Serco Group plc - Experts & Thought Leaders

CoreRFID supplies the UK's largest outsourcing company Serco with 100,000 RFID access cards for its Caledonian Sleeper railway service. The cards will provide passengers with access to rooms and will improve security on routes between London and Scotland. The cards are completely re-usable and replace paper-based RFID tickets, which were judged to not be as cost effective in the long-term. Specialist locks Serco had specialist locks provided by a Spanish company and needed cards which were compatible" Munzi Ali, technical director of CoreRFID comments: “Our knowledge and experience on similar work in the hotel industry helped us to meet the challenges of this project. Serco had specialist locks provided by a Spanish company and needed cards which were compatible. Consultancy is a big part of the larger projects we undertake and we were able to solve the issue with Serco.” The Caledonian Sleeper service, which is operated by Serco as a standalone franchise, can trace its origins back to 1873. It serves a number of destinations in Scotland - including Inverness, Aberdeen, Fort William, Glasgow and Edinburgh - on route to and from Euston Station. RFID solutions Graham Kelly, guest experience director at Serco Caledonian Sleeper, said: "Our new trains are designed to improve every aspect of the guest experience. We strive to deliver a hotel experience and a major part of that is having keycard entry for rooms. We've only been running our new trains for a few weeks but the feedback from guests on the keycard has been excellent, with CoreRFID's solution proving extremely effective." Ali added: “RFID solutions can provide real benefits in efficiency, costs and in this case significantly cutting down on waste.” CoreRFID's clients include ICL, London Underground and Thomas Cook.

Zayed University is the newest of three government sponsored higher education institutes in the United Arab Emirates. The campus is located on the mainland of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, near the Abu Dhabi International Airport and Masdar. The 229,000m campus houses six colleges across 28 separate buildings, including faculty and administration buildings, a childcare facility, residence halls, classrooms, science and computer labs, cafeterias and a sports complex, all equipped with the latest technology. Future development plans will see the student population increase to 7,500 and the campus grow to cover a net area of 269,000m. Access to and from the campus is an important concern for Zayed University and is carefully managed around the clock to keep the 6,000 strong student body safe. Managing gate barriers and doors Banner sends a command directly to the Gallagher Door Controller to open that specific gate if entry or exit is allowedThe university employs Serco to implement and manage their security requirements. Serco partnered with Gallagher, selecting the Command Centre security platform to manage gate barriers and access controlled doors with just under 650 MIFARE readers and 130 controllers across the site. Zayed University implements a policy to provide students with a secure campus environment. This includes managing the entry and exit of the students based on their scheduled classes. To achieve this, Zayed University runs an interface between Command Centre and its Banner system. Banner is a comprehensive computer information system that contains information on courses, students, faculty, staff and alumni, including financial aid, finance and human resource components. Entry and exit requests for students to pass through the campus gates are sent from Command Centre to the Banner system for approval, using the Command Centre OPC Alarms and Events interface. Based on the time of the entry or exit and the student’s schedule, the Banner system decides whether the request is accepted or denied. Banner then sends a command directly to the Gallagher Door Controller to open that specific gate if entry or exit is allowed. Safe and secure environment for students Its intuitive user interface provides flexibility and easy management of operations"Gallagher security solutions provide the assurance and the knowledge that movement throughout campus is managed simply and efficiently to ensure a safe, secure environment. “Keeping students safe is of utmost importance to us,” says Mukesh Karsan, Serco IT Manager at Zayed University. “The Gallagher system helps us honour this commitment. Its intuitive user interface provides flexibility and easy management of operations.” He adds that he’s been “impressed with the reliability and robustness the system offers; it’s powerful, versatile and allows security personnel to carry out their day-to-day responsibilities with efficiency.” Gallagher solutions are trusted by education providers worldwide to: issue student and faculty access cards manage individual access rights control campus and dormitory access secure computer labs, science labs and other high-value assets integrate with scheduling and resource booking systems evacuate or lock down sites in case of an emergency Time and money saving solutions From intelligent integration with building management systems, to people and time efficiencies gained through automation and smart use of resources, Gallagher designs solutions that save time and money. Whether it’s across multiple zones within a single campus, or over multiple campuses, Gallagher solutions offer an intelligent, powerful way to ensure business continuity, protection of assets and keeping people safe.

The SoloProtect lone worker solution is BS8484 and EN50518 approved Serco is a service and outsourcing company and has been delivering essential public services for more than 50 years. Serco makes a difference to the lives of millions of people around the world. In 2012, Serco Group plc, announced that it had signed a contract with the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to deliver the COMPASS project, providing accommodation, associated services, and transport for asylum applicants in two regions of the UK. COMPASS project COMPASS, or Commercial and Operational Managers Procuring of Asylum Support Services, replaced more than 20 UKBA contracts for accommodation and transport of asylum applicants and their families, improving service standards whilst delivering considerable savings to the taxpayer. Serco is now the prime contractor for the North West and Scotland & Ireland. Responsibility includes initial short-term accommodation for asylum applicants; dispersed accommodation after their application is processed, transportation to and between accommodation, and the related process support to these operations. With over 220 lone workers attached to the COMPASS team, it was important Serco understood their duty of care to their employees and in Lee Horne - Business Support and IT Manager; and other management colleagues responsible for lone worker safety, Serco had a team committed to staff welfare. Lone worker protection “Our aim is to ensure our staff get home safe, the SoloProtect device helps us do that” Using the SoloProtect reports, it became clear to Lee that Serco were not utilising the device to its full potential; staff were not engaged and the company were in danger of not getting a return on their investment. Therefore, with the aim of raising awareness and lowering the risk of danger to staff, a project was established to maximise the use of the device. It was important for Lee to fully understand the risks that faced Serco lone workers, a list including, but not limited to; working with vulnerable people, evening or night work and driver related risk. Subsequently, with a mix of staff training and on-going communication, the Serco staff began to engage; as a result, the intended device usage increased. Identicom is designed to look and feel like a standard identity card, ensuring it’s close to hand and discreet to use. It offers protection and is designed to fit a range of personnel and lone worker applications; whether primarily facing People Risk (arising from social interaction - potential verbal abuse and attack) or Environmental Risk (potential for incapacitation, commonly referred to as a Man Down (incapacitation), due to illness or a sudden trip or fall). Alarm Receiving Centre This coupled with the BS 8484:2016 accreditation and SoloProtect’s elite, EN50518 compliant, in-house Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) provide Serco with unparalleled lone worker protection, a view that Lee Horne strongly agrees with. “The safety of our staff, service users and the public is paramount in what we do. The SoloProtect device not only provides a visible deterrent but also gives staff the re-assurance that, if there were an incident, they would get the help that was needed. Our aim is to ensure our staff get home safe, the SoloProtect device helps us do that.” Simple and effective As well as this, SoloProtect provides Serco’s staff with the knowledge that they are in safe hands when working alone. Serco Housing Officer Chris Mairs believes the device is simple and effective and he feels safer knowing the device is close at hand. Serco’s Identicom users also deserve a great deal of credit for embracing change and fully integrating themselves into new working practises “Although I am confident in working with my Service Users I also understand the need for protection around the unknown or hostile situations, so having the device gives me peace of mind should I ever need to use it.” SoloProtect Identicom device By encouraging use of the SoloProtect Identicom device Lee, and other management colleagues responsible for lone worker safety, have provided excellent evidence of supplying superb duty of care to Serco’s lone worker team. They have empowered and duly equipped the company’s employees in order to provide peace of mind and a secure working environment. Serco’s Identicom users also deserve a great deal of credit for embracing change and fully integrating themselves into new working practises. Lone working encompasses both social and environmental risk, it affects all industries, plus both full and part-time staff as well as employees at every level of an organisation. The SoloProtect lone worker solution is fully managed, BS8484 and EN50518 approved, and designed to give employers an easy and effective way to protect all types of lone worker - over 200,000 people now use Identicom as their preferred lone worker device.