The Benefit Of Using The SIA Approved Contractor Scheme
SIA Approved Contractor Scheme
When it comes to defending your buildings, staff and members of the public, you can not put a value on security or on the reassurance that comes from knowing you’ve got the best men and women in the private security industry working for you.That’s why the Security Industry Authority has created the Approved Contractor Scheme. The ACS gives a recognised stamp of quality within the private security industry. So when you select a security supplier who is an SIA approved contractor, you can be sure that the security staff they supply are amongst the best.
About the SIA
The Security Industry Authority is an independent organisation that was set up by the government under the terms and conditions of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The SIA mission is to be a good, fair and efficient regulator of the private security industry. The SIA have made a commitment to the Regulators ‘ Compliance Code, an approved code of practice for regulators that promotes a risk-based, balanced and centered approach.
What price do you put on security?
The following remarks were posted by security purchasers as a part of a third party on-line survey that was commissioned by the SIA in Jan 2009.
“I generally feel that authorized contractors are way more organised and have more experience in what the client needs the ACS Contractor is totally compliant to the standards that are set down in our tender, meeting all insurance, health & safety, financial wants the quality systems in place and service delivery standards are way ahead of non authorized contractors”.
What the SIA ACS means for your organisation
In the quest for highly skilled professional security contractors, the SIA quality assurance scheme delivers an independent, in depth and rigorous assessment. The SIA shed light upon the process of selecting the best security provider, making certain they can meet your individual desires and add extra value to your organisation. To achieve the SIA state backed quality accreditation, private security suppliers must demonstrate the highest levels of performance in the broadest range of business operations. Security suppliers must meet 89 different performance signals which are based upon widely recognized business improvement models (including ISO9001:2000 and the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model) .The scheme also draws upon Investors in Folk and includes important UK Standards. As such, the ACS stands out as having particularly all-inclusive good practice criteria.
Good procedure and continuity of quality
The employment practices of your provider will have been totally assessed for sound procedure, including staff screening, benefits, training and conditions, the prerogative to work in Britain and social security legislation. And, following approval, the SIA continuously monitor all of their approved contractors.
Bigger flexibility and operational effectiveness
The ACS Standard promotes service customisation and added value , so the services delivered can be tailored for your actual needs. Additionally, authorized contractors have special dispensation to deploy staff who are waiting for their SIA licence application to be processed (it is illegal for non approved contractors to do so) adding further to their operational resources.
Leadership and innovation
As the ACS is a voluntary scheme, you can be sure that suppliers will be customer centered, highly respondent to modify and keen to adopt new methods and working practices.
Extend your security network
The ACS offers the potential for reinforced working relations and ‘joined-up ‘ police, business and community initiatives.
Transparency
All scheme information is published on the SIA web site to ensure credibility and transparency. You may ask possible suppliers for details of their independent assessments. To discover more about the factors ACS authorised contractors need to meet, please visit the SIA site.
An SIA Approved Contractor can show that:
It has processes in place to observe and manage service delivery to both shoppers and consumers
It trains and develops its folk to deliver customer satisfaction and added value to an agreed standard
The leaders develop and implement a useful management system that ceaselessly improves the organisation and its performance
It measures and improves performance against key buyer and consumer feed back
It measures and improves performance against key indicators for the way in which it supports the community and the environment in which it operates
It meets 84 further performance wants and is open to examination by the SIA at all times.
The author has been involved within the UK security industry since 1999 and currently holds a full SIA Close Protection licence. In this time he has been tasked with protecting top international industrialists and some of the most famous stars in Hollywood.