Setting the scene
In 2022, following a highly competitive tender process, we were successfully appointed as the sole provider of security services to support this film studio. Security was previously provided by a small team and, following significant growth, the client was looking for a partner that could handle the new demands and would help take its security and risk management to the next level.
As part of the contract, we deliver a full range of security services, including manned guarding, event security, crowd and visitor management, as well as our technical services, where we oversee the maintenance and running of all security systems. Over 100 security officers and security engineers work across the two UK-based studios, working in close partnership with the client to ensure the protection of employees, customers and visitors, as well as their assets, information, and reputations.
We look after over 150 buildings and 3,000 assets, some of which include CCTV, access control, intruder alarms, automatic vehicle barriers, pedestrian turnstiles and DDA gates.
The team operates in a unique, fast-paced, ever-changing environment where clients and on-site guests change regularly, and sites are constantly evolving with new film sets being built all the time. There are different types of productions taking place at any one time which all require a tailored approach to cater for different security needs. This requires continuous adaptation of our service delivery to ensure that there are no issues accessing the production, which could have major financial implications, and that everything runs smoothly.
Equipping our team for success
Our people-first approach and our supportive leadership team structure resonated with the client during the tender process. Our officers are often the first point of contact for customers and visitors, so it was important for us to provide a strong foundation for their ongoing development, to always ensure a safe environment, and effectively enforce the client’s regulations, policies and procedures.
We developed a bespoke training programme to ensure that the essential sector knowledge and relevant experience is embedded and reinforced with our team across the studios. Delivered every two months throughout the year via an in-person classroom environment, the modular training programme highlights the importance of guest experience, safety and security, covering everything from security management, incident reporting and legal developments to help assist the team. The programme was designed in close partnership with the client who also delivers some of the training modules around health and safety and customer experience.
We successfully completed the first year of the training programme with good pass rates and positive feedback from our team, and we are busy developing additional modules for the years ahead. By taking the time to understand the customer’s unique security risks and requirements, we significantly evolved the training that was offered by the previous supplier and empowered our team to deliver high quality service, providing assurance of safety and compliance on client sites.
Our security engineers are upskilled with the latest releases in security technology and are enrolled on all manufacturer courses on the security systems they install and maintain across the estates, with regular on-site manufacturer training sessions.
Enhancing security with our technical services
Another key reason for our tender success was innovation, and our dedicated technical services team did a great job defining the client’s security specifications and enhancing the security measures across the studios whilst ensuring 24/7/365 emergency cover.
There aren`t many sites that have over 1,000 cameras and over 800 access control doors that work in conjunction with each other. The unique challenge for the technical team is to ensure uptime and integration of services for monitoring purposes, which is where the innovation comes into play, where we can implement bespoke customisations to video management software and access control, as well as intruder alarm integration.
From the very beginning, our security engineers carried out a detailed analysis of the current security systems and recommended upgrades needed to improve the monitoring capabilities of the client’s onsite security operations centre.
The client had challenges around tracking assets and reporting faults. We introduced our technical services client portal which streamlined processes and enabled easy monitoring and maintenance of all client’s assets.
The client can request an engineer visit via the portal and has 24/7 access to job status reports and scheduled maintenance plans. The implementation of the portal improved the overall response to jobs and generated a full asset list for the client who can now oversee all asset information at the touch of a button.
The team also supported the client with minimising thousands of false alarms through access control and rapidly deployed temporary security technology, such as CCTV towers, for areas across the estates that were determined to require additional coverage.
Our security engineers work alongside the security officers to deliver a superior security solution, as well as the client to continuously shape the technical service delivery, identifying and suggesting new innovations and working to implement them.
The results
Since taking over the management of the client’s security systems, our technical services team worked hard to resolve historic issues and managed to get 100% of systems online from 70% within the first six months of the contract which was facilitated via the new client portal.
These milestones represent strong figures which were achieved in a complex environment and would not be possible without our dedicated team of security officers and engineers who demonstrate their passion and commitment to their roles every day to proactively ensure maximum security levels across the client’s estates.
Due to the ongoing growth of this film studio, the target of hours and the number of assets are set to increase, and the team is excited to support the client with this continuous growth, adjusting our delivery to ensure optimum service at all times.
Over the first year of the contract, with the annual target of hours exceeding 100,000 hours, our security officers delivered 99.76% of manned guarding.
