Acclaimed Security Boss Needs To Guard Unique GuardSafe Software Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 Source: Telegraph

Leeds-based Acclaimed Security has a highly saleable system but it needs to market its services with care.   Security guards are monitored as they patrol routes. The company notifies them if they are too predictable Photo: John Robertson Night-time security guards have plenty of quiet time to think. Some use it to read books. Others listen to the radio. A small minority spend their time devising ways to avoid doing their jobs. A requirement to scan bar codes at patrol points around the factory or shopping centre is easily overcome, explains Roy Unwin, owner of Leeds-based Acclaimed Security. Acclaimed Security - expert advice "Guards work 12-hour shifts with not a lot to entertain themselves," he says. "So they will trace the image of a bar code onto Izal-type toilet paper using a black felt tip and then swipe the code without moving from their warm office or delaying a visit to a late-night takeaway." With more than 50 years' security experience between them, Unwin and his operations director David Peterkin have seen many such tricks. But they have yet to meet anyone who can outwit the GuardSafe technology they have developed. Acclaimed Security guards are issued with mobile phones they use to activate sensors mounted at various patrol points. This triggers the display of a random six character code that changes every 15 seconds. The guard has to enter the code and send it to the company's central monitoring station, where they can track exactly where each guard is patrolling. "We can also see what route they are taking," says Unwin. "If they always take the same route it would be too predictable, so we get in touch if they take the same patrol route more than twice." The GuardSafe technology gives Acclaimed Security a unique sales proposition that Unwin is keen to exploit. But he is very reluctant to sell GuardSafe usage rights to anyone else until he has increased sales of security services to around £3m. Despite sales growth of 32pc over the past year, Unwin's business still has some way to go before it hits this target. In the year to November 2009 sales rose from £1.27m to £1.68m, and profits grew by 150pc. But the percentage is deceptive. Profitability is still poor, with the bottom line having grown from a dismal £16,000 to just over £40,000. The company has to factor the invoices to ensure sufficient cash flow. Acclaimed Security sells its security services for around £8.50 per hour. This is more expensive than many firms, but the hourly rate needs to grow to well over £9 for profits to reach respectable levels. In a market where rising unemployment forces down prices, it is an elusive ambition. At the same time as boosting margins, Unwin and his sales assistant are seeking to increase the number of billed hours from 3,800 to 6,000 per week. Market conditions are unfavourable. Guarding commercial premises remains the core of the business, accounting for 60pc of sales, but demand for protecting building sites has evaporated because little is being built in the areas covered. Council premises now take a slightly higher share at 25pc, but the only significant growth area is hospitals at 15pc. Despite the company's impeccable credentials, tendering for work is a time-consuming and generally fruitless task. Approximately 50 businesses tender for each contract in Yorkshire, and decisions are usually taken on the basis of price. But because of the length of security contracts, there is usually a gestation period of 18 to 24 months between approaching a sales prospect organisation and beginning a new piece of work in manned guarding, mobile patrols or key holding services. Unwin's ambitions are high, but his approach is gentle. "Acclaimed Security is a family-run business I would like to bequeath to my son" he says. "We are proud of our very low staff turnover. Improving the safety of our workers was one of the main drivers for developing GuardSafe." If a check call does not come each hour from every security worker, the system triggers a call to ensure they are safe. The same system is used to generate each guard's pay statement and the client invoice based on the start and finish times for every site under guard. When asked by delegates to a recent Huddersfield University Business School event about the main issues facing Acclaimed Security, Unwin pointed to challenges such as more efficient payment processes, developing a website that generates sales leads, monitoring guards' work and further improving their safety. In reality, the core issue is how to make best use of the GuardSafe technology in which Unwin has invested £40,000. With a lengthy background in sales, Unwin is inclined to view it as the most powerful weapon in the Acclaimed Security sales armoury. While acknowledging that equally effective new technologies may be developed by rivals at some point in the future, he is steadfast in his belief that GuardSafe technology should not be licensed in the UK until he has reached his sales targets. "If we were to go down the route of selling licences in the UK or overseas, it would require extra staff resources," he observes. "I don't want to invest in that until we have achieved our ambition to be the top security firm in Yorkshire." But is this focus on safety services really the safest path to follow? To see the article please click on the link below. Telegraph Courtesy of SecurityOracle.com - The Secury Industry's Portal