Gareth Stead Clark receiving his award from the BSIA’s Trevor Elliott, Director of Manpower and Membership Services
High performing VSG duo Simon Webber and Mark Curtis showing off their awards, whilst Mr Elliott of the BSIA looks on with air of satisfaction…who says hard work doesn’t pay?
The hard work and dedication of one of The Mall Blackburn’s Security Supervisors has earned him a top accolade, Vigilance can report.
Gareth Stead Clark, who is employed by Vision Security Group (VSG) and has worked at The Mall for five years, won the award for Best Use of Technology in the North West heat of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) Regional Security Personnel Awards.
Since being promoted to Security Supervisor in 2010, Mr Clark is said to have taken a leading role within the team and worked alongside Mall management on several technology based projects.
These included appraisals and enhancements for the CCTV system and internal security database management and improvements.
Ian Fisher, Account Director at VSG, said: “Gareth has gained a wealth of experience since starting at The Mall and has worked extremely hard to ensure he stays abreast of all the latest advancements in the security industry. He has taken a very proactive approach to his position, spent time getting to grips with new technology, which has allowed him to apply his expertise across various initiatives. The Mall management, CCTV operator colleagues and visiting CCTV engineers have all benefited from Gareth’s knowledge.”
Loraine Jones, General Manager at The Mall Blackburn, was more than happy to endorse Gareth’s nomination for the award and described him as an asset to the team.
She said: “We are all delighted to hear that Gareth has won this award and it is thoroughly deserved! He is a very valued member of the team here and his contributions have made a real difference.”
At a ceremony organised by the BSIA and VSG on March 7th, Mr Clark was more than delighted to have won the award.
“What a fantastic surprise to have won the regional award for the best use of technology” he asked rhetorically: “I am elated that my peers have taken the time to put me forward for this award and of course, to have won!”
Clark added: “The project was to help make life easier for the people I work alongside including The Mall staff and the local police force, as well as any newcomers to the site.”
He enthused: “I enjoy working in the security industry and intend to remain so for some time. The team I work alongside remain strong and take each challenge head on, no matter what pressure we are put under. Our management team aid us by allowing officers to try new ideas and processes, which helps the team to grow and develop. I feel being a part of this is a privilege and intend to help this growth and development in any way I can.”
A source at the BSIA said Mr Clark would now be put forward to the national judging phase of the awards. If he is successful in the second round of judging, he will then be invited to attend the Association’s annual lunch on July 16th where he will be presented with the national award.
Also in a related development, the hard work and dedication of two security professionals from Burton on Trent have earned them the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) Regional Security Personnel Award for Service to the Customer in the Midlands.
Simon Webber, a Profit Protection Manager, and Mark Curtis, a Security Supervisor, work for security company Vision Security Group (VSG) and have been working for their client for a combined period of almost 12 years.
Messrs Webber and Curtis were nominated jointly for the award following their implementation of a new gatehouse security procedure, which successfully combined streamlined operations with significant cost savings for the customer.
It was gathered that previously, particular gatehouse procedures at the site meant that around 4000 double sided pages were printed and photocopied each month, incurring a huge cost in toner and print ink. Therefore, the client was looking to reduce these significant overheads.
Working together, Webber and Curtis built upon Mark’s previous experience of Bluetooth technology, and implemented a new procedure whereby the previously printed information was transmitted to drivers via Bluetooth.
It was said that virtually all drivers passing through the site had mobile phones with Bluetooth capability, enabling the equipment to register contact with almost every phone, using supporting signage and verbal verification from the officer booking in, acceptance of the Bluetooth transmission from the gatehouse exceeded 75%.
Vigilance also learnt that the the trial period of this method was successful, with projections forecasting monthly savings of up to £800 for the client.
When a separate synergies project overtook the need for the Bluetooth transmission method at the gatehouse, Simon and Mark transferred the knowledge gained so far and utilised Bluetooth transmission to replace the manual distribution of printed health and safety information to the 540 visitors received at the site each month.
As cost savings were at the heart of this project. Webber and Curtis ran a second trial which focused on the visitor reception process, beaming an electronic copy of the instructions directly to visitor handsets, vastly reducing the number of hard copies being handed out.
“The team had not been asked to go above and beyond to deliver the extra cost savings,” said Darren Tough, Area Manager at VSG. “Simon and Mark took it upon themselves to assist in these savings. Together, Simon and Mark created a more cost effective solution to address a problem for the client and further developed it to address other needs on site.”
Mr Tough added: At a ceremony organised by the BSIA and VSG on March 7th Simon and Mark had this to say: “We enjoyed the excitement of bringing in this technological solution to the client and we were only really held back by the age of the equipment we could source ourselves. Winning the BSIA award has given us the taste of recognition and we are already engaging ourselves for next year’s application.”
Aso to the next stage, a BSIA’s spokesperson said both Webber and Curtis would now be put forward to the national judging phase of the awards, adding if they were successful in the second round of judging, they would then be invited to attend the Association’s annual lunch on July 16th where they would be presented with the national award.
These prestigious awards are currently in their fifteenth year – having been sponsored by Camberford Law since their inception – and serve to acknowledge the successes of those working within the security industry.