Time Data Security (TDS) Ltd.- Experts & Thought Leaders

The British Security Awards 2023, an annual awards ceremony organised by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), was held on 21st June, in London’s Grand Connaught Rooms. The British Security Awards were established to celebrate the achievements, acts of bravery, and innovations made by members of the UK’s private security industry across the systems and guarding services sectors. NSI as sponsor As a long-term supporter of apprenticeships and their significance in helping to bridge the burgeoning skills gap in the electronic security and fire safety sectors, NSI was delighted to once again sponsor the Apprentice of the Year Award, for the fifth consecutive year. NSI applauds all the winners and finalists from the awards and to see so many NSI-approved companies and their representatives amongst them is a testament to their commitment and professionalism.  NSI-approved companies as winners Twenty-three NSI-approved companies were shortlisted as finalists with 92 nominations between them and the following NSI-approved companies/representatives were declared as winners in 11 categories: Gaby Hutchinson Award (Best Newcomer): Jack Davenport – Westgrove Group Outstanding Act: Babar Awan – Lodge Service Security Manager of the Year: Rhoni Ikhide - Securitas Best Use of Technology: Lodge Service – CCTV Centralisation Project Environmental Project: Loomis UK Contribution to the Industry: Nigel Brown - Mitie Apprentice of the Year: Andrei Puscasiu of NSI-approved company TDS tied with Lauren Haddock – ATG Access Service to the Customer: Margaret Rudge – Bidvest Noonan National Partnership: G4S - JLL National Partnership EDI Champion: STM Group (One Team Philosophy) Chairman’s Award (2): Paul Connelly – CSS and Satia Rai – Securitas/IPSA Recognition of NSI-approved companies It was heartening to see the UK private security sector so well represented at this year’s British Security Awards" Richard Fogelman, NSI Chief Executive commented, “It was heartening to see the UK private security sector so well represented at this year’s British Security Awards." He adds, "We congratulate all the winners and finalists who deserve their accolades, amongst whom were a large contingent of NSI-approved companies and their representatives who took home the top awards."  Contributions to private-sector security Richard Fogelman adds, "The contribution NSI-approved companies and the whole private security sector make, in keeping people, property and places safe, cannot be over-estimated." He continues, "People and their service often go unsung so we value the opportunity to celebrate them and wish them every success in the future.”

The BSIA’s flagship event, the British Security Awards, returned to the live stage to recognise security officers and businesses working to keep people, property and places professionally protected during the last 18 months. British Security Awards In its 26th year, held in 2023 at the sold-out Grand Connaught Rooms, the industry celebrated security excellence with 18 awards presented to security officers and businesses in front of clients and leading industry stakeholders. The show also featured the Chairman’s Award as well as the SaferCash Bravery Awards and the Police Partnership Initiative Award. Honouring the memory of the Hutchinson family The show also saw the inaugural Gaby Hutchinson Award for Best Newcomer, named in honour of the security operative The show also saw the inaugural Gaby Hutchinson Award for Best Newcomer, named in honour of the security operative who tragically lost their life in December 2022 with a recognition award presented in their memory to the Hutchinson family; the first People, Property, Places: Professionally Protected Recognition Award, as part of the campaign to raise awareness of security officers, was also announced during the ceremony. The awards were presented by broadcaster and BSIA President Nick Ross CBE with the SaferCash awards being presented by Assistant Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police, Jayne Meir. 2023 winners  Service to the Customer: Margaret Rudge - Bidvest Noonan Security Manager of the Year: Rhoni Ikhide - Securitas UK Outstanding Act: Babar Awan - Lodge Service Best Team: The Brewery - MAN Commercial Protection Recognition: Gaby Hutchinson (presented to the Hutchinson family) Gaby Hutchinson Award for Best Newcomer: Jack Davenport - Westgrove Group 3Ps Recognition: Danny Varao – Corps Security Apprentice of the Year: Lauren Haddock - ATG Access/Andrei Puscasiu- TDS Best Use of Technology: CCTV Centralisation Project - Lodge Service Installer of the Year: Critical National Infrastructure Security Upgrades - Galliford Try Asset Intelligence Environmental Project of the Year: Reducing CViT carbon footprint - Loomis UK National Partnership: JLL Partnership - G4S Innovative Security Project: CarDefender - Pyronix EDI Champion: One Team Philosophy - STM Group Corporate Social Responsibility: Cost of living: Supporting employees - Bradbury Group SME of the Year: Selectamark Security Systems Business of the Year: Corps Security Contribution to the Industry: Nigel Brown - Mitie SaferCash Public Bravery: Mohammed Ali SaferCash Industry Bravery: Andrew Shackleton - NoteMachine Police Partnership Initiative: Operation Atoll - Metropolitan Police Flying Squad  Chairman's Award: Paul Connelly – CSS/Satia Rai - IPSA/Securitas UK Recognising the frontline Mike Reddington, Chief Executive, BSIA, said, “The British Security Awards were created in 1998 to recognise those in our industry and particularly those operating on the front line who frequently go above and beyond to protect people and property and this year we have seen a record number of entries.”  “It was an honour and a privilege to be able to recognise our winners and finalists for their professionalism, innovation, and commitment to our industry.” Standard of nominations Our awards enable us to recognise the outstanding work being carried out by members" “The scale of achievement we see every year from across each sector is remarkable, and our awards enable us to recognise the outstanding work being carried out by members of both the Association and the wider industry in keeping people, property, and places professionally protected daily.” “As always, the standard of nominations has been exceptional this year, and the judging panel, made up of independent experts from across the industry has had a very difficult job selecting the winners. It is therefore a fantastic achievement by all the finalists.” Sponsors The British Security Awards 2023 were sponsored by Camberford Underwriting, SaferCash, TEAM Software, NSI, Securitas UK, Texecom, Fenix Monitoring, OCS Group, Skills for Security, Galliford Try Asset Intelligence, SGS, Commend, and IFSEC.

TDS (Time Data Security Ltd.), a globally renowned provider of smart workplace products, including visitor management, life safety and access control software solutions, has announced the release of V-Receptionist, a virtual-receptionist solution for more safely and efficiently managing visitors, to multiple locations across a super enterprise. TDS V-Receptionist TDS V-Receptionist enhances the visitor experience, reduces administrative burden and costs, and future proofs and standardises an organisation’s approach to front-of-house reception, across all of its global locations. With TDS V-Receptionist, users access assistance from a receptionist or their host via video chat, at a self-service kiosk and the receptionist or host is notified via SMS/email notification or desktop, or mobile application. Streamlined visitor management Visitor check-in processes are streamlined to only seconds, improving the overall experience for visitors and hosts alike. Multiple enterprise locations can be served by a single receptionist, perhaps even working from home. TDS V-Receptionist helps large enterprises: Adapt for unstaffed receptions/lobbies Avoid crowd bottlenecking during peak visitor periods Manage visits outside of traditional working hours Ensure only authorised guests gain entry to any of their locations Make more informed decisions about visitor activity and facility management Facial recognition and identification scanning Features such as a sign-language speaker, automated sign-in, photo capture, facial recognition, beacon tracking, identification scanning, watch lists, temporary badge replacement and legal document signing can be tailored for the needs of a particular enterprise user. The trend towards digitised safety and security procedures continues to intensify across markets" “We work closely with more than 300 clients worldwide, many of them multinationals, across technology finance, aviation, government, pharmaceuticals and other industries to understand their particular requirements for an innovative workplace. We work to improve their working environments and cater to their needs to build steadily safer, more reliable and efficient workplaces,” said Frank Hart, the Chief Executive Officer for TDS. Frank Hart adds, “The trend towards digitised safety and security procedures continues to intensify across markets, and that makes V-Receptionist the next logical step in our expansion of flexible, customisable solutions for visitor management, access control, workplace safeguarding, emergency evacuation and student attendance. With TDS V-Receptionist, organisations cost-effectively progress toward a digital integrated workplace.” Powered by TDS Visitor V-Receptionist is powered by TDS Visitor, an industry-renowned solution for managing the full visitor lifecycle end-to-end, from pre-registration and self-service check-in, to notification of hosts of visitor arrivals and checkout. TDS Visitor ensures all appropriate health, safety and legal requirements are met and all visitors are accounted for. The solution has deep integration capabilities with existing systems for security, human resources (HR), building management and customer relationship management (CRM).

In recent years, organisations have transformed the way we prepare, respond to and manage emergency situations globally. Through the rapid uptake of new technologies, organisations can accurately account for their individuals in the event of an emergency and maintain the safety of their employees and visitors. In the event of an emergency in an organisation, an efficient and rapid evacuation is of the utmost importance, as hundreds or thousands of people need to be evacuated as quickly as possible. The objective of the building evacuation is an efficient relocation of people from a hazardous building under imminent danger to safe areas through safe and rapid evacuation routes. Smart building technology While we cannot prevent some situations, organisations can take steps to mitigate risks against their personnel to ensure that their workplace safety comes from a properly designed emergency evacuation plan. To minimise evacuation–related casualties in a building emergency evacuation, smart building technologies can be used to share or relay information in real-time among evacuees. Technology is beginning to dominate many aspects of the emergency management profession. This is particularly evident during disaster response. The role of technology in emergency management is to connect, inform and ultimately save the lives of those impacted by an emergency. In whatever industry you operate in, employee safety and lone-worker protection are critical. The advancement in security technology enables responders to coordinate rescue missions and work efficiently from the minute they arrive. It can help organisations analyse, track and study emergency preparedness so that we can always be learning and developing better solutions — and prepare to keep employee safety as a priority. Challenges to emergency evacuation A primary challenge in emergency evacuation situation is communication. From an organisation point of view, the ability to articulate a situation to emergency responders is of the utmost importance when an incident occurs. A breakdown in communication could be a result of lack of emergency planning. Having a clear Emergency Action Plan (EAP) that staff are well informed of and well-prepared for limits panic and ensures that employees, visitors and contractors arrive safely and as quickly as possible to the outside of the building in the case of an emergency. Your plan must identify your organisation has: A clear passageway to all escape routes Clearly marked escape routes that are as short and direct as possible Enough exits and routes for all people to escape Emergency doors that open easily Emergency lighting where needed Training for all employees to know and use the escape routes A safe meeting point for staff In addition to having a carefully planned EAP, the use of technology in your organisation can only further strengthen your emergency planning efforts. Advancements in emergency management When it comes to considering advancements in emergency management, past procedures must be taken into account to realise how far we’ve come. Think of the stock market - imagine a newspaper published stock prices a day later. Old technologies are like that newspaper: out-dated and obsolete. When an emergency begins, all personnel exit the building and use their staff or visitor badges to swipe safe at designated muster points located at the assembly point Manually recording mustered personnel such as paper-based roll calls, building sweeps and word of mouth are not only slow but are a high-risk, time-consuming and ineffective process. They do not provide 100% accuracy when it comes to accounting for all personnel that were on-site when the emergency began. By 21st century standards, these methods are outdated. Organisations need to use the power of the digital world not just to connect people though social media platforms but more importantly use it to keep our people safe by improving how our evacuation plans are executed. Automated emergency evacuation technology Having an automated emergency evacuation solution can drastically improve emergency communications. In the event of a building evacuation, the most important process is ensuring that all personnel are accounted for and marked safe. Installing a digital emergency evacuation solution improves emergency response drastically Building intelligence gives first responders and the incident commander 20/20 foresight as they approach a fire or other non-fire emergencies in a complex structure, allowing better decision-making as an incident is unfolding and ultimately, better outcomes. Presently, the information that reaches first responders about an emergency is minimal. Installing a digital emergency evacuation solution improves emergency response drastically. Real-time updates can provide critical knowledge to an incident commander and real-time access to building systems data holds the potential to improve fire service safety and response capabilities. When an emergency begins, all personnel exit the building and uses their staff or visitor badges to swipe safe at designated muster points located at the existing assembly point. The transition over to new technology methods is eased by leveraging the use of existing technology in an organisation such as access control cards. As personnel swipes safe, a digital missing list is produced on all smart mustering devices associated with the emergency evacuation. This real-time information provides automatic updates on who is still missing or unaccounted for and pinpoints their last known location. Benefits to the organisation Most organisations understand the value of providing a safe and secure working environment for their employees. By investing in workplace safety and health measures, employers can expect to reduce fatalities, injuries and illness. It can also have a cost savings benefit such as lowering worker’s compensation costs and medical expenses, and health and safety penalties. By investing in new technology, such as a digital emergency evacuation system, it sets the standard of security within your organisation. It fosters better communication within a company and helps to improve workplace safety.