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Month: April 2021

A stock photograph of two hands shaking. One wears a suit, the other is made of plants.

Sustainability – The Gallowglass Security Approach

Written by Stuart Rae on . Posted in Articles.

The concept of Sustainability is a complex one, and means different things to different people. At Gallowglass Security we believe that Sustainability is the balance between the environment, the economy and equity.

We recognise implicitly that addressing these underlying principles are essential if we are to leave the world in a better and fairer place than we found it. We believe that we have a responsibility to our people, customers and suppliers; to constantly strive and improve upon our processes so as to best achieve our sustainability objectives.

Environment

For several years we have rigorously adhered to a robust environmental policy. From this we have operated environmental management systems that are based upon minimising consumption.

Our successful approach is reflected by our being certified by a UKAS assessing body as meeting the requirements of ISO 14001:2015 Annual targets are set which were all achieved in 2020 by an impressive margin.

Our key objectives are to:

  • Reduce paper consumption. In 2020 we reduced this by 40.19% chiefly through migrating to new technology with our ultimate aim of becoming paperless.
  • Reduce energy consumption. The 2020 this was reduced by 17.98% largely through our internal culture of constantly promoting environmental awareness.
  • Reduce fuel consumption. Notwithstanding the increased mileage use on account of demand, we were able to reduce fuel consumption by 8.27% in 2020T This is because we constantly upgrade our automotive fleet with state-of-the-art hybrid technology. Once electric vehicles have the capability to deliver the mileage capacity that we require, we will eliminate dependence on carbon fuels.
  • Recycling. We aim to recycle all personal computers, paper, plastics and all consumables including coffee pods.

Our corporate social responsibility policy has seen a change of emphasis in light of the near universal awareness of the environmental crisis. With this in mind we are keen to donate to environmental projects that can make a tangible impact on improving the environment. We were delighted to have to made a contribution to the EARTHDAY.org Canopy Project to allow for the planting of 200 trees as part of their remarkable efforts to reverse the tide of deforestation.

Economy

It is accepted that SME’s are the drivers of the economy, and are chiefly responsible for employment opportunity. Sustainability objectives can only be achieved if SMEs play their part in recognising this and incorporating environmental awareness and sustainability practice in their business activity. Gallowglass Security has ambitious expansion plans where we anticipate creating employment opportunities without compromise to our sustainability objectives.

Equity

Our approach to equity can be described as follows.

  • Our people. Our foundational principles towards our staff are based upon respect, fairness and altruism. Discrimination of any kind, harassment and bullying will never be tolerated. All of our valued staff have a vital role to play in the quality of our service provision, and are encouraged to take responsibility for their roles. In return we strive to renumerate our staff generously, provide a congenial working environment that is safe, and promote and support flexible family friendly working conditions. Ours is a meritoctratic organisation where those individuals with talent and determination will always succeed regardless of race, gender and background. The effect of this approach has been to create a workforce that is remarkably diverse, and we regard our diversity as our key strength.
  • Our customers. We enjoy tremendously long business relationships with our customers, and much of business is repeat and reccomentaion. We believe that this is born of our capability, integrity and transparancey in all our dealings.
  • Our suppliers. We operate an ethical purchasing policy. So consequently our trusted supplier base is drawn those that we are satisfied meet the highest ethical standards. For us this translates as those who; treat their employees fairly, provide safe working conditions, and meet or exceed the national minimum wage. We expect to see an anti-bribery policy as well as a policy that supports the elimination of modern slavery and child labour.

We are conscious that there is more that we can and should do. As part of our culture of awareness and self-improvement, all aspects of our business activity will be evaluated so that we can create relevant environmental and sustainability objectives that we can work towards achieving and exceeding.

A stock photograph of a concert.

Planning for a public event? Security is more than just a guard on the gate…

Written by Jaco Nieuwoudt on . Posted in Articles.

The security for public events has changed drastically over the last 10 years putting an increased premium on the role of Security  and security planning for an event.

In years gone by, public event security was largely hired to check tickets at the gate and walk the perimeter, but a security presence all over the event is now key to ensuring the event is a safe and fun experience for everyone.  

As events have become increasingly regulated and health and safety has become a critical factor at any event, security planning has become a corner stone of any public event. From your small free to enter community event in the local park, street parades or large music and entertainment events, the security planning process remains the same. Gone are the days that you would just calculate 1 guard per 100 visitors or just cover the emergency gates. Today’s planning is very thorough.

To help you think about how to plan your event and avoid the traps AJ Tracey fell into, in Manchester, here are some key points to consider, for example:

You must be familiar with your venue

By knowing the venue inside out you will be able to determine how porous the venue is, and this a key factor when determining the amount and type of event security you would need. This will also enable you to put your plan on paper by creating a diagram by position and task. Once you have created this dot plan you will be able to brief the guard deployed and they will be able to visualise the entire security strategy instead of just understanding their role on one position. For outdoor venues this will enable you to set boundaries and recommend any additional security solutions like temporary fencing, gates and so on.

Understand attendee risk

What type of event is it? Are there any attendees that can pose a risk or represent a company or movement that cause controversy that might lead to protest on confrontation? For out door events is there any other events, marches or protest in the vicinity of your event that might cause disruption or increased risk to your visitors?

Crowd Control in public event security

This is one of the main functions of the event security officer and they may be asked to perform some of the following tasks. Keeping key points of the site clear and moving by asking visitors that might be blocking an emergency exit, creating a cordon when dealing with an emergency, access control by checking tickets and searching bags, restricting access to back of hour and VIP areas. To name a few. It is also really important to ensure the venue or event never exceeds the venue capacity as this will cause overcrowding and may lead to serious injury or even death.

Assessing the potential of a terrorist or large-scale attack

Over the past ten years this has become a real risk for large outdoor events and festivals as they pose a soft target of large amounts of people gathered together with temporary infrastructure to protect them. It is because of this that we spend more and more time ensuring that we have HVM plans in place (Hostile vehicle mitigation), a robust searching setup and ensure that all the guards deployed have done as much training as possible to ensure that all parties involved have a firm understanding of what is expected of them and why the plans are in place. Following the Manchester bombings, a new law called Martyn’s Law, which will force event organisers and security suppliers to ensure that they have considered all potential risks and that a robust plan is in place before the event can go ahead.

Good communication is key

It is really important to have a good communications plan in place and also make sure you have other methods of communication in the event of an emergency. Keeping communication tight is vitally important to firstly make sure that the message goes to the right person and it is as clear and concise as possible, secondly to avoid misunderstanding and panic for example if they guard do not sue the correct code words and a member of the public hears a guard message to the control room as this can cause panic.

Venue/Event evacuation plan

This is a culmination of all of the above and the most important part of your Security plan/Strategy, and in my view it is what determines the minimum security numbers needed for the event.

Gallowglass Security take great pride in our event security planning and event security services. Events are in our DNA and with our years of experience there is very little we have not prepared for or dealt with. If you are considering a public event, please contact us to help you plan for a fun, safe event.