New Security System Keeps Horses Safe

Acclaimed as one of horse racing’s best settings, Arlington Park, outside of Chicago, boasts hundreds of thousands of visitors to its clubhouse and grounds during racing season. Park management chose Brivo Access Control Systems (ACS) from Brivo Systems, LLC to manage access to secured areas of the grandstand and the backstretch, a highly secure and regulated area, where more than 2,100 horses are stabled. The grandstand’s 18 door access readers are connected directly to the park’s network, while the two backstretch gates are connected and controlled wirelessly. All access can be managed with any standard Web browser from any computer, located anywhere with Internet access.

“Brivo was the only Web enabled system that also offered wireless,” said Chris Martin, Arlington Park Director of Public Safety and Security. “Our former system required a dedicated PC and internal IT support. We were looking to upgrade to a system that offered wireless connectivity, greater flexibility, a means to reduce IT dependency, and improved ease of use. The wireless option was paramount, because we wanted to expand access control to cover the stables in the backstretch, but trenching would have been a prohibitive expense. We have both wired and wireless with Brivo on one system.”

Martin and his staff use Brivo’s ability to create and manage multiple groups having different access privileges, both of which change throughout the year. One other Brivo feature Martin has used is email and cell phone notification. “During racing season, we have a lot of staff here, and it’s often a changing population. On any given day, if I need to omit access or see a certain individual, I establish a notification and when that person arrives I know where and when to get a hold of him—that’s a great feature.”

In the future, Martin is looking to integrate his DVR video into the control system and he’d like to get even more sophisticated in using the alert features. “We want to install automated parking access so we can improve productivity, but also so when certain senior staff and VIPs arrive, we know in time to greet them and make sure they have an excellent experience.”

“Every end user is different in their own way as to what special features appeal to them,” said Brivo President and CEO, Steve Van Till. “Ease of use, flexibility, and not needing dedicated IT staff or PCs are common benefits we hear all the time. For Arlington Park, ensuring expanded security while saving money and fully utilizing the notification system for both operations and marketing purposes are of special significance.”

Companies Get Together To Help Phoenix Charity

While children undergo medical care at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Phoenix, AZ, many parents will be staying next door at the new Ronald McDonald House. The facility, whichi is located on the hospital campus and opened in June, provides a home away from home for families of seriously ill and injured children receiving treatment at the hospital.

To make the facility’s building controls and security system integrate with each other and to provide a comfortable and safe environment for occupants, Tridium and its West coast distributor, Controlco, donated their Vykon Facility Automation and Security solutions to the new House. The Vykon solutions also integrate with the CCTV equipment donated by Dedicated Micros. A significant portion of the job labor and install was also donated by Controlco’s local Vykon Systems Integrator in Phoenix, Dataline Resource. This 17,300 square foot location will be one of the first Ronald McDonald facilities to combine this powerful combination of technology.

“This new Ronald McDonald House in Phoenix is a leading example of what can be accomplished by integrating access control, closed circuit television (CCTV), and building controls all in one facility through one platform,” said Andy McMahon, Controlco’s Area Sales Manager. “By using the Vykon Solutions, the builders have been able to select best of breed products, making this a leading edge project in the realm of controls integration.”

“Tridium is pleased to partner with Controlco on this very special project. Installing Vykon enables the local managers to integrate a variety of systems into one unified solution, reducing cost and overhead. This allows the house staff to focus on what is important—the patients and their families,” said Marc Petock, Tridium’s Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities of Phoenix For the past 20 years, Ronald McDonald House of Phoenix has offered a comfortable, welcoming and affordable haven for families who come to this “home-away-from-home.” The families stay for days, weeks, sometimes months at a time, while their children undergo medical treatment at Valley hospitals. They are asked to pay just $10 a day to stay at the House, but no family is ever turned away because of their inability to pay. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Phoenix is a non profit organization supported by individual, corporate and foundation donations.

Largest Southern California Security Company Reintroduces Janitorial Services

Universal Services of America (USA), a full range of building services including janitorial, maintenance, and security, re-opened its janitorial division—Universal Building Maintenance. This division was originally started back in 1965 and operated in southern California successfully for approximately 25 years. The addition of building maintenance makes Universal Services of America one of the largest, full service facility service companies, which includes the operation of security firms Universal Protection Service (UPS), UPS Security Systems, and UPS Fire/Life Safety Services.

Brian Cescolini and Steve Jones, the owners of Universal Protection Service have partnered with Mark Olivas, the former managing director for the western region for One Source Building Services to re-open Universal Building Maintenance.

"With the recent consolidation of the two largest janitorial firms in the US," said Cescolini, president and chief executive officer of Universal Services of America. "We spoke with our clients and they welcomed a better option."

Steve Jones, CEO of Universal Services of America is committed to "building the perfect company from the ground up, one that is focused on the customer and its people."

"I have admired Universal Protection Service for the last 10 years and I feel that no other company really understands the customer like Universal Protection Service, " said Mark Olivas, president of Universal Building Maintenance. "My goal is to use their customer service philosophy, their resources, and their technology to build an unmatched janitorial firm. I love that we are not trying to change a culture but instead we get to create it from the ground up.

"Universal Building Maintenance will become in the janitorial industry what Universal Protection Service is in the security industry, a highly flexible and innovative customer focused organization," Olivas continued.

Universal Building Maintenance will have offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego to start and will expand when the opportunities present themselves. Universal Protection Service offers security solutions the Denver area from its office located in Aurora, CO and provides services to the Denver branch of CB Richard Ellis, based in the Denver Technological Center.

87% Of US Employers Not Prepared For A Pandemic Outbreak

According to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions/ERISA Industry Council survey taken in November 2005, only seven out of 50 American businesses claim to have adequately planned for a possible pandemic that the World Health Organization (WHO) says is “serious.” What is especially disturbing is that the WHO goes on to say that the world is now closer to another pandemic than at any time since the Hong Kong flu of 1968 hit.

BOMI International, a leader in facilities and property education for over 35 years, is holding a webcast this July to prepare professionals for the ominous threat of an epidemic. The webcast will be conducted Tuesday, July 15, 1:30-3 p.m. EST. Enrolled professionals will learn how to create, manage, and execute a successful pandemic response plan from Sam Smith, a former director of disaster recovery and physical security for a major telecommunications data center.

Students will learn the key components of a response plan including, how to mitigate the impact of an outbreak, essential communication strategies, and how to minimize liability and the financial impact related to a pandemic. The seminar even comes with pandemic response checklists that can be used as is, or modified to fit a specific organization’s needs.

During the sizzling summer months when the chances of an epidemic are high, BOMI International prepares facility professionals and real property managers to handle any emergency situation with order and ease while competitors scramble to react. BOMI International classes help the traveling professional; all you need is a telephone and a computer.

About BOMI International
Founded in 1970 and located in Annapolis, Maryland, BOMI International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education organization. As a trusted educational resource of choice for corporations, government agencies, property management firms, unions, and trade associations, BOMI works across industry sectors to improve the skills of professionals at many levels with property, facility, and systems responsibilities. BOMI is known for industry-standard designations – the Real Property Administrator (RPA®), the Facilities Management Administrator (FMA®), the Systems Maintenance Administrator (SMA®), and the Systems Maintenance Technician (SMT®). More than 20,000 building professionals hold one or more BOMI designations, and nearly 10,000 students register for individual courses each year.

Insurer FM Global Makes Its Premium Risk Prevention Data Available

For the first time in its 170 year history, FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial and industrial property insurers, has announced its decision to release thousands of pages of its previously exclusive property loss prevention engineering guidelines at no cost through its Web site www.fmglobaldatasheets.com.

FM Global’s Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets provide large scale businesses, facility, and risk managers, as well as the architects, consultants, and contractors who work for them, a valuable tool to help prevent property damage and maintain business continuity due to threats posed by fire, weather conditions, and failure of electrical or mechanical equipment.

The engineering guidelines contain a wealth of risk prevention information on hundreds of topics, ranging from building construction and fire prevention to industrial equipment maintenance and natural disaster preparedness. Users who download the content also receive automatic notification via e-mail when data sheets are updated. FM Global is the only commercial property insurer in the world that develops and provides this type of premium technical data, all of which is based on scientific research and nearly two centuries of loss prevention experience.

FM Global’s decision to make its loss prevention data available at no cost reflects the changing risk profiles of its clients around the world, especially the increasing interdependence of businesses brought about as a result of globalization and technology.

“Companies are now so intertwined and geographically dispersed, that to help them reduce risk and prevent loss, it is beneficial to make our intellectual property widely accessible,” said Tom Lawson, FM Global’s senior vice president, engineering and research. “FM Global is always developing new ways to prevent risk, and we feel this complete access to our engineering recommendations can be invaluable to helping businesses manage the evolving risk environment in this increasingly interconnected world.”

Subjects covered by FM Global’s data sheets include: Construction, sprinklers, water supply, extinguishing equipment, electrical, boilers and heating equipment, hazards storage, human factors, system instrumentation and control pressure vessels, mechanical, and welding

For nearly two centuries, many of the world’s largest organizations have worked with FM Global to develop cost-effective property insurance and engineering solutions to protect their business operations from fire, natural disasters, and other types of property risk. FM Global is ranked #583 among FORTUNE magazine’s largest companies in America and serves more than one out of every three FORTUNE 1000 companies operating in nearly 130 countries.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Creating a Safer College Campus

This Web Exclusive comes from Robert J. Chartier of AlliedBarton.

Collegiate life is not what it used to be. In the past, parents were anxious about their children adapting to living life independently, making wise choices, getting a solid education, and growing up. Those concerns still exist today, but let’s add a new one: Will my child be safe?

Now, more than ever, our higher education institutions are marketing quality academics in a true learning environment with attractive extra-curricular activities and world-class sports venues. Many colleges are also stressing safety and highlighting programs they have developed to ensure the health and welfare of their campus residents. Due to the federal Clery Act, which requires schools to record and report major criminal activities on their campuses, there is also a fish bowl environment which fosters responsibility and accountability.

What are the challenges of keeping campuses safe? How can today’s administrators, campus law enforcement, and facilities services personnel rise to meet them? The answers lie in the mix of security and law enforcement personnel, technology, facilities design, and crime prevention education. There is no single solution. Let’s take a look at a few examples of what measures are in place today to keep our college campuses safe, and how we can successfully employ cost-effective measures to meet the challenges we face.

Some Challenges
Affordable Police Presence – On most college campuses, campus police maintain a law-abiding and safe environment. The challenge is creating a greater public presence on campus grounds without breaking the budget. Sure, it would be great to multiply the number of police personnel on site, but doing so is often financially prohibitive.


Student Housing Access Control – Colleges recognize the need to keep order and access in check at student residence halls. Many schools depend upon passive restraints such as door access control and/or stationary video surveillance. Some colleges staff the entrance with an individual who verifies identification and manages visitor access. In order to control costs, schools often deploy students to monitor access and activities of their fellow students at residence halls.

Technology – A wide range of technology solutions exist that include door access control systems, emergency alert phones and kiosks, video surveillance, and email and text message alerts, to name a few. These are all useful and timely tools to employ, but they are each either reactive or passive. Such solutions are only an element of an effective security program. Without personnel to monitor, deter or respond, the systems are compromised. And while part of the solution may be in employing more campus police personnel, many of the tasks, like helping residents who are locked out or responding to alarms resulting from open doors, are routine. The overwhelming costs incurred in following up with the technology alerts may preclude today’s administrators from selecting this option.


An Answer
Since most agree that an increased physical presence of well-trained security professionals may be a large part of today’s solution to the challenges college campus personnel face. This answer may be simple, reasonable, cost-effective and timely.

Outsourced Security Personnel – Increasingly, institutions are finding that one of the most cost-effective means to supplement law enforcement and technology is to employ the services of a well-trained and proven contract security firm. Pioneered in the large private urban research universities, the use of professional security officers is spreading across all locations and types of institutions as schools move to create a more visible deterrent and response capability.

Contract security companies who specialize in higher education, who train their staff on the specific challenges and reporting regulations of campus security, are the best choice. Companies with a lot of experience in this arena understand how their staff can work in conjunction with campus police and know how to create a strategy for the best possible security solution.

Consider The Following
Campus law enforcement may not need to have more police officers that are costly to train and equip. And, a smaller budget may make it difficult to retain staff. A better response is to multiply the eyes and ears on campus by using a reputable contract security provider that can supplement their efforts. The key is defining a specific role for the contract security officers who can perform many of the routine tasks (e.g., personal safety escort services, foot patrols, parking details, vehicle assists, etc.) and also supplement building safety and maintenance systems.

Selecting students to monitor and facilitate residence halls access may not be the wisest practice. Not only are there related concerns regarding liability, but also, an independent resource would be the best choice for the security-related details. Again, choosing a well-trained and experienced contract security provider to monitor and patrol student residence halls maintains a higher degree of safety, security and impartiality, without incurring the heavy costs associated with employing law enforcement personnel or additional residence hall staff.

Many of today’s public and private higher educational institutions are recognizing the benefits associated with creating hybrid solutions to the design of their physical security programs. In their search for a solution to their safety and security-budget challenges, facilities managers, administrative personnel, and campus law enforcement departments are partnering with proven contract security providers. College administrators, campus police, professors, students and their parents agree that a comprehensive and cost-effective solution is the best remedy to today’s safety challenges on college campuses.

Chartier (Bob.Chartier@alliedbarton.com) is a vice president for AlliedBarton Security Services, www.alliedbarton.com, which provides security services for many of the country’s leading colleges and universities.

Experts Highlight Security Trends for Hospitals, Offices & Schools at Symposium

“About 10 percent or more of U.S. healthcare workers are assaulted each year,” said Tony W. York, CPP, CHPA, president, International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS) to security professionals attending the “Serious About Security—2008 Symposium” at the Intercontinental Hotel Conference Center—Cleveland Clinic Campus, Cleveland.

Sponsored by turnkey access control provider, Matrix Systems of Dayton, OH, the recent symposium also featured security expert presentations from Texas A & M University (TAMU), College Station, TX; medical imaging manufacturer, Carestream Health of Rochester, NY; and Security Risk Management Consultants of Columbus, OH. The symposium also featured a tour of the access control and security system command center controlling/monitoring the 1.5-square-mile Cleveland Clinic’s campus, home to the largest heart hospital in the US.

York, who is also senior vice president-security at Hospital Shared Services, bases his assaults estimate on a recent meeting with officials from the National Health Services (NHS), the United Kingdom’s publicly-funded healthcare system. “We don’t have a national incident reporting system here, but the NHS reports 55,000 assaults on UK healthcare workers last year and they suspect at least another 55,000 incidents weren’t reported,” said York during his “Security Design Considerations for the Healthcare Market” presentation. “That’s 110,000 assaults in a healthcare system with only 1.3 million employees.”

The “drying up” of US behavioral healthcare funding, which is illustrated by Denver’s recent closings of five primary mental healthcare facilities, according to York, is another reason for increased assaults on healthcare workers nationwide. With the decrease of behavioral care services, mental patients are flooding emergency departments and assaults are escalating.

York also cited another shocking emergency department statistic that must be addressed with security and access control. A four-year study conducted by the Henry Ford Medical Center in Detroit, reported that four percent of persons arriving at the emergency department carry weapons.

As an advocate of separating the walk-in/reception area from triage, treatment areas, and patient quiet/safe rooms, York urged the healthcare security people in attendance to design and retrofit emergency rooms with access control designs that protect hospital employees, but don’t inhibit the swiftness of ingress that care specialists need in emergencies.

Industrial Security on a Global Basis
Another speaker, Thomas J. Rohr, CPP, director of Worldwide Corporate Security, at Carestream Health, a recent $2.5 billion medical imaging equipment manufacturer sell-off from Kodak, urged security professionals to continue searching for new ways to challenge their existing access control systems. Rohr, who presented “Worldwide Corporate Security for Your Company,” encourages his building managers at facilities in seven countries to demand new and challenging applications for Carestream’s global security operation. “If your security needs aren’t increasing everyday, there’s something wrong,” said Rohr, “because there’s always something new, something better, or something more you can do with your existing system to increase security and usability.”

Rohr’s four-person staff solves most challenges with in-house security personnel or with assistance from Matrix Systems’ customer service. “Tell me you want contractors timed into the system and reported to the human resources systems,” said Rohr reading a list of past requests from facility managers that his department successfully implemented. “Tell me you want cashless vending services via ID badges. Tell me you want a touch-less access control system for vehicles entering the facility’s garage, because between our staff and Matrix customer service, we can find a way to make it happen.”

Cleveland Clinic’s New State-of-the-Art Security Command Center
Some attendees were also treated to a profile and tour of the Cleveland Clinic’s new state-of-the-art security command center, which was designed by presenter and guide, Martin Epstein, manager, Technical Operations-Protective Services, at the Cleveland Clinic. As a proponent of security managers taking a lead role in new construction projects Epstein, a 30-year veteran of Cleveland Clinic, said, “You have to get involved in every construction project, because only you (security professionals) know where to position access control card readers to create the traffic patterns that will enhance your facility’s security objective."

The 3,000-square-foot command center features eight workstations in full view of a 32 monitor video wall allowing Epstein, his supervisors, and security watch employees 24/7 views of Cleveland Clinic’s strategic areas. The center has several banks of digital video recorders and its own dedicated uninterrupted power supply (UPS) and generator.

Cleveland Clinic’s adjacent emergency management command center room accommodates 12 people with their own seating, telephone, internet and power connections, plus three plasma monitors, room cameras, and feeds to Cleveland Clinic’s administration offices. The room also has electronics for Ohio’s new Multi-Agency Radio Communications System (MARCS), an 800-megahertz, voice and data network for the Ohio highway patrol and other health, safety, and emergency agencies.

Cleveland Clinic’s Matrix Systems access control system is playing a major part in the hospital’s expansion. By 2009 the hospital will have expanded to 2,500 magnetic locks for entries, 1,700 ID card readers, 600 CCTV cameras with DVR capabilities, and 6,000 alarm points that monitor panic and intrusion alarms to incubators, laboratories, freezers, and many other critical areas that all culminate at Matrix’s Frontier software workstations.

Security During University Alerts
In light of recent mass shootings on university campuses, Walt Magnussen, TAMU’s director of University Telecommunications and associate director of the school’s Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC), said more parents of prospective students are investigating the security of college campuses before enrolling. TAMU’s response has been a cutting-edge emergency management update that features text messaging. “They (students) invented it, use it, and have told us (older generation) that’s how they want to be communicated with,” said Magnussen.

Consequently, 32,000 of 47,000 TAMU students have signed up for text messaging alerts in the event of a campus emergency. Since emergency tests have demonstrated that networks can’t handle 32,000 simultaneous cell phone text messages, TAMU is devising methods of staggering the transmission.

TAMU is also using reverse 911 technology where cell phones within an 800-yard perimeter of an incident are contacted first. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) will also be used for radio and TV alerts. Computer screen pop-up messages, voice over internet protocol (VoIP) blasts, and other technologies are being considered and implemented.

Holistic Approaches to Security Management
Security experts in attendance were also instructed on “Implementing a Holistic Security Program Management Model: Planning for Your Organization’s Future,” presented by Elliot A. Boxerbaum, CPP, CSC, president of Security Risk Management Consultants, Inc.

A 25-year law enforcement veteran, Boxerbaum urged the audience of security professionals to establish a five to seven year security capital improvement plans with their CEO’s. “If you can sell your CEO and board of directors on your seven year vision for security and get them to sign off on it, you can always count on upgrading your system every year,” said Boxerbaum. “However if your department is locked into the annual budget cycle where you’re begging for money to make some unsuspected improvement every year, you’ll have a lot of extra work ahead of you.”

New Video Surveillance Network Helps Illinois Mall

Merchants, assets, and shoppers at the one million square foot Golf Mill Shopping Center in Niles, Ill., have been better served since the installation this month of a new wireless video surveillance system. Multiple network cameras inside and outside the mall deter theft, provide footage for review of insurance claims, enable rapid response to incidents and emergencies, and serve as an efficiency improvement tool. At the heart of this installation is a wireless network provided by Firetide Inc.

Over the past few years Golf Mill added exclusive restaurants, a movie theatre, an off track betting facility, and a 24 Hour Fitness location, resulting in increased vehicle and visitor traffic and requiring additional security measures. To avoid the costly process of ripping up newly installed floors to lay network cables for video surveillance, mall management—General Growth Properties in tandem with ownership—opted for Firetide's wireless network. Solutions provider Secure Integrations installed network cameras from Axis Communications in overt locations around the 120 specialty shops, four department stores, and 89 acres of parking spaces and connected them wirelessly over the Firetide network to the central security office in the mall.

''Our Firetide wireless surveillance system is a great tool to assist our tenants and customers,'' said Michael D. Williams, senior general manager at General Growth Properties. ''Whatever the situation – someone slipping and falling, shoplifting, or a major incident – our security staff can respond quickly and proactively.''

Mall security officers monitor the camera system, and video analytics software alerts officers when unauthorized movements are detected. During patrols, officers can access the video feed on PDAs, allowing them to view feeds from any location and making the officers significantly more efficient.

''Using cable and analog CCTVs would have cost a minimum of three times more in one million square feet of retail space,'' said Eugene Szatkowski, president of Secure Integrations. ''A wired system would have required the installation of multiple digital video recorders around the mall. Firetide wireless mesh nodes and access points together with the Axis cameras provide a cost-effective and flexible alternative and support what we believe to be the largest wireless security network in a retail environment.''

If any part of the network needs to be relocated, a Firetide node and Axis camera can be moved in a day. The Axis network cameras feature motion detection, audio detection, and tampering alarms, providing an additional set of tools for security personnel. Video footage is stored for 30 days, but any time an incident takes place, the evidence can be cataloged for up to two years. The system uses digital storage, which makes it easier to e-mail and distribute the video. Mall officials also use the footage to monitor traffic flows, helping event planners and security operations to anticipate and better manage crowds.

Electric Utility Substation in Texas Secured; Copper Thieves Apprehended

Copper theft is an increasing nationwide problem, causing challenges for businesses across multiple industries. Particularly hard hit are electric utilities, due to the considerable amount of copper used in frequently remote locations.

In an effort to prevent copper theft, a northern Texas cooperative electric utility installed an intrusion detection system from Smarter Security Systems to augment its security provisions. In early February, the investment in SmarterFence delivered its payback, as thieves attempting yet another strike on one of the co-op substations were scared away. The electric co-op is working to protect the remainder of its substations the same way.

SmarterFence is a highly intelligent fiber optic sensor system that mounts to any chain-link fence. Its ability to tune out environmental nuisances and detect real intrusion attempts allows it to provide reliable early warning of intruders by detecting any attempt to cut or climb a perimeter security fence.

Jeff Brown, president of Smarter Security Systems explains, “Copper theft is an annoying and costly problem that we are working to help prevent. Our wide breadth of outdoor security solutions gives utilities and other organizations multiple options for securing their perimeters.”

The northern Texas electric cooperative mentioned in this story provides electrical and telecommunications services to more than 15,000 members in two rural counties. In early February, thieves who had broken into its substation were interrupted by police responding to an alarm triggered by the SmarterFence. The thieves were scared away but left personal property behind which led police to the arrest of one of the perpetrators. Since the primary suspect has named accomplices, perhaps even more copper thefts will be stopped.

Groups Unite to Support Employer Right to Determine Workplace Safety Rules

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) joined with ASIS International and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in recently filing an amici curiae brief urging the United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm a 2007 federal district court ruling that found two so-called “forced entry laws” in Oklahoma unconstitutional. The Oklahoma laws would have prevented employers from setting workplace safety rules barring guns to be brought on employer property in a locked vehicle.

The U.S. Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, in a suit filed against Oklahoma by ConocoPhillips and other employer plaintiffs (ConocoPhillips v. Henry), held that the Oklahoma’s “forced entry laws” conflicted with the general duty clause of the federal Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970. The general duty clause requires employers to protect their employees against avoidable and recognizable hazards that may not be addressed by specific workplace safety and health standards promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Since federal laws preempt state law, the OSH Act preempted the Oklahoma laws.

“We are pleased to be able to support employers’ most fundamental right, which is to determine how best to run their businesses and keep their employees and property safe,” said ASSE President Michael W. Thompson, CSP. “Employers hire our member safety, health, and environmental (SH&E) professionals to determine just how best to protect workers. Whether, in their best judgment, protecting workers and property means keeping guns out of parking lots or not, that decision must be made by an employer and an SH&E professional. Those sometimes difficult decisions cannot be made by a state governor or legislature substituting political decisions for professional judgment about how best to protect workers under duties employers have under the OSH Act’s general duty clause.

“Preventing violence is just one of many workplace safety, health, and environmental issues our members work hard each day with employers to address so that workers are able to go home safe and healthy from their jobs each day,” added Thompson. “A law such as Oklahoma’s forced entry laws, if reinstated, would undermine our members’ professional ability to give advice to Oklahoma employers on workplace safety and it means that Oklahoma workplaces would be less safe.”

The cost of workplace violence to employers alone has been estimated at $4 billion a year, which is supported by ASSE’s “2004 Workplace Violence Survey and White Paper.”

According to the Department of Labor’s BLS National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries for 2006, workplace homicides ranked as the fourth cause of on-the-job deaths, claiming the lives of 516 workers with more than 80% of those workers being shot.