategies and practices for detecting, investigating, managing, and following up on threats or violent incidents that occur in the workplace.
A key conclusion of the guideline is that no organization can assume that it will be immune to the wide range of conduct that falls under the rubric of workplace violence. “Workplace violence knows no boundaries in terms of time, place, and circumstances,” said Michael A. Crane, CPP, the commission member responsible for the development of the guideline. “Because this problem can surface anytime, anywhere, with little or no warning, it is one of the most constant and pressing challenges that any employer must face.”
While legal liability and other tangible financial costs are the most visible concerns facing an organization in the wake of a workplace violence incident, the guideline warns of the more fundamental costs to employers. These include first and foremost the potential for harm or loss of life, followed by the loss of productivity, low employee morale, and a public image that communicates a disregard for employee safety. Conversely, an organization equipped to handle the broad range of workplace violence issues is more likely not only to avoid such costly incidents but also to benefit from feelings of confidence, security, and safety that characterize a successful enterprise.
