The First Facility Management Blog

Corporate Risk International (CRI) and Veritas International Consultants (VIC) have combined offerings to develop an effective security solution to current commercial maritime risks. During the past year, nearly 100 ships have been attacked resulting in nearly 50 hijackings, costing businesses millions in additional costs associated with altering shipping routes, lost revenue and ransom payments.

CRI assists companies in managing risk through the gathering and analysis of business intelligence and risk-related information and developing crisis management and response plans. CRI has successfully resolved more than 450 kidnap, ransom, and extortion matters around the world, and prevented thousands of such incidents, particularly in troubled areas, including Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Far East.

VIC provides maritime security and support that minimizes risk through detailed planning, training, management, and intelligence using specialists with a background from British Special Forces and elite intelligence agencies. Maritime security expertise includes training security teams and ships’ crews, developing and implementing vessel and port security, and rapid deployment of security personnel to high risk areas. VIC’s teams have a thorough understanding of International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations and their binding legal requirements for ports, shipping firms and individual vessels.

Global response teams can be rapidly deployed into hostile regions and situations around the world to provide:

• Communications consulting and support;
• Liaison with in-country law enforcement;
• Critical negotiations expertise;
• Shore-side and vessel-based security teams; and
• Emergency management and evacuation services.

The CRI/VIC network of international consultants and crisis response specialists has the capability to:

• Conduct threat assessments for ports and routes;
• Provide bespoke counter measures and evasive maneuvering training for Ships’ Masters and their crews;
• Provide on-board security teams during transit through high-risk shipping routes;
• Provide a 24/7 Crisis Response service including negotiations, ransom delivery and asset recovery; and
• Screen crew and conduct due diligence on supply chain partners.

Facility owners and managers are constantly seeking better ways to evaluate and improve the security of their properties to create a safer environment for the general public. In an effort to help meet that need, the Building Security Council (BSC) has released its Promoting Logical Unified Security (PLUSSM) rating program for public use.

The PLUS rating program provides an independent evaluation of a facility’s level of protection against a range of security threats. It uses a multi-disciplinary approach that addresses architectural and engineering features, landscape characteristics, operations and maintenance procedures, and security controls. This is the first and only program to use a rigorous, quantified methodology to evaluate building security.

BSC’s PLUS program is a system that owners and managers can use to determine building security needs. Going beyond simply evaluating existing security measures, PLUS also provides a set of clear and individualized guidelines to enhance each particular facility’s security.

“We are very excited about having the PLUS program available for use by building owners and managers” said Marty Denholm, BSC president. “The program has now been thoroughly tested and the modifications made along the way will improve the system by making it more comprehensive, as well as easier to understand and use. This will provide building owners with more information to make better decisions about the security of their facilities.”

The PLUS rating program received Designation as a Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology (QATT) from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002. Better known as the SAFETY Act, this legislation promotes the development of effective anti-terrorism products and services by protecting sellers from liability should an act of terrorism occur where a QATT has been deployed.

Established in November 2005, the Building Security Council administers and maintains a building security rating system and a professional certification program to enable building owners to evaluate and improve the security of their facilities.

Yesterday (5th November) has historic resonance in the UK and especially in London. On that day in 1605, Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. Fawkes, with his co-conspirators, was tried as a traitor for plotting against the government - in current terms he was a political terrorist. He was later hanged, drawn, and quartered.

The tradition of celebrating the foiling of this plot with bonfires and fireworks developed. Bringing us right into the modern era, Guido Fawkes is now the avatar for a popular right-wing political blog of “plots, rumours and conspiracy.”

This 5th November, the UK woke to the news that Barack Obama had won an unprecedented victory in the US presidential election. The word “historic” was being used by commentators across the political spectrum and security, at home and abroad, will be one of the new President’s toughest challenges.

In a small way, the FM community here celebrated its own history yesterday. Guests gathered at the reconstructed Globe Theatre (Shakespeare’s “wooden O” from Henry V) on the south bank of the Thames, to applaud 20 Pioneers of FM.

The event was organised by FM World (the magazine of the British Institute of Facilities Management) to recognise those people that helped to create and steer the profession and industry over the past 30 years.

They included consultants, directors of FM, academics and business leaders. BIFM’s chairman Iain Murray (just 40 this year), paid tribute to their work and acknowledged that his career had been built on the foundations they laid down.

As the conversation flowed, the talk was of politics (several of my friends and colleagues had stayed up to watch the U.S. results come in), of change but also of continuity. Many essential issues from the early days of facilities management remained the same - talking to users, getting the experience of running facilities back into the design process, doing the best with constrained budgets.

FM has always been forward looking but now and again it’s good to glance back at where you’ve come from!

Full coverage of the Pioneers of FM will be on the FM World Web site from mid-December.

Keeping violence out of the workplace is a top priority for employers everywhere. But as more states pass laws giving employees the right to bring guns onto company parking lots, many facility managers now feel caught in the proverbial crossfire, writes James P. Anelli, a Newark, NJ-based attorney in LeClairRyan’s Labor and Employment Group in a new article.

Anelli feels there is a growing and legally controversial trend among state legislatures to pass laws that actually prevent employers from keeping guns out of workplace parking lots. Indeed, he notes, states that have passed such legislation now include Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Alaska, Kentucky, Mississippi, Kansas, and Minnesota, and similar laws are under consideration in the statehouses of Alabama, Louisiana, Montana, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.

The aim of these laws, typically introduced by pro-gun lawmakers and supported by the National Rifle Association, is to enable employees to exercise their constitutional right to possess and carry firearms. But the statutes create a difficult dilemma for company executives who are legally charged with maintaining workplace safety, Anelli notes.

Employers, for example, must follow strict workplace safety guidelines issued by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Yet, legal opinion is divided on whether these new state laws conflict with OSHA’s general safety requirements. In October 2007, for example, a federal judge issued an injunction against the enforcement of Oklahoma’s aforementioned legislation. The ruling agreed with the employer group arguments that the new laws created an obstacle to meeting OSHA’s requirement to maintain a safe workplace.

Given this legal ambiguity, Anelli says, facility professionals in states that have passed such laws might make a critical mistake — concluding that they have been relieved of their obligation to keep the workplace, including its parking lot, safe. “It is important, despite such laws, to work very closely with security professionals, attorneys, and local law enforcement officials in defusing situations involving potential violence and the possible use of firearms,” explains the veteran attorney.

Anelli spells out concrete steps executives can take to protect their companies from liability — and to protect their employees from workplace violence despite the pro-gun laws. Some types of businesses, for example, may have been legally exempt from the applicable laws, which vary widely from state to state, and can therefore continue enforcing parking lot gun bans. Others might be able to carve out “secured parking areas” that are gun-free but still in compliance with their states’ laws. None of the laws, the attorney emphasizes, protects employees from coming into the actual workplace with a gun. Employers are free to keep firearms out of the company building, and they should continue to watch closely for employee behavior suggestive of possible violence.

Concerned employers, should they choose to do so, might work with other businesses to fight this type of legislation. The first step is to monitor the shifting legal landscape for changes that will affect their own workplace safety responsibilities.

“It is inevitable that OSHA will eventually have to act on this issue, either directly or indirectly, when business groups obtain rulings enforcing OSHA’s general safety requirements and enjoining the enforcement of these laws,” Anelli says. “In the final analysis, while some employers’ groups have said that the days of the Wild West are returning, it seems more likely that these issues will soon be ‘played out’ in the courts.”

The Secaucus, NJ-based company’s new name is Panasonic System Solutions Company. This change is meant to reflect its ability to deliver a broad range of customer driven end-to-end technology solutions. 

“In today’s business environment, integrated solutions reach across multiple departments and disciplines. Panasonic is in a unique position to deliver fully integrated solutions across professional and consumer product lines which provides us with an opportunity to work even more closely with customers and reseller partners. Our new corporate identity as Panasonic System Solutions clearly communicates this new direction,” said J.M. Allain, President of Panasonic System Solutions Company. “What hasn’t changed is Panasonic’s commitment to the ongoing development of innovative video surveillance and security systems solutions that deliver interoperability, optimum functionality and scalability to meet the immediate and future needs of the market.”

The IFMA Foundation has released a new report on workplace violence entitled Violence in the Workplace: The Role of the Facility Manager. Written by Wayne D. Veneklasen, Ph.D., CFM, and Donald W. Barnes Jr., CPP, the report looks at the history of violence in the workplace, examines the scope of the problem, describes the statutes surrounding it, and concludes with a focus on planning, response, and recovery. Copies of the report are available free of charge from the IFMA Foundation or can be e-mailed as a PDF if you send your request to schwartz@groupc.com.
 
While publications on workplace violence have traditionally focused on the preventive role of the human resources department, there are many aspects of the problem that can be alleviated by having the proper safety plans and security procedures in place — and by the facility itself. This new report takes the perspective of the building owner and facility manager while outlining the steps they can take to help mitigate this problem.  
 
“There is a lot out there on workplace violence. You read about it all the time. However, there has been nothing done on what it means for the facility manager. What can they do if something happens?” said Veneklasen. “There is no simple answer. We’re just trying to create opportunities for people who have a concern and want to do something about it. Here are some tools. You can assess your own vulnerability and learn how to write a workplace violence policy if one doesn’t exist.”
 
The report was made possible through contributions donated in memory of W. David Beverly, the late husband of Linda Beverly, CAE, IFMA’s vice president of administration. A long-time engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, David Beverly was killed on April 20, 2007, at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, by a contract engineer who shot him and held another coworker hostage before committing suicide. This senseless act impacted the lives of countless people and underscored the very real threat posed by violence in the workplace.
 
“While it isn’t always possible to predict when workplace violence will occur, we hope that the tools outlined in this report will help facility professionals do their part in preventing these acts,” said IFMA Foundation Executive Director William Rub. “Our goal is to help create a safer workplace for everyone.”

HID Global recently announced that it is expanding its position within the access control space to include logical access control products and solutions for converged security environments. By collaborating with IT industry leaders, the company offers a portfolio of logical access offerings to meet market requirements, enabling physical access control integrators to use HID technology to provide complementary logical access solutions.  

“Since establishing our relationship with Microsoft around Crescendo and its support for Identity Lifecycle Manager 2007, HID Global has led the industry in providing breakthrough solutions for the true convergence of physical and information security, enabled by an access control card,” said Denis Hébert, president and CEO of HID Global. “Never before has it been so easy to have convenience meet security at the desktop.”



As a further extension of HID’s reach in the IT space, the company announced that its iClass contactless smart cards are read by the embedded contactless smart card reader in select models of new Dell Latitude E-Family laptops. Organizations can now use a single HID iClass card for both physical building access and secure authentication to PCs. When using an iClass card, laptop users will be able to take advantage of the Dell pre-boot authentication functionality which helps to secure the data on the laptop. When first turning the laptop on, a user will present an iClass card to the contactless smart card reader located in the palm rest of the laptop.

A valid card presentation will allow the laptop to boot up and take the user to the Windows operating system.

In the future, users will be able to experience secure, two factor authentication to the laptop. Users will have the ability to present their card and a PIN to securely authenticate to either Windows XP or Windows Vista. This conforms to Microsoft’s strategic direction to deploy smart cards for secure authentication.



“Having HID technology seamlessly integrated into a mainstream PC platform is good news for HID customers,” said Mr. Hébert. “It is this type of development that provides customers with convenient and cost effective options to secure PCs and the associated data.” 

HID is further leveraging its core market position in physical access control by offering a wide range of logical access products, solution, and capabilities that reinforce the company’s strategy of providing solutions for the delivery of secure identity.

The products and solutions include:

• HID on the Desktop: A set of logical access control solutions that can extend the reach of an existing physical access infrastructure. With HID on the Desktop, the same card that is used to open the door can now open Windows on the PC. An HID card or token, an OMNIKEY reader, and naviGO software is all that it takes to experience improved security and greater convenience at the desktop.
• Crescendo smart cards: A series of secure multi-technology, off the shelf smart cards, Crescendo cards enable convergence by providing standards compliant support for existing physical and logical access applications.
• Omnikey readers: The Omnikey reader line is a desktop and mobile reader and driver infrastructure that ensures seamless integration and interoperability between PC and smart card. The newest offering is the Omnikey 6321, a USB connected “dongle” reader that supports the use of contactless smart cards for secure two factor authentication in a mobile computing environment.
• naviGO: naviGO is a software package that enables an organization to use its existing physical access control cards for two factor authentication at the desktop.  

Enhancing these converged solutions, the Asure ID 2009 card personalization software improves the issuance and management of advanced photo ID credentials with visual security features. Additionally, the company’s IT Channel Program focuses on working with leading third party IT vendors to deliver enterprise applications such as single sign on, pre-boot authentication, and disk encryption solutions.



Hirsch Electronics, a supplier of IP enabled access control and security management solutions, received the 2008 Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation in the North American electronic access control systems market. In bestowing the award, the independent market research firm lauded Hirsch’s technological innovations in identity management, multi-factor authentication, encryption, network enabled solutions, and system interoperability. They also praised the company’s achievements in delivering an end to end solution that enables organizations to achieve goals for risk mitigation, sustainable growth, and profitability. 

Frost & Sullivan stated Hirsch earned the award “by focusing on the convergence of security sub-systems and by developing products that integrate different access control technologies to assemble a multi-factor authentication platform.” Frost & Sullivan also asserted, “The progressive development vision of Hirsch has helped them provide an access control solution that is both future ready and compatible with existing legacy systems.”

“We appreciate the recognition of our innovative approach to problem solving,” said Rob Zivney, vice president, marketing, Hirsch Electronics. “We take tremendous pride from our ability to deliver products that effectively blend proven solutions with advanced technologies.”

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation is presented annually to the company that has demonstrated technological superiority within its industry. This award recognized Hirsch for successfully developing and introducing new technology, formulating a well designed product family, and making significant product performance contributions to the industry.

Frost & Sullivan complimented Hirsch’s consistent success in evolving and adapting to changing market requirements, and cited Hirsch’s ScrambleSmart, ScrambleSmartProx, PIV Verification Station, and Velocity security management software among its latest technology innovations.

Frost & Sullivan noted the Hirsch RUU family of verification stations—named such because they answer the question, “Are you you?”—combines the high security ScramblePad keypad with a biometric fingerprint reader, contact smart card reader, contactless smart card reader, and LCD display to deliver “a compelling solution for the present day market.”

Hirsch has earned previous recognition from Frost & Sullivan including its Global Excellence in Technology Award in 2005 and its Entrepreneurial Company, Market Engineering Award in 2001. Hirsch is also in the Frost & Sullivan “Hall of Fame for Best Practices.” Hirsch has received numerous additional awards for innovation including the TFM (Total Facility Management) Show’s “Best of Show Award for Information Technology” and five Security Industry Association (SIA) New Product Showcase awards.

The supplier of IP-enabled access control and security management solutions recently received the 2008 Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation in the North American electronic access control systems market. In bestowing the award, the independent market research firm Frost & Sullivan recognized Hirsch Electronics‘ technological innovations in identity management, multi-factor authentication, encryption, network-enabled solutions and system interoperability.  They also noted the company’s achievements in delivering an end-to-end solution that enables organizations to achieve goals for risk mitigation, sustainable growth, and profitability.

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation is presented annually to the company that has demonstrated technological superiority within its industry.

Frost & Sullivan stated Hirsch earned the award “by focusing on the convergence of security sub-systems and by developing products that integrate different access control technologies to assemble a multi-factor authentication platform.”  Frost & Sullivan also asserted, “The progressive development vision of Hirsch has helped them provide an access control solution that is both future-ready and compatible with existing legacy systems.”

“We appreciate the recognition of our innovative approach to problem-solving,” said Rob Zivney, vice president, marketing, Hirsch Electronics.  “We take tremendous pride from our ability to deliver products that effectively blend proven solutions with advanced technologies.”

Frost & Sullivan complimented Hirsch’s consistent success in evolving and adapting to changing market requirements, and cited Hirsch’s ScrambleSmart, ScrambleSmartProx, PIV Verification Station and Velocity Security Management Software among its latest technology innovations.

Frost & Sullivan noted the Hirsch RUU family of verification stations –named such because they answer the question, “Are you you?” — combines the high security ScramblePad keypad with a biometric fingerprint reader, contact smart card reader, contactless smart card reader, and LCD display to deliver “a compelling solution for the present-day market.”

Hirsch has earned previous recognition from Frost & Sullivan including its Global Excellence in Technology Award in 2005 and its Entrepreneurial Company, Market Engineering Award in 2001. Hirsch is also in the Frost & Sullivan “Hall of Fame for Best Practices.”

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., along with The Sherwin-Williams Company, has announced the recipients of three $2,000 grants under the 2008 Graffiti Hurts® Grant Program. Three organizations from around the nation will receive the funds to be used for graffiti prevention. The groups are: Kent Police Department in Washington State; ASPIRA, Inc. of New Jersey; and the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization in Minnesota.

These grants are awarded to entities in communities with populations less than 100,000, between 100,000 and 300,000, and over 300,000 in an effort to enhance local graffiti prevention activities. The Graffiti Hurts® Grant Program was initiated in 2007.

“This year’s grant recipients presented exceptional plans to educate and engage at-risk youth, and to bring their entire communities together to prevent and eradicate graffiti,” said Matt McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. “All of the winners show wonderful examples of how to change behavior, prevent negative impacts to society, and create a sense of ownership for their community. We’re grateful to The Sherwin-Williams Company for their ongoing support of the Graffiti Hurts program, a nationwide resource for communities addressing graffiti problems.”

Graffiti Hurts was developed in 1996 through a partnership between Keep America Beautiful, a non-profit education and community improvement organization, and Sherwin-Williams, maker of Krylon paint, to respond to the blight of graffiti vandalism in communities nationwide. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, graffiti contributes to lost revenue associated with reduced ridership on transit systems, reduced retail sales, and declines in property value.

Nearly 100 applications were submitted for the Graffiti Hurts National Grant Program, representing the best of local governments, police departments, schools, nonprofit volunteer organizations, and other groups dedicated to eradicating graffiti vandalism.

“Sherwin-Williams is proud to sponsor the Graffiti Hurts program, and is dedicated to supporting initiatives that help prevent and eradicate graffiti,” said Harvey Sass, president and general manager, Diversified Brands Division, The Sherwin-Williams Company. “Graffiti Hurts has effectively addressed this issue nationwide, and we commend the 2008 grant winners for their innovative plans to stop graffiti in their communities.”

Recipient Programs

The proposed programs include the Kent Police Department’s initiative to enlist at-risk youth, businesses, neighborhood associations, and Weed  Seed volunteers to “adopt” 10 locations in the city prone to graffiti vandalism. Volunteers will be given graffiti removal kits as well as graffiti prevention training. Signs and other education will create awareness among community residents.

ASPIRA, Inc. of New Jersey in Newark will work with at-risk youth on graffiti education using the Graffiti Hurts® curriculum, execution of two graffiti cleanups, and the production of a public service announcemnt that will raise awareness about graffiti vandalism and the risks for youth.

The Corcoran Neighborhood Organization in Minneapolis, MN, which also applied for a grant in 2007, will use Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles to change the environment at 10 neighborhood locations identified as graffiti vandalism “hot spots.” This will include changes to landscape, lighting, fencing, cleanup, and other activities.