From the January 2023 print edition of Professional Security Magazine:
As last featured in the February 2022 edition, Ian Paton (pictured right) returned to the metal recycling business Sims Metals as security manager. He’s told us how he’s used remote monitoring – a dedicated desk at a monitoring station (Corps Monitoring near Glasgow Airport, pictured) – to raise security and safety, and make a six-figure saving on guarding.
If the pounds-and-pence don’t make you take notice, like other users of remote monitoring or indeed other services, Ian’s found that further uses of monitoring have cropped up, even ones he hadn’t expected: “It’s been an eye-opener to me, the things we can do.” As Sims is international, one idea is that American sites will be monitored, during the UK ‘down time’. While Ian understandably didn’t want to give the exact saving on employing fewer guards, the sum pays for CCTV and a fenceline upgrade within 12 months, and more. “And there’s plenty more savings to come.”
Ian has been in private security for more than 20 years now and indeed has a son who’s following in his industry footsteps, and Ian’s time in the industry has recently surpassed his 20-plus years as a (Strathclyde, now part of Police Scotland) policeman. Remote monitoring has been around for a good generation, too, though the quality of camera image and analytics have come on greatly in that time, making more possible, and more reliably.
Review
Something that is old and obvious is the risk of theft, given that the highest quality copper now can cost £7k per tonne. Thieves could therefore get away with a single load that causes a five-figure loss. Ian feels he actually started the project nine years ago. To recap that far back, it’s roughly when the UK saw the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 come into force, the authorities’ way of seeking to go after the no-questions-asked, cash-in-hand companies in the market – Sims stressing it’s anything but like that. The Act required among other things that a dealer verified the selling person’s full name and address. However what any enforcement regime cannot affect is that world price of metal. If metal’s more valuable, it’s more valuable to criminals.
On rejoining Sims, Ian’s remit was to develop a strategy that would protect the assets. He first surveyed all the 25 UK sites to confirm what was needed and exactly what the company was doing to defend against thieves, whether external or internal. Many of the sites are isolated and vulnerable out of hours; access is often difficult for police or key-holding services. It was while reviewing the CCTV in use on sites that part of Ian’s revised plan started to unfold. The sites were using different makes and types of CCTV; some were monitored and others were not. The perimeter protection was often extremely good, Ian recalled; but as often suffered from lack of care. Also during this review the obvious danger of fires on sites became evident after a particularly large and costly one in Nottingham.
Metal can burn
You may laugh at the idea that metal can burn. However, any recycling site may hold Small Domestic Appliances (SDAs) and many of these contain lithium batteries which are highly combustible and can ignite with little effort or warning. While part of the recycling process is to remove and deal with appliances safely, fires can occur before this is done, in stockpiles. Fires can happen in a matter of minutes and spread out of control by ten or 15 minutes.
More in the January magazine, that you can freely read online; visit https://library.myebook.com/professionalsecurity/january-2023/4554/#page/32.
You can read other past editions of the monthly print magazine at https://professionalsecurity.co.uk/magazine/.
