Industry News June 2009
BUSINESS NEWS
Twelve privately held regional contract security companies have formed a coalition to be known as the National Security Alliance. Kimberly King, president and CEO of King Security Services in San Francisco, and Nicholas Luciano, vice president of Hannon Security Services of Bloomington, Minnesota, initiated the idea.
The group will share best practices and become a referral network, allowing them to service accounts on a national basis. The 12 companies offer a network of 10,350 employees based in 75 branch offices and licensed in 33 states.
Other founding members are A & R Security of Chicago; Advantage Security of Denver; RSIG Security of Detroit; RSIG Security of Boston; Anderson Security Agency of Phoenix, Arizona; Vinson Guard of New Orleans; Executive Security of Dallas; Per Mar Security Services of Davenport, Iowa; Building Star Security of New York; and Puget Sound Security of Bellevue, Washington.
The Alliance has retained Kuty & Associates, LLC, a security management, marketing, and sales consulting agency, to manage the day-to-day activities of the group.
PARTNERSHIPS AND DEALS
Andrews International and Brightfly have formed a strategic partnership to provide comprehensive risk management services.
Carter Brothers, LLC, installed a Bosch Security Systems burglar alarm system and a GE Security CCTV system for a new UPS site in Sacramento, California.
CINTEC America has named Nextec Applications as the official North American distributor of its Waterwall line of blast-mitigation products. Faria Farms in California is using a wireless video surveillance system to monitor cattle, workers, and equipment. The system, deployed by Valley Ag Software, uses Firetide wireless mesh networking equipment and Axis cameras and management software.
Fluidmesh Networks has teamed up with Solis Energy to provide mesh networking for remote areas that require an alternate energy source.
MATE Intelligent Video and Hirsch Electronics have integrated their products to deliver intelligent surveillance and physical security convergence.
Intransa has chosen SVC Marketing to provide sales coverage to Instransa StorPartner integrators and dealers across Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and western Pennsylvania; Source AV will offer coverage throughout Canada.
Middle Atlantic Products chose Rupper Associates, Inc., as sales representative for New York City and northern New Jersey.
NEDAP and SALTO have integrated NEDAP AEOS and SALTO offline readers to provide customers with a single management platform for all access control.
Transnet Port Terminals is expanding IP video surveillance, using NICE Systems solutions, at the Durban Car and Ngqura Container terminals in South Africa.
On-Net Surveillance Systems, Inc., has named four new manufacturer’s representatives: Cabling Technologies, Inc., in southern Florida; Logically Integrated Network Components in Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, eastern Tennessee, and northern Florida; Physical Layer Technologies in parts of Illinois; and Tec-Rep in Indiana and Kentucky.
Panasonic System Solutions Company and Pelco are working together to expand the interoperability of both companies’ video surveillance solutions.
SightLogix has appointed two manufacturer’s representatives: Midlantic Marketing, Inc., for Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware; and Chesapeake Marketing Associates, Inc., for Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
Wells Fargo has chosen SecureMail from Voltage Security to handle all its e-mail.
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
Activu Corporation has installed a distributed information display and visualization system in the new command center for the Port of Long Beach.
Chubb Security is providing CCTV technology to the Lancashire town of Fleetwood, United Kingdom. Wyre Community Safety Partnership funded the project.
Union County (New Jersey) will use an emergency text and voice messaging system from Cooper Notification to communicate with first responders and the public in crisis situations.
High Rise Escape Systems, Inc., has won a contract for its portable evacuation devices from the U.S. Army in Iraq.
Stoughton Area School District (Wisconsin) has implemented the NetDVMS Network Video Recorder and Camera Management System from On-Net Surveillance Systems Inc.
Quantum Secure has deployed its SAFE software suite for identity management and access control at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Vangent, Inc., is designing, building, and operating a biometric ID management system for Mexico’s social security agency Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social.
AWARDS AND CERTIFICATIONS
Avigilon was named 2009 North American Company of the Year by Frost & Sullivan for its comprehensive surveillance solution.
The 2009 Business Superbrands Council listed Chubb as the United Kingdom’s number one fire and security brand.
Digital Horizon Solutions announced that its Eclipse 700 access control system has been endorsed by the PSA Security Network’s Technical Committee.
SimplexGrinnell was selected by MarketTools, Inc., to receive a 2008 Customer-Sat Achievement in Customer Excellence Award.
Frost & Sullivan Australia gave Verizon Business its 2008 Australia Market Leadership Award for Managed Security Services.
Wren has received a new patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the company’s Encapsulon software technology.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
American Fibertek is celebrating 25 years in business.
AlarMax Distributors, Inc., has opened a branch in Bohemia, New York.
Applied Security GmbH has established U.S. operations in Grand Rapids, Michigan, under the name Applied Security US Incorporated.
Avigilon has introduced its Asia Pacific team, headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, which will address customer needs and market opportunities in the Asia Pacific region.
Doosan Portable Power Canada has relocated to a new facility in Mississauga, Ontario.
An updated ECB•S product locator for secure-storage units, titled “Manufacturers and Certified Products,” was published by the European Security Systems Association e.V.
ICx Technologies is opening an office in the Dubai Airport Free Zone to serve customers in the Middle East.
Orsus has acquired the IP assets of Cinario Ltd. to gain an expanded reach in the United Kingdom and in intelligent risk management systems.
Red Bike Publishing is offering product bundles to help with ISP security certification.
Sperry West has a new catalog for its security products.
TOA Electronics, Inc., is offering a reseller rebate promotion for the house of worship market that will be effective through June.
ASIS NEWS
ASIS, SHRM to Create Workplace Violence Prevention National Standard ASIS International and the Society for Human Resource Management, both American National Standards Institute accredited Standards Development Organizations, will collaborate on the development of a joint Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention (WVPI) American National Standard. The standard is based on the ASIS Workplace Violence Prevention and Response Guideline published in 2005.
Workplace violence presents one of the most challenging security and personnel safety problems that an organization can face. This standard provides information and practical methods that will enable an organization to develop an effective and informed approach to prevention and intervention.
The WVPI standard will provide an overview of general policies, processes, and protocols that organizations can adopt to help prevent threatening behavior and violence affecting the workplace. It will also help organizations respond to and resolve security incidents involving threats and episodes of violence.
The standard will present practical definitions of workplace violence that will include a continuum of problematic behavior and will classify incidents based on the relationship between a perpetrator and a victim. It will also outline security prevention and intervention strategies as well as procedures for detecting, investigating, managing and addressing threatening behavior or violent episodes that occur in a workplace.
“The fundamental change of guidelines to standards and taking leadership in this area are of significant value to ASIS members as well as businesses, the media, governmental entities, and the public,” says F. Mark Geraci, CPP, chair of the ASIS Commission on Standards and Guidelines.
“SHRM sees standards development and application as key attributes of a professional society,” states Lee Webster, SPHR, director of HR Standards for SHRM. “We look forward to developing this standard with ASIS and leveraging our mutual expertise to improve the safety and productivity of workplaces in all sectors.”
ASIS and SHRM will establish a technical committee composed of users, managers, producers, service providers, and other interested parties to develop the WVPI Standard. The ASIS standards operating procedures will be used in the development of this standard. For more information, [email protected].
ASIS, ISSA Sign MOU
ASIS International has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA). ISSA is the second industry organization to align with ASIS in 2009. It serves information security and risk professionals and has more than 138 chapters in 70 countries; members range from the first-year systems administrator to the senior-most information security executive.
The vision of this relationship is to increase collaboration in and among organizations that are involved with enterprise security risk management (ESRM), which is the practice of integrating all areas of an organization that involve the protection of people, property, and information. ESRM helps organizations consider the entire risk universe, including financial, strategic, and operational, ensuring that multiple disciplines and business units communicate effectively and work together to identify, prioritize, and mitigate risk.
“Our involvement with the ISSA is in the interest of rapid advancement and development of the ESRM body of knowledge,” says ASIS Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Stack. “This relationship allows for periodic discussions regarding common strategic, tactical, or operational opportunities or partnerships that would be mutually beneficial to each member’s organization.”
According to the terms of the agreement, members of ASIS and ISSA will meet regularly to identify joint strategic and operational opportunities. They will also collaborate on developing educational content for each other’s domestic and international programs. Additionally, ASIS and ISSA will cooperate to provide mutual member discounts on fees to attend ASIS/ISSA educational programming, provide access to members-only content on Web sites, and support the global evolution of security standards and guidelines.
“As the worlds of logical security, physical security, and compliance converge, we need to continually equip our members and our profession with the skills to present a holistic view of security risks,” says ISSA’s President Howard A. Schmidt. “Working together with ASIS provides our chapters and members access to an array of educational events as well as an extended network of security professionals that will help prepare us for the next generation of security risk challenges.”
Earlier this year, ASIS formalized a relationship with the Open Security Exchange (OSE), a group dedicated to accelerating convergence of IT and physical security.
