Investors in People Champions meet at House of Lords to discuss possible ways to encourage growth.

Crowds await the departure of the Queen from Westminster Abbey

IIP Chiefs and IIP Champions enjoy a pleasant meal whilst discussing how to improve the way the scheme operates to benefit existing members whilst encouraging new members.

Poppies adorn grounds of  Westminster Abbey - a poignant reminder of Armistice day.

Statue of Oliver Cromwell a man who led the English civil revolt that was a major turning point for democracy we enjoy in contemporary Britain.

On the 16th of November at 1pm Wilson Chowdhry was invited to an IIP Ambassadors meal at the Atlee Room at the House of Lords.  The meeting was called so that IIP Chiefs' could consult with senior users' of the scheme, on how to encourage more commercial participation and improve usefulness of the scheme.

The meeting involved a discussion during a sumptuous meal in which topics ranged from;

• Potential incentives - reduced employers NI for accredited companies, Award presentations for good performers, Training grants for newly accredited companies.
• Value added benefits - Challenging for accreditation to be mandatory for Public Sector tenders.
• Subsidies for new organisations
• Promotion through industry specific media (rather than just National Papers, with more industry specific case studies).
• Better communication with Purchasers to highlight the aims and benefits of the scheme.

Wilson arrived slightly late for the meeting, as whilst walking to the Houses of Parliament he noticed a huge crowd forming around Westminster Abbey and decided to observe proceedings.  It seemed this meeting coincide with the 400th Anniversary of the King James English translation of the Bible.  The event was visited by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the royal entourage was worth the wait.

Wilson still contributed significantly to the discussion and voiced concerns that the cost was prohibitive and clients needed better awareness of the holistic assessment process.  He also challenged for an annual award ceremony and industry specific promotion.

The King James Bible inspired leaders like George Cromwell who for a short term created a British Republic.  Our modern day democracy would simply not have succeeded without the revolution that Cromwell led.  Wilson believes that the economy of the UK today is ailing much like it was during the post-civil war era.  Perhaps a positive scheme championed by IIP could be just the tonic we need for a swift recovery.

More on the Queen's visit to Westminster abbey can be found here:

http://www.westminster-abbey.org/worship/special-services/upcoming-special-services/2011/november/a-service-of-celebration-to-mark-the-400th-anniversary-of-the-king-james-bible

A.A. Security volunteers gain deserved praise

Security Officer Michael took on role of Stage Manager and security - left of picture.

We have had heaps of praise from the Redbridge Carnival Committee and the East Ilford Business Partnership for the voluntary security provided by us at the Redbridge Carnival 2011 (held 10th - 11th September) and Redbridge Peace Concert 2011 (held 24th September). Both events were a huge success and had no major incident.  In fact during the Redbridge Peace concert a mother who was not watching the event thanked the security team who located a missing child in a matter of seconds.

We are aware that some of you covered all 3 days and cannot express our appreciation enough.  At a time so soon after the London riots that affected Redbridge more than the media portrayed, events like those mentioned above play a role in the restoration of peace.  Our input was no less important than other volunteers and your commitment for this unpaid role was gracious indeed.

With over 25 of our Security officers participating in these events we feel as if our contribution to this local community was significant.

Redbridge Police have said that the operation of years procession was better than in previous years and considering we have never had any serious incidents, that is a real impressive achievement.

Well done one and all.

Security Officer Haroon Yousaf kept order at the Redbridge Peace Monument installation.

AA Security Secures IIP Gold Status

Wilson Chowdhry receives certificate from IIP Assessor Kate Baker!

An Essex-based security firm’s future looks to be in safe hands after it secured Investors in People Gold status.

AA Security, which provides security services to clients including Brent Council and the Ministry of Defence, is thought to be the first company in the industry to achieve the Gold status.

The firm first achieved Investors in People recognition in 2002 and used the process to establish a clear business plan, focusing its efforts on staff training and delivering high quality customer service. 

Wilson Chowdhry, Managing Director at AA Security, said Investors in People had played a key role in helping his company weather the recent economic downturn.

“The recession has seen a lot of security firms go broke, often because they operated at the margins; their staff were on really low wages and they had no more room to cut costs,” he said.

“We downsized our operations but continued to invest in training. Establishing a niche based on quality and well-trained staff meant we needed an external validation of this quality. Investors in People provided that validation and, perhaps more importantly, helped to ensure we had the structures in place to see out the difficult times as well as the boom years.

“Investors in People is increasingly becoming a requirement for big contracts. So achieving Gold status really established that we were above the norm and it really gets you noticed. It means you are on the priority pecking order.”

John Telfer, Managing Director of Inspiring Business Performance Ltd (IBP), which is responsible for delivering the Investors in People Standard across London and the South, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for AA Security Ltd. I would like to congratulate the organisation and its people on their commitment to continuous improvement. I’m sure that news of AA Security Ltd’s success will encourage more security firms to sharpen their competitive edge by choosing to work with Investors in People.”

Investors in People is a national quality Standard awarded to well-run organisations which demonstrate good management practice with a high emphasis on best practice people management and development.

To find out more about IBP and the benefits of Investors in People, visit www.ibp.uk.com, email info@ibp.uk.com or call 0800 612 3098.

Security Firm fashions a new green way for Security Industry!

Innovative organisations have been crowned  at the Green Business Innovator (GBI) 2011 Awards which took place on Thursday 7 July 2011 at Middlesex University, London. 

The winners demonstrated excellence in environmental practice across the private, public and voluntary sectors.

Award winners were selected across six categories including Carbon Reduction Initiative, Waste Management Initiative, Lean Manufacturing, Green Voluntary and Community Sector Organisation, Green Public Sector Organisation and Green Business in the Service Sector.

A.A. Security Limited were a close runner-up in the waste management category and were awarded a certificate and trophy in a hotly and closely contested competition.   Director Wilson Chowdhry commented;

"We are fairly unique in our industry bearing our stronger than normal commitment to preserving our environment.  We feel it is important that modern commercial entities working within our sector adopt such practices as news of depleting resources is effecting the global economy.  We hope our success will inspire others to follow suit."

The awards were organised by environmental business experts at Middlesex University, who are currently managing the EcoVate Project, which provides free tailor-made environmental support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in London, and is part-financed by the European Union. Through EcoVate SMEs can receive advice on issues including waste, water, energy, transport, and supply chain linkages.  Since the beginning of the project in April 2009 more than 350 businesses have been supported by EcoVate to become more sustainable, achieve cost savings and comply with changes in legislation.

Ankit Kapasi, from Middlesex University, said: “The huge success of the first ever GBI awards in June 2010 encouraged us to expand our scopes and boundaries this year. The standard and number of entries this year was very high, which was particularly great to see in the current challenging climate.  All the organisations that entered have been working very hard to make themselves more sustainable and I want to congratulate the winners for leading the way in environmental practice.”

The judging panel was made up of representatives from the Environment Agency, London Borough of Camden, Waste Watch, Enterprise Enfield, AEA Consulting and Middlesex University.  Nuno Costa, a Sustainable Development Specialist from IKEA, also spoke at the awards ceremony. Nuno was particularly impressed with the GBI 2011 trophies, that had been designed and hand-made with more than 99 percent recycled materials, and offered the trophy designer the use of IKEA's 'waste streams' to develop other products.

Aims and Objective are they necessary....!

It has come to my attention that many officers and staff are aware of their own personal objectives, but sem vague on our overall corporate objective.  At A. A. Security we believe that overall output and coordination is most effective when local ambition is linked into a more global corporate direction.  It is important that you understand how your work fits in with your colleagus at all levels.  This will allow us to better understand the importance of our work and the implications it has on our and more global corporate performance.  Here is an extract I hav taken from our 2011 Business plan for your perusal and assimilation.

1.1 Objectives

A. A. Security Ltd has endured a difficult period during the recent recession. However progress has been made over the last two years. This was due to the recognized professionalism of its staff and organizational practices. In our 16 years of specialist security service provision we have seen our turnover grow from £100,000 (2004) - £2,300,000 (2008), and then lost £1m in turnover through no fault of our own. Our turnover has increased by over £100,000 since 2009 and to ensure further success and focus our commitment to sustainable development, we have formalized the following objective commitments during our recent AGM:


1. In response to the benchmarking scheme within the Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS), we shall endeavor to retain our position in the top 10% of achievers. Moreover, we shall also subscribe to the ACS Pacesetters Scheme to evidence an promote our achievement.


2. We intend to increase our turnover for the year 2011 to at least £1.5m with an expected further £250, 000 increases in our turnover, each year for 2012 and 2013


3. Maintain our excellent staff turnover rate of 9% for the next three years.


4. Continue with our commitment to professionalism and sustainable development with at least two business/community/Environmental awards per year.


5. Reduce our impact on the environment by 10% for 2011 and an additional 10% for 2012 and 2013


6. Expand our training academy to provide a wider variety of courses


7. Obtain external funding to accelerate growth of our Training provision internally and to other organizations


8. To ensure that our clients and stakeholders are at least 80% satisfied with our overall performance in 2011 , increasing to 85% in 2012 and 90% by 2013.


9. To Ensure that 100% of our purchases are sustainable and fair by the end of 2011.


1.2 Mission


The mission of A.A. Security Ltd is to provide the highest quality of commercial bespoke manned guarding security services and security related training.


The company will seek to provide these services in the most timely and professional manner and with an ongoing comprehensive quality control , training and development, environmental and health and safety orientated programs to provide 100% customer satisfaction, while maintaining its commitment to sustainable development.


The company's principal officers see each contract as an agreement not between a business and its customers, but between partners that wish to create a close and mutually beneficial long-term relationship. This will help to provide greater long-term profits, successive growth in gross turnover, increased margins of net profit and establishment of a reputation of professionalism, by way of referrals and significant client retention.


1.3 Keys to Success


We believe that our main keys to success (critical success factors) include:


• Our continuing holistic company approach to professional development, this ensures best practice service levels and increased staff morale.


• Our continuing inclusive approach to design of company policies, procedures and documentation this sets a principle of ownership of work


• Our continuing commitment to the monitoring of our service via employees, stakeholders and consumers, ensuring customer, staff and consumer satisfaction


• Operating a fixed pricing structure that allows for significant profit margins while being egalitarian in principle


• Good mechanisms for communication both internally within our own organization and externally between clients, consumers and other stakeholders.


• Evidencing our professional standing by subscribing to external audit and accreditation by recognized independent monitoring bodies and awarding bodies.


• Expansion of a varied course selection at our Training Academy


We believe that we can minimize certain risk factors by:


• Low overhead through the use of multi-skilled employees and continual training

•  Strong customer base through aggressive marketing

• Strong community ties and involvement


• Eliminating unnecessary wastage and energy consumption to reduce environmental impact and reduce costs.

Read Wilson Chowdhry's latest Security Article on SMT

Our Director Wilson has written an article comparing licensing in Ireland compared the scheme operating in the UK. He has also described the benefits of the Mayor of London's Green Procurement Code:

Please read it by clicking the link below:

http://www.info4security.com/story.asp?sectioncode=14&storycode=4126918&c=1

A.A. Security wins tender at Queen Mary and Westfield University

A. A. Security has a won a tender to protect the Library at Queen Mary and Westfield University. This is a great achievement and continues the recent growth we have been experienced during the financial year 2011.

Queen Mary and Westfield College is a prestigious educational establishment that is a part of the London University. So this success is a real feather in our caps.

We are recruiting for positions as a consequence of this success so if you are aware of potential employees do recommend then to us. Preferred requirements would include:

• Two years history working in the industry
• Existing SIA licences
• Good command of English
• Computer literacy

Great start to the new year

2011 has satrted of with a bang we have secured 3 contracts in the month of January alone and have a number of potential sites in the pipeline. This has been a great achievement for us and heralds what looks outwardly like a very successful year of growth. Our New Clients include the Khazikstani Embassy, Wates Group and Lenguard Construction.

As a consequence of our success we are seeking new recruits and would like to train at least 6 Security officers for employement within the next few months. Please contact Lubna Mahmood on 020 8514 0861 - if you are interested.

Confidential Incident Reporting & Analysis System for the rail industry

As A. A. Security is due to be assessed for competency related to supplying the Rail Industry, we are now obliged to advise our employees of CIRAS, a scheme that is designed to make health and safety reporting more conjusive to our employees:

CIRAS is the Confidential Incident Reporting & Analysis System for the rail industry. It is an alternative way for anyone working on or around the railway to report safety concerns that they feel unable to report through company safety channels. It is an independent and confidential way to report safety concerns without fear of recrimination.

All Railway Group member companies, including train and freight operating companies, Network Rail, contractors and LUL are enrolled in the system so it is available to all rail personnel.

CIRAS collects information from railway personnel on safety concerns and incidents that may not be captured in other ways. It aims to improve understanding of what goes wrong when incidents and accidents happen on the railways. Whether you are frontline staff or a manager in a rail company this site should be of interest to you.

You can now contact CIRAS by calling Freephone 0800 4 101 101, writing to Freepost CIRAS or texting 07507 285887 (standard text rates apply).

Further details can be found by clicking the link below:

http://www.ciras.org.uk/

Mayor's London Green Procurement Code - will we get it?

A.A. Security is committed to providing and constantly improving the sustainability of our Business. As a consequence we applied for the Mayors of London's Green Procurement code to further improve the environmental dimension of our overall business practice and in particular sustainable procurement. Read more about the code by clicking (Here)

Yesterday from 14:00 - 17:00 we were assessed by Ben Snowden from the consultants involved in auditing us for the Accreditation. He was impressed with our endeavours and will shortly be producing a report that will decided on the success of our application. For those of you who our unaware of our Green credentials I remind you that we named a " Green Enterprise" by our local Yellow Advertiser Paper, impressed by our exemplary Green Practice.

Moreover, we were also highly commended in the ECOVATE Environmental Awards 2010 who annually audit our green performance and advise us on legislative change, further improvement programmes and we also gain annual training on green improvement.

We are one of few security organisations with BS EN ISO 140001 accreditation which requires formation, of an environmental strategy, monitoring and evaluation and requires an annual external audit of the same for holders. Learn more about the Environmental Management system by clicking (here).

I include an excerpt fron our Environmental Manual that details our Environmental Policy:

4.2 Environmental Policy

Summary of Requirements:

Top management must define an Environmental Policy and ensure that, within the defined scope of its environmental management system, it:

a) Directly relates to the environmental impacts of the Organisation's scope of activities, products and services
b) Takes into account the nature and magnitude of all such environmental impacts
c) Commits the Organisation to take all reasonable steps to prevent pollution
d) Commits the Organisation to continually seek improvements in its Environmental Management System
e) Commits the Organisation to compliance with all relevant legal requirements
f) Provides a framework for setting and reviewing environmental objectives and establishes time frames for their achievement
g) Is documented, put into practice and sustained
h) Is introduced to all persons working for or on behalf of the Organisation
i) Can be accessed by the public


STATEMENT

1. A.A. Security Limited (the ‘Organisation’) recognises the importance of environmental protection and is committed to operating its business responsibly and in compliance with all legal requirements relating to the provision of manned guarding, mobile patrols, keyholding/alarm response, store detectives and security services. It is the Organisation’s declared policy to operate with and to maintain good relations with all regulatory bodies.

It is the Organisation’s objective to carry out all measures reasonably practicable to meet, exceed or develop all necessary or desirable requirements and to continually improve environmental performance through the implementation of the following:

a) Assess and regularly re-assess the environmental effects of the Organisation’s activities
b) Training of employees in environmental issues
c) Minimise the production of waste
d) Minimise material wastage
e) Minimise energy wastage
f) Promote the use of recyclable and renewable materials
g) Reduce and/or limit the production of pollutants to water, land and air
h) Control noise emissions from operations
i) Minimise the risk to the general public and employees from operations and activities undertaken by the Organisation
This Policy is communicated to all employees, suppliers and sub-contractors and is made available to the public.