During my recent whistle-stop visit to the UK to present the Women in Security Awards and catch up with friends and colleagues, there was not enough time to meet with everyone that I had made arrangements with! writes our US correspondent Una Riley.
Alas, time just seemed to dissipate and I ended up not being able to see everyone that I had intended to. However, two people I just had to meet before my return to America were Steve Martin, pictured, who was appointed Head of the Fire and Security Association (FSA) and Specialist Groups in August 2014, with the current chairman of the FSA, Pat Allen. We met in the City of London at the Shard for lunch. I have known Pat Allen for many years but this was the first time that I had met with the new head of the FSA. I was aware that Steve Martin is a qualified electrical practitioner and member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (JET), with experience of fire and security. I asked him what he thought he could bring to the role.
He replied: “An industry background. Since leaving school I have been in the industry initially attaining a full electrical apprenticeship and later going on to start my own company about ten years ago. Although my company was primarily electrical I later diversified into security via intruder, access and CCTV leading into custom installations. What I can bring to the FSA is actually having been a practitioner like our members.” Which in my book makes him an ideal candidate to have taken over the reins from Stefan Hay who had done such a brilliant job. Martin is not a newcomer to the FSA or the parent body the ECA (Electrical Contractors’ Association). He was deputy regional manager – ECA South East. This coal-face experience has stood Martin in good stead to take the FSA forward with his practical experience and knowledge of exactly what the members of the association want and need to help promote their business on the continuing road of quality and professionalism.
I asked Martin if he felt that his regional experience within the ECA/FSA had helped him before his national appointment. He replied: “There is no doubt. Operating at a regional level, I was able to develop and maintain relationships with clients and prospective and registered members of the ECA of all disciplines within our industry. I encouraged the representation of a collective voice on behalf of the electro-technical industry. Most of the regional objectives are transferable such as endeavouring to raise awareness of industry specific benefits which support membership growth and business opportunities within the FSA and specialist groups. The strategic thinking involved in the recruiting of new members and retaining existing members is almost the same, along with influencing specifiers and organisations in promoting FSA member engagement.”
I wanted to know more about recent changes within the FSA. Martin explained the set-up. “The FSA is positioned within the technical department of the ECA. This structure ensures that practical, relevant and high quality service and support is given to the members. Together with that it affords exposure to information, communication and Controls Technology (ICCT) areas of the ECA.” I asked what his day to day role consists of. Martin replied: “Working with senior colleagues I professionally support and actively represent on legislation, standards and competence requirements. As the leading voice within specialist installations I represent our members’ business interests and influence key stake-holders and specifiers. I strategically manage activities and initiatives designed to achieve industry growth and recognition. The FSA and specialist groups are professionally supported and actively represented within the overall ECA. With ever changing technology and the further scope to integrate all systems such as fire, security, CCTV and access control, the ECA and FSA are ideally positioned to fully support these areas. Since my appointment in August, Pat and I have spent time meeting with industry peers and making further professional connections to promote the FSA at every opportunity.
“Within FSA we are currently working on enhancing our external committee representation with practitioners. We want to continue to build upon not only creating new relationships but also sustaining relationships with certification bodies such as the NSI and SSAIB, stake-holders, client specifiers and members, in promoting excellence within the industry. One of the things we have done is to introduce a working group to revisit the ECS (Electrotechnical Certification Scheme) Card criteria to map out necessary qualifications and progression routes to match the business model of today within emergency and security systems.” Pat came in on this point and said: “Having already commenced upon the review of the ECS card that historically has been essentially electrically-based, we now want to give it a security industry strength that would be more fitting to our individual sector. We want the security industry to be recognised individually and not part of something else. We now have the opportunity to develop our own type of ECS Card that could include elements such as Health and Safety and be a Skills Card for different areas. We are also instigating a route for apprentices to enter this exciting industry and map out further progression to enable qualifications to be more appropriate to current industry needs and to allow learners to make the best use of the new practical facilities.”
Both Allen and Martin discussed the training initiatives at length and spoke about the core modules, accredited by IQ (Industry Qualifications) to enable learners to achieve a nationally recognised IQ level two Organisation Award in Fundamentals of Fire Detection and Alarm Systems. They also mentioned the refinement of level four, to qualify practitioners in design, installation, commissioning and servicing for both simple and complex premises. I enquired about young electrical companies coming into the ECA and wanting to diversify, as Martin had done with his business … how would they go about it? He replied: “We want to give all our members the confidence to go into specialist areas providing for them what is expected in terms of industry standards, obligations, legislation and codes of practice. That also applies to security only companies joining the FSA who might want to develop into the electrical area of business. There are benefits from both sides and opportunities for development in all areas of business. The growth potential is enormous and the benefit of the ECA and FSA is that we are looking to ensure that one size does not fit all by encapsulating everything into just one sector but by mirroring the best practice from each of the sectors and applying that to business expansion prospects. Both the electrical and security industry sectors consider themselves specialists and it is a case of harmonising those differences to create specialist platforms that are recognised in their own right. There is no reason why businesses cannot move into different areas as long as they keep the quality and best practice and abide by their relevant standards.”
I asked about the introduction of a training module for the security installers to have the ability to install their own fused spur outlets. This was always a bone of contention since it was not only inconvenient for domestic clients to arrange for a separate electrician to install a fused spur … it also, on occasions, gave the electrician the ability to undercut the security company for the entire security installation! Allen said: “We are in a trail-blazing era where employers can actually write standards for apprenticeships and therefore we can be more in control than we have ever been. We are going to have to ensure that our engineers can safely isolate and it will be made sure that their competencies can be tested before they do it. We have a long way to go yet, but once it is allowed and we can prove our competency that will be it. Our industry is also involved in emergency lighting and we would like to see that area addressed. It is always a battle on site when one side is saying to the other side ‘you can’t touch my fuse board’. We need to find a route where we can actually start getting general access when needed to enable us to complete our installation as a whole and the training and qualification to prove our engineers ability to do so.”
Martin added: “With the advent of integrated security there are a lot of skills and competency required to be a security systems technician. Also BMS (Building Management Systems) and home automation are part of my remit and falls into my specialist skills group. The skill set that the security technicians employ fits into the specialist group because the skills are so interchangeable and the smart installation techniques that are being employed are complementary.” Martin went on to say that the FSA is working on a BMS/home management code of practice and hopes to be leading the way in this area. It looks like the FSA is trail-blazing, with the Government. The trail-blazer initiative sounds very exciting from a training perspective. The security systems apprenticeship covers the installation and maintenance of a range of security, fire and emergency systems. It recognises that as the security systems industry becomes more complex, the need for highly skilled engineers grows. It identifies the traditional areas of installation along with the various technologies like wire-free system links or infrared and fibre-optics along with complex CCTV and integrated systems.
It excites me to see how far the FSA has come and more than anything how the original pursuit of a trade association that has the interests of the systems security sector at heart has progressed. Both Martin and Allen know exactly what the members of the ECA/FSA require because they are part of the business. Finally I asked Martin his objectives for 2015. He replied: “We are all about our members. We want to remain a dedicated trade association for those who design, install, commission, monitor and maintain emergency and security systems.”
Music to my ears. Happy new year.
