Certification Profile: Eduardo E. De Diego, PSP
First there’s the email. Then client meetings, risk assessments, site studies, equipment research, systems design and specifications, report writing, and touching base with his team. “Only then can I get my first coffee of the day,” says Eduardo E. De Diego, PSP, president, Applied Security Research Associates (ASRA).
Based in Canada, ASRA is celebrating 20 years of security consulting services to federal and provincial government entities, as well as to the corrections, military, healthcare, and museum domains. A subspecialty is security command center and suite design. Clients are mostly in Canada, although the firm has worked on projects in Central America, Mexico, and the Middle East.
“Canada has a great number of experienced and roundly qualified security practitioners available to work in all parts of the country in full legal compliance with Canadian labor laws,” explains De Diego. “We frequently work for highly classified agencies, which require special considerations as to how we handle documents, transmit and receive information, and archive the project data.” The company promotes international standards to its clients—including ones from ASIS International, ANSI, CAN/ULC, and ISO—and uses them in consulting projects. “They raise the quality of our designs and installations,” adds De Diego.
This desire to set his Canadian consultancy apart from others was an impetus for De Diego to pursue his Physical Security Professional (PSP) certification. ASRA encourages clients to include certification requirements in their request for proposals because the barrier to certification is high. “It provides well-rounded and experienced practitioners to do the work,” says De Diego, each backed up by a multitude of resources, colleagues, and mentors that can provide guidance.
De Diego has also benefitted from this network through his affiliation with ASIS, which he joined in 2008. He attends local chapter meetings as well as others while traveling. “I always come away with something new, whether learned information or new contacts,” he says.
Since joining ASIS, De Diego has served on the ASIS Cultural Properties Council, where he interacts with the best in the cultural artifacts protection field. In addition, De Diego has benefitted from “informal peer reviews with colleagues” at the Annual ASIS Seminar and Exhibits. “The resulting education has been priceless.”
De Diego enthusiastically encourages others to become certified. “It opens doors,” he says. “Our personnel have qualified and worked hard to achieve their certifications, and have subsequently maintained their educational and volunteer efforts to keep that certification current,” he observes. “It makes a difference to be the respected leader in your market.”
