If you’ve ever logged on to a computer (which, given that you’re
on this site, we’ll assume you do this from time to time), you’ve surely seen
an assembly line of IT players who are coming up with what they assure is the
latest, greatest version of a software security package.
But Los Angeles-based Andrews International is introducing
innovation in a different universe of security: the old-fashioned, bricks-and-mortar
kind, with motion detectors and cameras and locking systems and kindly security
guards who sit behind monitors and occasionally ask cubicle dwellers to display
their ID badges.
For companies deploying such operations, the concept of
balancing human capital versus equipment/system purchase has always presented a
puzzle. Hire too many employees, and the whole thing becomes too costly. Buy
too much "stuff"—the cameras and monitors and biometric devices and
other gizmos—and the needed human oversight is lost.
Which is why Andrews has come up with its SEE
(Security Effectiveness and Efficiency) system. It’s an analysis service for
its enterprise customers that evaluates the effectiveness of security
operations in order to reduce costs and improve efficiency and effectiveness.
It seeks to help an organization determine the perfect balance of technological
and human resources needed to maximize security dollars spent—from access
controls to alarm systems to communications tools.
Here’s how it works: The SEE
methodology takes data that matches security resources with a series of risk
profiles. A school, for example, may be more "at risk" for some kind
of intrusion than a remote office building. It then calculates the optimal
integration of uniformed guards with electronic security assets and how they
should be deployed, coming up with a projected return on investment through
industry-specific financial models. The SEE
analysis covers an enterprise’s complete security operations—locally, regionally
and even globally if needed. Areas assessed include location/site
vulnerability, internal and external threats, existing command center
operations, electronic technology, security equipment, architectural elements,
training, and personnel. SEE also provides
financial models and cost scenarios to project return on investment. SEE
is being used now by a number of IT and manufacturing customers.
The results can greatly benefit an organization when it
comes to operational budget savings: Andrews reports that one global manufacturer
customer has reduced uniformed guard costs by 20 percent throughout its U.S.
headquarters and manufacturing sites, while enhancing the strength of its
security operations.
“The SEE methodology gains its success by tying staffing,
technology and other costs together with the effectiveness of each security
measure being evaluated,” says Ty Richmond, Andrews' COO.
“This enables our clients to arrive at an optimum model that improves the level
of security while controlling cost and better projecting outcomes.”
