Alan Chua, executive director of Concorde Security, shares the innovative service which promises to cut security costs and address issues confronting the guard industry.MUST EVERY building or factory have a security guard (or more) of its own? Or can a mobile team ensure the security of a cluster of buildings -- and save building owners half their current cost of security?
The latter solution has been devised by one of Singapore's leading security agencies -- Concorde Security.
Concorde Security is not only offering building owners a solution that halves their budget on deploying security guards but also technician services of its mobile guards that are trained in technician work.
Concorde Security bagged an award at the inaugural Singapore Manufacturing Federation Awards 2014 in October for business model innovation. 
Mr Alan Chua (centre) receives Singapore Manufacturing Federation award from Minister of Manpower, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin (right), and SMF President, Mr George Huang.Technology and mobile team to replace guards at the gate
“Building owners need us to keep their costs in check when the security guard licensing requirement mandated by the Progressive Wage Model takes effect,” said Concorde Security founder and executive director Alan Chua.
From September 2016, security agencies will have to pay their guards according to a wage ladder that sets the minimum monthly basic pay at S$1,100, almost 40% more than the current median of S$800.
In a nutshell, this is how Concorde's innovative solution, known as Intelligent Facility Sprinter, works: To begin with, a surveillance system is installed in a large van (sprinter) that streams live video footage from an array of closed circuit TVs installed in up to 30 buildings per cluster.
Every sprinter is manned by 3 officers (each of whom Concorde dubs as Intelligent-Man) who can quickly respond to fire or intrusion alarms, etc.
Every sprinter is manned by 3 officers (each of whom Concorde dubs as Intelligent-Man) who can quickly respond to fire or intrusion alarms, etc.
“Our Intelligent-Man can reach the site of a security breach within 15 minutes of an alarm being triggered,” said Mr Chua.
Better pay, work hours for security guards
Concorde Security's solution addresses the issue of rising demand for security service as Singapore builds even more residential, commercial, industrial and private buildings.
However, the low-skilled work environment in the security industry and limited career progression and long work hours have deterred people from joining the industry.
There is currently a manpower shortage of as high as 25% (headcount of about 10,000) and this shortage is expected to grow.
Most security officers are required to work up to 12 hours a day for six days a week.
Over and above that, the average security officer clocks up to 95 overtime hours each month, above the 72-hour limit on overtime hours under the Employment Act.
That is, not surprisingly, also the highest level of overtime hours clocked across all industries in Singapore.
Concorde Security’s high-tech surveillance sprinter provides an avenue of doing away with night-shift and weekend security guards.
Mr Chua pointed out that doing away with weekend and night shifts may actually reduce the risk faced by female office workers who work unearthly hours and find themselves alone in a building for a long hours with the security officer.
Inside Concorde Security's surveillance sprinter: Officers monitor buildings via live CCTV footage as well as stay alert to alarms from systems that protect and serve a building such as fire safety, lift controls, car-park barriers, intercoms, electrical switch boards, sprinkler and ejector pump rooms, water tank compartments, generator rooms, sump pumps, booster pumps, pressurization and exhaust fan control panels, hose reel tanks, cooling towers, air-con CU units / AHU, supply fans, etc. “We improve the work life balance of security officers. Building owners now have the option of deploying them only during office hours,” he said.
Such working hours, plus the higher skills required of Intelligent Man, would attract better qualified people to join the security industry.
Mr Chua, who designed the technology integrated into the Intelligent Facility Sprinter (IFS), believes that improved productivity is the most realistic way of improving pay prospects for the security industry.
He has filed for patent rights to the IFS design.
High definition close up video capture
Concorde Security's solution addresses the issue of rising demand for security service as Singapore builds even more residential, commercial, industrial and private buildings.
However, the low-skilled work environment in the security industry and limited career progression and long work hours have deterred people from joining the industry.
There is currently a manpower shortage of as high as 25% (headcount of about 10,000) and this shortage is expected to grow.
Most security officers are required to work up to 12 hours a day for six days a week.
Over and above that, the average security officer clocks up to 95 overtime hours each month, above the 72-hour limit on overtime hours under the Employment Act.
That is, not surprisingly, also the highest level of overtime hours clocked across all industries in Singapore.
Concorde Security’s high-tech surveillance sprinter provides an avenue of doing away with night-shift and weekend security guards.
Mr Chua pointed out that doing away with weekend and night shifts may actually reduce the risk faced by female office workers who work unearthly hours and find themselves alone in a building for a long hours with the security officer.
Inside Concorde Security's surveillance sprinter: Officers monitor buildings via live CCTV footage as well as stay alert to alarms from systems that protect and serve a building such as fire safety, lift controls, car-park barriers, intercoms, electrical switch boards, sprinkler and ejector pump rooms, water tank compartments, generator rooms, sump pumps, booster pumps, pressurization and exhaust fan control panels, hose reel tanks, cooling towers, air-con CU units / AHU, supply fans, etc. “We improve the work life balance of security officers. Building owners now have the option of deploying them only during office hours,” he said.Such working hours, plus the higher skills required of Intelligent Man, would attract better qualified people to join the security industry.
Mr Chua, who designed the technology integrated into the Intelligent Facility Sprinter (IFS), believes that improved productivity is the most realistic way of improving pay prospects for the security industry.
He has filed for patent rights to the IFS design.
High definition close up video capture
Using TV white space, Concorde Security is able to transmit high-definition close-up and live video footage of monitored targets through its powerful close circuit TV cameras.
The network access is very much like the Wi-fi, but more powerful.
Wi-fi provides local area wireless access of up to several square kilometres outdoors by tapping on 4G networks from a wireless network access point.
TV white space, on the other hand, can cover four times the distance of Wi-fi and 16 times the area, which translates into economies of scale in terms of the size of the building cluster covered by one van.
Concorde Security is the first security agency that the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has granted a licence to use TV white space technology in the following areas:
√ Video surveillance and communication system and service
√ Facilities management, monitoring and response service
Its operational HQ at Ang Mo Kio houses a central control centre that is able to oversee the deployment of an entire fleet of surveillance sprinters for building clusters all over Singapore.
Comments
We are trying to explore on security solution with your esteem company. Currently we are deploying 2 x guards ( 24 hrs ) at our site.. Sites area is about 110,000 sq ft. There are zero activities after working hours.
You may contact me at 96231413 for further information
thanks / jack