How do you practice Health & Safety?

Kia Ora,

To the next part of the issues raised by the angry man's emails is basically "How do you practice Health & Safety?"

He asks what are my systems for health & safety? Also having no qualification does not entitle me to comment on health & safety issues. That is probably the crux of the issue there.

This individual dimisses my experience from the military, in the  NZ security industry & work in Iraq.

Health & safety especially in a service like security does not rely just on a system. In fact due to nature of the work carried out by the profession what is more important is Common Sense coupled with Experience (not a bit of paper or formal course) & a culture of dynamic Risk Assessment.

The type of Risk Assessment you get trained to carryout in the NZ military. From early days young soldiers get told "as you move along look for places to take cover if such & such happens" it is a type of Risk Assessment.

Initially though young soldiers are more concerned about how hard the physical requirements are, but as time goes by  those sort of  actions become second nature.

They then add in actions like looking for possible booby traps when moving whilst carrying up to 100kg plus packs without having to go through the whole process consciously.

So does this transfer to the civilian environment? Yes!

In fact, & I will go into this more in a later blog, at times other security personal have said "I think so fast", it is not that, but my military training kicking in when situations call for it, which often means when confronted with an issue they have never confronted before. 

Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety - CD-Rom

With inadeaquate training or awaremess of health & saftey instinctively, my civilian counterparts are still thinking of the first step whilst myself & army comrades are already on step four or higher. So it appears to them that we are thinking very fast.

An example of the level of military training over what the industry provides was an incident early in my time in the industry.

I was on duty in a complex when I was paged to reception & handed a small case. Apparently someone was concerned it had been sitting in the middle of reception for three hours. Of course from the staff reaction it appeared they thought it was a bomb. Straight away I knew there was one type of bomb it wasn't.

When I was relieved a few hours later by another ex military person, his first reaction was "you didn't call the bomb squad?". No, because of our superior training as soon as I was handed it the check list we used to use in the army popped right into my head.

As I walked outside with the case, I ran through it & realized there was no way this was a bomb. The only mistake I made was opening in view of the staff, from a health & safety point of view which was not good.

That staff still thought it was a bomb was shown by fact that even though it was dark t they were watching & as I opened it, were seen to dive under the counter.

From there another difference came out between a person with a military background to those without. Not for the first time after an incident that worked out well, my civilian counterparts could not work out why myself or any military person would then look to learn from lessons & improve our performance for the next time.


Whilst in Iraq this dynamic way of looking at things was to the fore as the whole situation & threats were ever changing your risk assessment was also dynamic. It was health & safety at its extreme. But again that good training kicked in without much fuss.

Security in NZ requires much the same thinking as any Standard Operating Procedures will not cover all contingencies. Thats if the company has them.

During my initial NZQA security course (a well run one with plenty of hands on training unlike most courses) the question was asked of an OSH inspector as to where security fitted in since much of the industries work fell outside OSH at that time. Also that many places had procedures but no body actually knew what they were.

The reply was that is correct, but security's role was to identify hazards as encountered & report them.  They then directed their reply to me & said as ex army you know the drills if there is an accident happens during live firing? Yes of course. Well that is the OSH procedure for an accident.

More recently an incident involving an associtated industry responding to a call out & a serious accident occuring due to the fact that like security they entered a business without prior knowledge of it.

After discussion with a Health & Safety officer from the department of Labour at a business seminar, I was asked would I be interested in joining a group looking at this issue. To date though nothing has come of it.

But the discussion  had been about how the military teach you, as I said in the beginning to have a dynamic risk assessment culture,  this is what they felt they needed to install in industries who respond to premises they don't usually visit or are not fully aware of all dangers.

This culture far outways any system or piece of paper, although in conjunction with a system can be very robust.

Due to time contraints it is not unusual, in fact most common place to see security racing from one premises to another without slowing to take in account as to risks they maybe rushing too.

Someone who worked security in Australia once told me a story about their first night alone. They were rushing due to time, came around a corner to be confronted by three pers wanting his firearm. He hadn't yet being issued  or been able to obtain one.

It reminded me what I often see with NZ security racing around corners to you don't know what.

My assessments of the security situation here in NZ is based on security knowledge, experience & risk assessment.

I have often been told & more so recently by some I worked alongside in Iraq, we can all see it  coming, don't wear yourself out trying to educate people. When these things happen if you set yourself up correctly, then we will be able to walk in as the industry here has no idea what it is doing.

Occupational Health at Work

Personally I believe in trying to stop it from happening here & making the place truly safe to live in. To do that you have to ensure the basic security & Health & Safety are taken care off.

                                               http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Security Upgrade in Industry needed now!

Kia ora,

In the last few weeks the Sovereign debt crisis has brought bombings & riots to Greece. No I haven't got the wrong blog. As it is expected for the worlds economies to get a lot worse over the next few years (what recovery? Any upswing has being due to stimulus & they haven't created one new job) the security threat is going up.

The bombings in Greece were against immigrants & as jobs become tighter in each country there will be the predictable backlash against immigrants.

During one riot even a union official was attacked.

Here in NZ the Government has proposed new measures for those on the benefit.

As any beneficiaries will tell you it is hard enough to survive on the benefits on offer as it is. If they are cut as proposed then crime will rise & it is already at epidemic proportions.

People are hurting financially already & armed robberies have jumped.

Just today though I saw a turn of an even more disturbing nature on a social media site.

With the recent moves by the government seen as undemocratic, upset over the foreshore seabed & other issues, there were two comments about arming themselves to sort things out.

There is also upset over the charges those who were arrested in the Tuhoe terror raids are up on.

Now Tuhoe have geniune grievances but most of those arrested weren't Tuhoe, but part of the largest terrorist network in the world. Eco greens.

Between Eco Greens & anti abortionists they are more a day to day threat than Bin Laden & his co horts & only probably outnumbered by those other terrorists, organized crime.

The Mind set that thinks they are doing more good when they shoot someone or blow up something is in line with the suicide bomber who is expecting to meet 72 virgins.

Of course in NZ people don't relate to the greens being terrorists. People are pushing for the person who jumped onto the Japanese whaling ship to be released when under international law he actually committed an act of piracy.

It is also the country that recently let three 'terrorists' off for attacking a government installation.

There is a lesson there. Terrorists do not think that by giving them the benefit of the doubt, they will leave you alone. It actually encourages them to carryout more audacious actinities.

Bringing this back to the security industry it means that action has to be taken now to lift it into the real world & to stop playing at security.

Otherwise  it is going to jump up & hit the industry between the eyes.

The reporters from the Sunday Star times have already sent a wake up notice. The industry & the government needs to take heed now.

Not after the fact!

OSH, the right Questions & more of the same.

Kia Ora,

It has being a while as there were many tasks on, but now back to a more sedate pace.

During that time though a few things have arisen.

First was the concert in Hawkesbay where a patron climbed a fence to get out, fell down a cliff & died.

So what has that got to do with security? Well first he was seen climbing the fence. Second as a patron of the concert there is still some responsibilbity for people as they leave or are in the vicinity of a venue. Last of all what started as a police investigation, quickly turned into an OSH investigation.

Recent discussions with an OSH inspector the following are the points that came up. 1. You must plan for worst case scenario you can think off even if it has never happened to you. (bit hard for me as having dealt with suicide bombers I now can't say they will never happen).

2. If say you are subcontractor  & you have a part in the incident, they first look at your procedures. If they cover it well then they move onto the next group up the line. They carry on with this until either are satisfied that everything possible was done or they have someone who has not covered that particular eventuality.

In someways this is counter productive. With events in NZ, the first people they will look at are security, yet often even the good ones are hamstrung by failure of governments to regulate numbers required. So if my procedure is minimum of two guards as practiced overseas, but client thinks they only need one, apart from pointing out your requirement there is nothing you can do.

It is going to take a few more deaths before maybe someone will wake up to fact that maybe the international requirements for events have a reason behind it.

To the questions part of the title. Last week on Breakfast an international security person was being interviewed & Pippa Wetzel asked properly the best question of them all. "Don't we have to watch out where ever we are" or words to that effect.

Whilst the person was focussed on high risk areas, she repeated the question & I felt made a good point. Problem in NZ is locals & visitors put the blinkers on, as to what is actually happening on our streets.

Right next to me I have a clipping about the ACC bill for assaults on teachers at school these days. So Pippa,s question or point is relevant where ever you are in the world.

In the meantime I see we have introduced ground hog day with the re appointment of a University lecturer who the media go to for comments on security etc, but in reality has little or no understanding of security at a higher level.

Reading books, writing papers & analyzing the issues does not make you knowledgeable in the real world of security.

Personal Security

Kia Ora,

In the last few days I have had words with someone who shares some facilities leased by one of my security companies. The issue that kicked this off basically comes to our differeing views on security.

Their view is it is not that bad here in Christchurch. My view is I actually felt safer in Baghdad as we knew what to expect.

Like most people this person has stuck their head in the sand over security. Not only that in this case it involves the security of my offices which contain items that I have no wish to loose.

But it is time for a reality check. Recently talking to a mate he told me not once but twice about another mate of his who had set up a security company in another part of NZ. He started to have an impact & so the opposition companies started to try to bully him out of industry & police became involved.

In the days leading up to this differing of views, I had being working in office when someone began to slowly open the door. As I was expecting a mate I thought he was playing around so I coughed. The door slammed & someone took off.

The next night I see a vagrant walking past taking a keen interest in the office area.

In the past few months my vehicles have being interferred with & items stolen as well as people trying to & entering the office area before it was set up due to a fault in the doors locking mechanism.

That is just the light stuff.

There was someone working in the industry just after I began who had being investigated for two murders, but no evidence could be gained, was dismissed from a previous job due to a heinous crime (the police were aware but it was taken as an employment matter to cut publicity so no complaints laid). At the time I became aware of him, he was also known to be going around threatening people claiming to be a police officer (a crime he had being convicted of before).

Again though he was not able to be convicted because as soon as people heard he might be connected to a well known crime figure they dropped any complaints.

Under the current legislation the police could do nothing to have his licence revoked.

NZ is not the nice safe place we like to make it out to be.

In the last few days the amount of violent or aggravated crime has risen.

Even a female Maori Warden has being robbed  at knife point. Something I would of never thought would happen. People are becoming desperate & yet the attitude still remains that this is a nice safe place.

Like my friend, because they were in another part of the building they have the attitude that it is OK to leave the door unlocked or open.

Almost weekly if not daily people are burglared by being in the house or out back in the garden & they leave the front door unlocked or open to let the air flow through or their friends in when they arrive.

Basic personal security requires you these days to lock your doors.

My rule is if you are going to be out of visual view for more than 30 seconds then lock it. No good saying " I should of done it after the fact".

Security is a Profession

Kia Ora,

Well with internet issues & other bits & pieces being a while getting back & now there has being another sick murder in Christchurch. After my issue with youths with Iron bars the other week, someone said what most people in Christchurch say "but it is not that bad in Christchurch?". Yeah right. Crime here is so random that you felt safer in Baghdad.

Anyway back to the title. This is probably the crux of the issue here in NZ.

Security is a profession. It is an offshoot of the oldest profession, that is the profession of arms (soldiering).

But it is generally not regarded as that in NZ. It is either viewed as just a job or as unskilled labouring. Done properly it isn't either of these.

Carried out professionally first of all there is where required adequate training. But what training there is in NZ is generally totally inadequate & those with training of a high standard  such as ex military or those immigrants from somewhere like Britian do not have that high standard recognized. In fact the comments are generally "you don't know anything about security".

Next there needs to be SOP's (Standard Operating Procedures). These are virtually non existant in the industry & where they do occur people misunderstand them, using them as the bottom line. That only applies where the law comes into it. You can never write a SOP that covers every situation that a profession like security will cover.

But at least having some gets people thinking in the right direction.

Again the most important issue is the mindset required  & again it is badly missing in NZ.

To plug the hole I see from those issues it was planned to launch a new security service this week in a defined area of Christchurch, but it has being put back due to issues outside my control for the short term. It is designed to make the communities safer by using those skills that the military see as the basics of securty.

Empowering the Security Industry

Kia Ora,

I am still livid over the events of Sunday morning. Currently there is an investigation going into the killing of the taxi driver in Auckland & a review of taxi driver safety.

But this was done after the stabbing & murder of the driver here in Christchurch.

At the time of that incident I contacted the taxi federation & independant taxi companies here in Christchurch to see if they wanted someone to brief the drivers on bodyarmour. I know quite a few have purchased stab vests  armour from army surplus stores but much it was next to useless. So I thought as they are going to purchse it anyway then it would be a good idea for them to know what to look for.

I never heard back from any of the independent companies despite pointing out it was not a sales pitch, but passing on what I had learnt.

Did hear from the taxi federation who put it all in independents & had no interest. Despite the fact that it was many of its members staff who on finding out that I had bodyarmour had being asking about buying some.

The same with security industry. As one operations manager once said "security is only unskilled labour". Our reply he was the only unskilled labour there. In fact that was why he was the operations manager as he was a yes man. Has no idea about actual security.

I hear where they are currently based advice hasn't changed. Don't look for cirme & ignore it or suspicious activity especially if it is not on your clients property.

In other words he has no idea about security.

For private companies buying body armour is expensive & OSH actually caters for that by saying if you can afford it. But it also says you must have procedures to mitigate the danger if equipment not able to be purchased.

Again it comes back to risk assessment & risk awareness then risk management. Not risk management written in a nice folder that no one ever reads or are aware off.

You get asked but aren't you scared. Well actually no, we just react & I don't think either of us were scared on Sunday morning but we reacted as experience told us too.

You expect danger, but you also expect to be able to deal with it in a safer manner.

The other company had more guards on site because their client is a bit more aware of their responsiblities. It is a constant battle to get clients to agree to what should be the minimum number of security on site.

It is about time politicians pulled their finger & got real about this country. Funny how the party that has made it worse over last decade are now accsuing the others of letting it get out of hand. To them it is all a game. To me whilst I am confident of handling the situtations that confront me, it is about the lives of people in an industry that is just not up to standard.