Critical event management (CEM) and national public warning software solutions provider, Everbridge, released findings that show only 24% of surveyed organizations have a strong Travel Risk Management (TRM) program in place as defined by TRM Standard ISO 31030. The results come from the company’s year-long study of more than 200 global C-suite executives. Additionally, only 21% of those surveyed feel that their organizations have adequate measures in place to meet the standard’s key requirements for travel safety.
“Addressing potential gaps in a company’s travel risk management program is critical to successfully building a more resilient workforce,” said Tracy Reinhold, chief security officer at Everbridge. “The good news is that the introduction of ISO 31030 has removed much of the guesswork in how to do that. But there is still plenty of room for improvement as organizations seek to mitigate risks and fulfill their duty of care. Even those in the top category should ensure continuous reviews of their programs and policies as risks consistently evolve.”
ISO 31030 is the officially recognized International Standard for travel risk management, providing guidance on how to manage risks to organizations and travelers. To help organizations benchmark their travel risk programs against this standard and identify any shortfalls, Everbridge developed Measuring Up Against ISO 31030 – The Travel Risk Management Standard, an online survey measuring the seven key areas of the standard: Understanding risk context; Managing travel risk effectively; Travel risk assessment and treatment; Incident response; Specialist support; Communication and consultation; and Program monitoring and review.
Among the survey’s key findings:
• Only 24% of respondents have a solid travel risk management program in place as defined by ISO 31030
• Only 27% of respondents have a clear understanding of their organization’s risk profile
• Only 36% of respondents feel that their TRM policies are aligned with other organizational policies
• Only 21% of respondents feel that adequate measures are in place to safeguard travelers
• Only 19% feel that policies and procedures have been effectively communicated and understood
• 81% believe their organization needs to improve the way their TRM program is evaluated and reviewed
Adds Reinhold: “While risks associated with the global pandemic dominated the attention of travel professionals for the last three years, severe weather events and civil unrest now pose the biggest threats to business travel. ISO guidance is a boon to travel managers as it gives them a chance to evaluate their own programs against industry standards. It is also a terrific opportunity to review and refresh established TRM programs.”
The mayor of New York City announced that the New York Police Department would start using Boston Dymanics’ robotic dogs in certain situations, specifically life threatening situations.
The types of events the robotic dogs will be used in include hostage negotiations, counterterrorism incidents and other situation as warranted, according to Jeffrey Maddrey, chief of department.
New York City attempted to begin the program two years earlier but the public outrage forced the police department to reconsider which it has now done.
Finland became NATO’s newest member on April 4, 2023, upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the United States at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. NATO Allies signed Finland’s Accession Protocol on July 5, 2022, after which all 30 national parliaments voted to ratify the country’s membership.
“We welcome Finland to the Alliance!,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto deposited Finland’s instrument of accession with the government of the United States, represented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Secretary General then welcomed Finnish President Sauli Niinistö to NATO Headquarters for a flag-raising ceremony to mark the country’s accession to the Alliance.
Speaking ahead of the ceremony, the Secretary General thanked President Niinistö for his outstanding leadership and for leading Finland into the most successful Alliance in history. “I am deeply proud to welcome Finland as a full-fledged member of our Alliance and I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as soon as possible,” he said. “Joining NATO is good for Finland, it is good for Nordic security and it is good for NATO as a whole,” he added. The Secretary General also noted that Finland’s accession shows the world that President Putin failed to “slam NATO’s door shut.” “Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite; more NATO and our door remains firmly open,” he said.
The Finnish national anthem and the NATO hymn were played, as Finland’s flag was raised outside NATO Headquarters for the first time, in the presence of President Niinistö, Foreign Minister Haavisto, Defence Minister Kaikkonen, the foreign ministers of all NATO Allies and invitee Sweden. Simultaneous flag-raising ceremonies took place at Allied Command Operations (SHAPE) in Mons (Belgium) and Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia (United States). Standing alongside President Niinistö, the Secretary General said: “Finland is safer and NATO is stronger with Finland as an Ally. Your forces are substantial and highly capable, your resilience is second to none and for many years troops from Finland and NATO countries have worked side-by-side as partners. From today, we stand together as Allies.”
Motorola Solutions has deployed a new digital radio solution for NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd. (NTA) to provide safe, secure and reliable communications for Israel’s largest infrastructure project.
Spanning 24 kilometers with trains running every 3.5 minutes during peak hours, the Red Line is the backbone of the new Light Rail Transit network and the first of six new trains to service the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area.
The new communications system is based on the mission-critical TETRA standard and will connect teams working across 34 train stations on the Red Line, helping to improve efficiency, safety and resource management. The communications systems will also help to ensure swift collaboration between train crews and service staff at all times and locations, including the train system’s underground tunnels and stations.
As part of the contract, Motorola Solutions has also extended the existing nationwide P25 communications network used by public safety agencies in Israel to enable their frontline teams to communicate in the new tunnels and rail lines.
NTA is one of the main public transport providers in Israel and leads design and construction of the mass transit system for the Tel Aviv area. The new mass transit system is the largest and most complex transportation project to ever be executed in Israel. When complete, it will comprise three light train lines, three metro lines, over more than 248 stations and 250 km of railways and tunnels.
“Our extensive experience in serving the public transport sector throughout Europe and the Middle East has enabled us to support organizations to reach their goals for safety, efficiency and reliability of service,” said Avraham Ben-David, country manager Israel at Motorola Solutions.
Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) today announced the new Avigilon physical security suite that provides secure, scalable and flexible video security and access control to organizations of all sizes around the world. The Avigilon security suite includes the cloud-native Avigilon Alta and on-premise Avigilon Unity solutions, each powered by advanced analytics and designed to provide an effortless user experience.
Avigilon has been the capstone of Motorola Solutions’ Video Security & Access Control business, which has grown through strategic acquisitions over the past five years to achieve over $1.5 billion in annual sales (2022). The launch of the new Avigilon security suite marks the combination of technologies from three acquisitions – Avigilon (2018), Openpath (2021) and Ava Security (2022) – to create one of the most extensive physical security platforms on the market today, all under a modernized Avigilon brand.
“Individually, Avigilon, Ava Security and Openpath offer excellence in their fields; together, they’re exponentially more powerful,” said John Kedzierski, senior vice president, Video Security & Access Control, Motorola Solutions. “The new Avigilon security suite makes enterprise-grade physical security accessible to businesses of any size, with modular layers of security that can be tailored to protect them from the increasing number and complex nature of threats around the world. It fills a critical void in the market today, bringing together the necessary capabilities to help keep people, property and assets safe.”
Motorola Solutions’ video cameras allow customers to comply with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Sec. 889 and highlights Motorola Solutions’ continued commitment to advancing technologies that protect the nation’s networks and supply chains from equipment that threatens national security.
Avigilon Alta is an entirely cloud-nativesecurity suite that brings together Ava Security’s video portfolio and Openpath’s access control solutions. It requires no infrastructure beyond cameras, controllers and access control readers utilizing cloud infrastructure managed by Motorola Solutions. Avigilon Unity is an on-premise security suite that has all the hallmarks of the original Avigilon portfolio, including Avigilon Control Center, Avigilon Cloud Services and Access Control Manager. It is designed for enterprises that want to manage their own systems.
Both Avigilon Alta and Avigilon Unity feature:
Scalable, flexible design for today and the future. The Avigilon security suite can scale as businesses grow, enabling organizations to include multiple sites, cameras and locations that can be operated from anywhere via a browser or mobile device.
End-to-end security technology for complete situational awareness. The Avigilon security suite centralizes video security, access control, analytics and decision management into one easy-to-use platform.
Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) for proactive security alerts in real-time. The Avigilon security suite helps to make watching live video obsolete with AI-enabled analytics. Automatic alerts are sent to security operators who can securely access the platform from anywhere on any device to gain immediate visibility and insight into a threat.
Eurostar Group, incorporating Thalys and Eurostar, today revealed the new brand to take the business forward, with a bold ambition to carry 30 million passengers a year by 2030 and become the backbone of sustainable travel in Europe.
From the end of 2023, all customer touchpoints including the business’ 51 trains will carry a sleek new look under the Eurostar brand name. Eurostar was selected due to high consumer awareness at both a European and global level, including overseas which continues to be a growing market for high-speed rail services.
The new business has chosen an iconic star as its symbol and new logo inspired by l’Etoile du Nord, the original train service linking Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam and as a tribute to the first Eurostar logo. An animated spark graphic acts as a compass symbolising the brand purpose to spark new opportunities, connecting people, places, businesses, and cultures across borders.
Under a single brand, Eurostar Group aims to spark a new golden age for high-speed rail connectivity in Europe, continuing to convert road and air travellers to rail at a time when passengers are keen to have greener travel options. A passenger’s carbon footprint from one flight between London and Amsterdam is the equivalent of seven Eurostar journeys,* and as the largest international high-speed rail network in Western Europe, crossing five countries and connecting 245 million people, there is huge potential to drive the modal shift to sustainable travel.
Eurostar Group passengers will have Europe at their fingertips, benefiting from a single loyalty programme covering all destinations across the current Eurostar and Thalys networks, as well as a single website and booking system from October 2023. For continental travellers, this will improve ease of booking direct and connecting journeys to London and for UK passengers it will offer simple, seamless connections between London and German destinations including Cologne.
With the alliance legally completed on 1st May 2022, today marks a milestone in the bringing together of the two businesses. Eurostar Group’s CEO Gwendoline Cazenave, who joined the business in October, has 20 years of experience in rail transport and is passionate about driving forward the business’s sustainable future. “We are excited to unveil our new brand today which will raise our visibility, help us become the backbone of sustainable high-speed rail in Europe, and support us in our ambition to double the number of passengers over the next decade. Our customers will be able to experience the same quality of service they know and love across our unified network, linking iconic business and leisure destinations across five European countries. As Eurostar Group we are in a unique position to spark the next chapter for rail travel, to truly drive the modal shift from road and air to rail.”
“We are proud to be engaged in Eurostar Group, the world’s leading high-speed rail company,” said Christophe Fanichet, CEO of SNCF Voyageurs. “This new Eurostar brand, with its unified network, is at the heart of our ambition to enable international rail development and to double its modal share by 2030. We have everything we need to succeed in this wonderful challenge!”
Alain Krakovitch, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Eurostar Group added: “We set out a bold ambition: increase the number of passengers from 19 million in 2019 to 30 million in 2030. And accelerate the shift from air and road travel to high-speed rail travel on the combined Eurostar and Thalys network. We knew that the challenge of climate change and Europe’s growing demand for eco-responsible and sustainable travel presents a great opportunity for both companies in terms of development in the long term.”
As local, state, and federal environmental agencies continue to address air, water, and soil quality concerns on the ground in East Palestine, Ohio, the U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing major investments in rail safety and rail infrastructure, as well as highlighting continued work to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and make our railways safer. The President’s FY 2024 Budget announced this week calls for an investment of over $1 billion to expand DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration’s core safety efforts and improve critical rail infrastructure:
$273.5 million to support the agency’s railroad safety personnel, expand critical inspection and audit capabilities, enhance data analysis to better identify the root causes of railroad safety incidents, and increase stakeholder outreach and partnerships to address and eliminate threats to public safety.
$760 million for both the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program and Railroad Crossing Elimination program to provide additional dedicated grant funding to improve nearly all facets of railroad safety, including upgrading track, rolling stock, and signal systems; supporting railroad employee safety training programs; and preventing railroad trespassing and highway-rail grade crossing collisions.
$59 million for a cross-cutting Research & Development program to advance new technologies and practices to improve railroad safety.
Additionally, DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration took multiple steps to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and make our railways safer:
This week the Federal Railroad Administration announced it is conducting a supplemental safety assessmentof Norfolk Southern Railway following multiple safety incidents. The safety assessment will exceed the scope of existing FRA audits and take an expansive look at Norfolk Southern’s overall safety culture and operations. Information will be used to target specific areas for FRA’s oversight and enforcement efforts and identify risks beyond the reach of current federal regulations. FRA will use the information to push Norfolk Southern to develop measures to mitigate risks while identifying any appropriate enforcement actions. FRA will issue a public report with findings.
Concurrently, the U.S. Department of Transportation is calling on Norfolk Southern to engage its employees and management around safety in order to protect workers and communities following Norfolk Southern incidents in Reed, PA, Bessemer, AL, Sandusky, OH, East Palestine, OH, Springfield, OH, and Cleveland, OH. Restoring public confidence, especially in the communities in which Norfolk Southern operates, requires action beyond the six-point safety plan the company announced March 6.
FRA issued a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would require railroads to provide emergency escape breathing apparatus to train crews and other employees when transporting certain hazardous materials.
These announcements build on previous progress including:
Bipartisan legislation: The Senate proposal, endorsed by President Biden, includes provisions that Secretary Buttigieg called for as part of a three-part drive, like increasing fines on industry for safety violations, strengthening rules for trains carrying hazardous materials, increasing funding for hazmat training, accelerating the timeline to phase in more robust tank cars, and ensuring a two-person crew minimum on trains.
Targeted Track Inspections: DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced targeted track inspections, focusing on routes that carry hazardous materials, that will start in East Palestine and expand nationwide.
Rail Worker Whistleblower Program: After Secretary Buttigieg pressed them, all seven Class I freight railroads have agreed to participate in the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) program for rail employees to help prevent safety issues.
Meeting with labor leaders: USDOT leadership gathered leaders from unions representing tens of thousands of rail employees to hear safety concerns, both short- and long-term. USDOT’s three-part approach includes a push to guarantee paid sick leave for all rail workers.
Safety Advisory for Tank Car Covers: DOT’s Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) acted on initial findings from the independent investigator (NTSB) into the Norfolk Southern derailment and issued a safety advisory notice for tank car covers.
Safety Advisory for Hot Bearing Wayside Detectors: FRA urged railroads using hot bearing detectors (HBDs) to evaluate their inspection process, prioritize the proper training and qualification of personnel working with HBDs, and improve the safety culture of their organizations.
Safety Advisory for Emergency Response Plans: PHMSA urged all railroad operators to create and maintain emergency response plans for the transport of hazardous materials, strengthen the accessibility of the AskRail system, and inform PHMSA when they identify responders who are not able to access PHMSA’s grant-funded training. The full advisory can be found here.
Investments in Rail Safety: In the first year of the bipartisan infrastructure law FRA invested over $370M in safety improvements to physical infrastructure including nearly $190M for upgrades to tracks. Later this year FRA will make awards for the new Railroad Crossing Elimination Program and the next round of the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program.
As local, state and federal environmental agencies continue to address air, water and soil quality concerns on the ground in East Palestine, Ohio, the U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing major investments in rail safety and rail infrastructure, as well as highlighting continued work to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and make our railways safer.
Biden’s recently announced FY 2024 Budget included calls for an investment of more than $1 billion to expand DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration’s core safety efforts and improve critical rail infrastructure:
• $273.5 million to support the agency’s railroad safety personnel, expand critical inspection and audit capabilities, enhance data analysis to better identify the root causes of railroad safety incidents, and increase stakeholder outreach and partnerships to address and eliminate threats to public safety.
• $760 million for both the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program and Railroad Crossing Elimination program to provide additional dedicated grant funding to improve nearly all facets of railroad safety, including upgrading track, rolling stock, and signal systems; supporting railroad employee safety training programs; and preventing railroad trespassing and highway-rail grade crossing collisions.
• $59 million for a cross-cutting Research & Development program to advance new technologies and practices to improve railroad safety.
Additionally, DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration took multiple steps to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and make our railways safer:
• This week the Federal Railroad Administration announced it is conducting a supplemental safety assessment of Norfolk Southern Railway following multiple safety incidents. The safety assessment will exceed the scope of existing FRA audits and take an expansive look at Norfolk Southern’s overall safety culture and operations. Information will be used to target specific areas for FRA’s oversight and enforcement efforts and identify risks beyond the reach of current federal regulations. FRA will use the information to push Norfolk Southern to develop measures to mitigate risks while identifying any appropriate enforcement actions. FRA will issue a public report with findings.
• Concurrently, the U.S. Department of Transportation is calling on Norfolk Southern to engage its employees and management around safety in order to protect workers and communities following Norfolk Southern incidents in Reed, PA, Bessemer, AL, Sandusky, OH, East Palestine, OH, Springfield, OH, and Cleveland, OH. Restoring public confidence, especially in the communities in which Norfolk Southern operates, requires action beyond the six-point safety plan the company announced March 6.
• FRA issued a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would require railroads to provide emergency escape breathing apparatus to train crews and other employees when transporting certain hazardous materials.
These announcements build on previous progress including:
• Bipartisan legislation: The Senate proposal, endorsed by President Biden, includes provisions that Secretary Buttigieg called for as part of a three-part drive, like increasing fines on industry for safety violations, strengthening rules for trains carrying hazardous materials, increasing funding for hazmat training, accelerating the timeline to phase in more robust tank cars, and ensuring a two-person crew minimum on trains.
• Targeted Track Inspections: DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced targeted track inspections, focusing on routes that carry hazardous materials, that will start in East Palestine and expand nationwide.
• Rail Worker Whistleblower Program: After Secretary Buttigieg pressed them, all seven Class I freight railroads have agreed to participate in the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) program for rail employees to help prevent safety issues.
• Meeting with labor leaders: USDOT leadership gathered leaders from unions representing tens of thousands of rail employees to hear safety concerns, both short- and long-term. USDOT’s three-part approach includes a push to guarantee paid sick leave for all rail workers.
• Safety Advisory for Tank Car Covers: DOT’s Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) acted on initial findings from the independent investigator (NTSB) into the Norfolk Southern derailment and issued a safety advisory notice for tank car covers.
• Safety Advisory for Hot Bearing Wayside Detectors: FRA urged railroads using hot bearing detectors (HBDs) to evaluate their inspection process, prioritize the proper training and qualification of personnel working with HBDs, and improve the safety culture of their organizations.
• Safety Advisory for Emergency Response Plans: PHMSA urged all railroad operators to create and maintain emergency response plans for the transport of hazardous materials, strengthen the accessibility of the AskRail system, and inform PHMSA when they identify responders who are not able to access PHMSA’s grant-funded training.
• Investments in Rail Safety: In the first year of the bipartisan infrastructure law FRA invested over $370M in safety improvements to physical infrastructure including nearly $190M for upgrades to tracks. Later this year FRA will make awards for the new Railroad Crossing Elimination Program and the next round of the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program.
Intermodal Terminal Company says its investment in the Somerton Intermodal Terminal will complement Port of Melbourne’s $125 million Port Rail Transformation Project and the Victorian Government’s Port Rail Shuttle Network.
The Port Rail Shuttle Network will develop or upgrade rail connections and metropolitan intermodal terminals in key industrial areas, including Somerton. The Port of Melbourne says mode shift from road to rail transport will be key for sustainability reasons as well as productivity benefits. The port believes moving freight by rail is better for the climate, it is better in terms of safety, taking trucks off local roads and reducing congestion.
Moving freight by rail can move far more containers in a single trip than trucks can, the group says. For example, a 600-meter-long train can carry 84 containers compared with a B-Double truck which has an average capacity of three containers.
There is no doubt that new access/surveillance technology and advanced security monitoring solutions can improve security everywhere from airports and bus stations to mass transit, trucking and trains. At the same time, it is possible to improve security at any location without increasing costs. Here’s how to do it.
Adapt Your Security SOPs to Reality
All major transportation facilities have some sort of security infrastructures in place, along with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to direct staff on how to manage and maintain these facilities.
In theory, all the staff have to do is to follow these SOPs to keep their facilities secure. In practice, however, this often doesn’t happen. One major reason: “A lot of the time when you find that staff [are] not following correct SOPs, [it] may be an indication that the SOPs are wrong,” said Shannon Wandmaker, director of Cain Wandmaker Aviation Security Consulting (cainwandmaker.com). “Obviously it can be an indication of other things as well — poor training, low staff morale, challenging work environment — but along with looking at those factors, security managers should remember to review the SOPs themselves, and to discuss the SOPs with the staff who are implementing them.”
Shannon Wandmaker
Often the fixes being used by staff achieve the intent of the SOPs, even if they don’t follow them. This disconnect can occur because SOPs are often developed using a top-down approach, Wandmaker noted. “The national requirements say we need to do X, so our security manual says to do X, so the SOPs says, ‘this is how to do X.’ However, if the front-line staff are doing Y, and that achieves the same security outcome and meets the national requirements, then let them continue doing Y, and change the SOPs.”
Rebecca Sherouse
Working with security ‘workarounds’ that work achieves two goals. First, “it means the company doesn’t have to waste time and money re-training people to do something a different way for no reason,” said Wandmaker. Second, adopting staff-developed SOPs “also gives front-line staff an opportunity to be heard, and feel that they have contributed to the outcome, and that has the side benefit of improving staff morale and engagement. People are more likely to follow an SOP that they helped write, than follow one that was imposed on them.”
The HiveWatch GSOC Operating System is a cloud-based security fusion platform that works with existing security systems to empower global security operations center workers. The system, built for physical security teams, simplifies information gathering from numerous security systems using multi-sensor resolution and machine learning, the company says. HiveWatch images.
Turn Down the Noise
Remember the old fable of The Boy Who Called Wolf? In this tale, a boy shepherd enjoys riling up his neighbors by calling ‘Wolf!’ when there isn’t one. After a while, his fed-up neighbors stopped heeding his calls, even when an actual wolf attacked the flock and ate them — and in some versions of the story, the shepherd as well.
This same scenario plays out today in transportation security. “Most transportation security hubs — such as airports, mass transit and ports — have global security operations centers (GSOCs) that provide security oversight for these locations,” explained Rebecca Sherouse, director of account management and security advisory at HiveWatch (hivewatch.com, a cloud-based SaaS platform built for physical security teams). “But almost all of these are plagued with “noise” — that is, false incoming alarms that detract from actual events that are occurring. As a result, GSOC operators are overwhelmed and become desensitized to incoming alerts, which can result in missed events and/or emergencies across the transportation sector.”
The solution to this problem? Reduce the number of false alarms due to proper equipment maintenance, a resetting of triggering thresholds so that alarms aren’t being set off by animals and natural phenomena, and any other adjustments that make sense. If security staff know that they can generally trust the alarm messages that they are receiving, they will be far more likely to respond to them.
A further way to cut down the noise is to modify GSOC operations to provide security staff with an integrated view of what’s going on across all of their facilities, so that they can make rational and timely security responses without drowning in data.
Frederick Reitz
Here’s the problem: “There are a lot of devices deployed across the transportation sector, from access control points with varying levels of access, to video surveillance across the entire facility/geographic area, to video management systems, to fire and intrusion detection points, and much more,” Sherouse said. Without some sort of integration platform in place to organize and prioritize this information. “The wealth of data coming out of these various devices and systems can quickly overwhelm physical security operators, who often have to navigate to multiple locations within a GSOC to correlate data, video and other information when conducting an investigation or responding to an alert,” she told TSI. “The biggest lapse for this industry is the inability to correlate all of the incoming data into a cohesive view for an operator designed to streamline response and provide the most accurate and up-to-date information that’s needed to facilitate decision-making.”
Cutting down on the noise while making security jobs more decision-oriented and less a case of passively watching monitors can also lead to more consistent GSOC staffing, expertise and performance. This is because “GSOC operators traditionally have a high rate of turnover because of the largely repetitive nature of the job,” said Sherouse. “Incoming alarms can exacerbate this by becoming a hindrance to response in many situations. This can lead to lower morale and high turnover, which can in turn lead to insufficient training to deal with emergencies as they happen. That’s the last thing that an organization wants when an incident arises — especially in such a critical sector.”
Replace Humans at Access Points with Machines
It is possible to buy new technology and improve security without increasing costs, once the money being saved by the technology’s operations is factored into the equation.
A case in point: “One of the major lapses that exists in transportation security is management of exit lanes and employee access lanes,” said Frederick Reitz, managing director of the aviation security firm SAFEsky. “Most airports have an exit area that must be manned by a security guard or TSA agent (in the U.S.). The standard cost for putting a security guard or TSA agent at an exit lane for 12 months averages approximately $250,000.”
Now, it would cost about $500,000 to replace that one guard with four exit lanes controlled by one automated terminal, he said. But do the math: “The investment of the automated secure exit lanes would pay for itself in two years,” said Reitz. After that, the money saved by not having a human guard would be a bonus.
That’s not all. “Automated lanes are an effective way to prevent access to the secured area,” he said. “They are always watching, and do not open if a person tries to enter from the wrong direction.” In contrast, a human guard requires breaks for meals and restroom use, and their attention can be diverted by passengers asking questions or a staged incident meant to distract them.
Training and Morale Matters
One reason why it is possible to improve security without raising costs is because humans operate security systems — and the training of these humans can be improved by simply executing existing training and morale support programs better. “Regardless of the quality of equipment in place, the quality of the people using that equipment will always be the determining factor on how well the equipment works,” observed Wandmaker. “A one million dollar piece of equipment, operated by someone who has had $1 of training, is worth $1.”
As for the fond hope that advanced technology can compensate for poor operator training and, by extension, poor management by those in charge of such operators? Don’t kid yourself: “No one puts a pilot with half an hour of training in charge of a brand new Airbus A350, no matter how technologically advanced the autopilot is,” Wandmaker said. “Similarly, if you want to get the best performance out of your security equipment, then you need to give the people using that equipment the best possible training and ongoing support.”
It’s ongoing support that organizations will often forget, he warned. Successful staff training does not mean delivering a course once and then never again. Instead, “it’s about initial training, refresher training, support and mentoring, creating career pathways (that include appropriate additional training for supervisors, managers, specializations), and a host of other things,” said Wandmaker. Ongoing support not only ensures staff skills don’t fade over time due to training neglect, but “that they feel like a valued part of the organization, and that their role is not just ‘a job’, but could be an actual career path for them if they wanted it.”
In saying this, Shannon Wandmaker acknowledged that every organization will have limitations in what they can deliver in terms of ongoing support for their staff, based on their size and revenue. “A large multinational manned guarding company will have far more scope to deliver ongoing training, mentoring and career pathways than a small transport and logistics company with three security officers on its books,” he said. “But it’s about doing what you can within each organization’s own reasonable financial and other limits.”
Frederick Reitz is another big believer in ongoing training and support. But he thinks its reach has to be extended to everyone in the organization whose job has an impact on facility security, not just the people manning the desks at the GSOC.
“To prevent lapses in security, it is important that airports and airlines conduct annual security training, through online training modules or in-person classes, to remind staff of the security procedures,” he said. After all, “airline and airport staff are a part of the security process, they are the eyes and ears of the security system. They need to be observant and watch for suspicious activity and unusual events at the airport, on the plane.” According to Reitz, training should include a reminder of facility security procedures, and access control regulations for staff on duty and off duty. Training should include current threat information and a reminder for staff to be aware of their surroundings.
Preventing a Return to Bad Habits
All of the ideas noted above can help improve facility security without boosting costs. But all of the effort required to implement them won’t be worthwhile if staff are allowed to slip back into bad habits six months down the road. This is why security managers have to be vigilant in maintaining the improvements they have made to date, and watchful for new ideas to implement going forward. “In an industry that is constantly addressing new and emerging threats — and taking action to determine the best way to address them — continuously updating response protocols and incorporating them into training of GSOC operators remains critical,” said Sherouse.
“Quality assurance and oversight: It doesn’t matter whether it’s a private organization or a State regulator, around the world one of the biggest areas where organizations let themselves down is quality assurance and oversight,” Wandmaker said. “Organizations put policies, rules, SOPs, guidance material in place, train their staff on it, and then fail to conduct effective QA. And then they wonder why their security outcomes are poor. Effective QA pays for itself, because in addition to identifying poor security outcomes and ensuring they’re corrected, it also allows organizations to review security settings on a regular basis to identify inefficiencies in systems. Good security has a layered approach, but great security ensures only the effective layers are kept.”
Taking the time to maintain security procedures, training, and staff morale is central to keeping bad habits at bay. “Lapses in security occur when we are in a hurry,” said Reitz.
Two examples prove his point. In the first, “as an airline security manager, I was called to the security checkpoint when a flight attendant, rushing for a flight after a layover, forgot she had a knife in her lunch bag,” Reitz said. “Initially, TSA wanted the flight attendant charged with introducing a prohibited item into the secure area. Fortunately, after investigating the circumstances, she was allowed to continue her flight — without her lunch bag.”
In the second instance, “an airport agent wanted to go to the gate and say goodbye to a friend, and used the employee entrance to the secure area,” he said. “This also could have resulted in a one-year suspension of the employee’s airport ID. [But] reasonable heads prevailed and a five-day suspension was given. Security training needs to include examples of these events to remind employees that procedures are in place for a reason, and that rushing often leads us to forgetting the importance of a procedure.”
Three Final Fixes
To conclude this article, the three security experts we interviewed were asked for three final security fixes.
Rebecca Sherouse recommended using “technology to identify and reduce false alarms that take valuable time away from security operators to respond to real emergency situations.”
Shannon Wandmaker said that transportation facilities need to review their security risk contexts statement (or create one, if they don’t already have one), and re-conduct their risk assessments to keep them relevant and useful. “What has changed? Are the threats the same as they were one year ago? Five years ago?” he said. “Are we defending against threats that don’t exist anymore, but not defending against emerging threats? For example, an organization may have previously been concerned about the impact of civil unrest in their country and how that could impact on their supply chains. However, the political situation has stabilized, but the company hasn’t removed the additional security measures. At the same time, they have missed the emergency of cyber security threats, and are grossly under-defended against this much more possible attack.”
Frederick Reitz offered a different view. “The single least expensive way to improve security is to keep staff involved,” he said. To make this happen, “security managers can provide newsletters, bulletins and briefings. Gathering the staff occasionally to have a security briefing not only keeps the importance of security in front of the staff but opens the doors for communication and gives them the opportunity to provide input.”
The bottom line: As this story shows, it is possible to improve security without increasing costs — right here and right now.
