Posts Tagged security

Industry Talk: Amazon Fires German Security Firm Amid Probe

Feb 18

Posted by Matt in Germany, Industry Talk | No Comments

An Amazon spokeswoman in Germany said the company had ended its relationship with Hensel European Security Services “with immediate effect.”
“Amazon has a zero tolerance limit for discrimination and intimidation and expects the same of other companies we work with,” spokeswoman Ulrike Stoecker said in an email to The Associated Press.

There are a few really key points for the industry to look at with this one. So let’s break it down as to what is at issue. First, a documentary group brought forth the poor working conditions in an Amazon facility in Germany. Amazon is an American company and has a global presence, to include in Germany (it’s second largest market next to the US). This particular facility was staffed with foreign temporary workers, and especially during the holiday seasons, and the HESS security company was contracted to watch over the operation.

Obviously the documentary film was designed to show Amazon in a bad light and point out some poor practices of the company. What is interesting though is that the film also went on to target the security company Amazon hired.

First, Amazon should have known better. Whomever was tasked with vetting security companies for this particular facility, did a pretty poor job. Why would you hire a company with the acronym HESS (remember Rudolph Hess?) in it’s title, and that allows it’s employees to dress like Neo-Nazis wearing known gang clothing? Even if they are effectively doing their job as per the contract, the visuals of such a thing, as well as the name of the company, has effectively put a big target on the back of Amazon by it’s competitors.

Now Amazon is in damage control mode and this HESS security company has been fired. To emphasize why this is so damaging, just look at how much business Amazon does in Germany. Quote:

Damage limitation in major marketplace
Amazon recorded sales of 6.8 billion euros ($8.4 billion) in Germany in 2012, making it the company’s second-largest market after the United States. The company is Germany’s leading e-commerce business with an online market share just below 25 percent.
Many Germans called for boycotts or protests after the broadcast. A petition endorsed by the Verdi trade union, responsible for those Amazon staff seeking union representation, had garnered more than 3,000 signatures as of the early hours of Saturday morning.

Now that last part might be a key thing to mention here as well. A foreign company that employs foreign temporary workers, does not look good to those in Germany who would like to have those jobs. More than likely, these foreign temporary workers get this kind of treatment because the company is investing so little in their welfare. Meaning Germans would probably not accept such working conditions for such a job, but foreign temps from poor countries probably would, and do.

It is also an embarrassment to Germany, for a foreign company, that is allowed to operate on their soil and treat workers like this. So here comes the boycotts and the public outrage and a cut in market share in Germany. Although who can compete with Amazon is the question, and to Amazon, it is merely a matter of correcting the wrongs. We will see.

As for the lesson learned for security companies? Choose your company name wisely and actually care about how your employees or contractors operate. If they are wearing gang clothing or some other offensive clothing that would present the client company in a bad light, then maybe a policy should be in place to regulate that. Or if your company uniform sends the wrong message, then maybe you should re-evaluate what is more appropriate for that contract/mission. The brand, the image, the actions of it’s people–are all things that need to be carefully thought out and managed. Do not embarrass the client.

The various clients of security companies need to wake up as well. Amazon is a huge company, but there is no excuse for them to make such poor decisions in vetting.

My advice for companies is that the security company you hire is representing you, so do your due diligence and ensure you have a company that will not only protect you and your assets, but also protect your good name by not being an embarrassment. -Matt

 

Amazon fires German security firm amid probe
By FRANK JORDANS
Monday, February 18, 2013
Online retailer Amazon reacted to mounting criticism Monday by firing a security company named in a German television documentary about alleged mistreatment of foreign temporary workers.
An Amazon spokeswoman in Germany said the company had ended its relationship with Hensel European Security Services “with immediate effect.”
“Amazon has a zero tolerance limit for discrimination and intimidation and expects the same of other companies we work with,” spokeswoman Ulrike Stoecker said in an email to The Associated Press.
A documentary shown on German public television channel ARD last week showed staff of the security company — whose initials spell out the surname of Adolf Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess — wearing clothes linked to Germany’s neo-Nazi scene. It also interviewed people claiming they were intimidated by the security guards, who were stationed at a holiday camp where the temporary staff were housed.
Story here.
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Amazon scrambles after damning German documentary
February 16, 2013
Online shopping giant Amazon is on the defensive in its second-largest market after a critical investigative report. Local labor authorities say allegations of employee mistreatment severely damage Germany’s image.
The state of Hesse’s labor agency on Friday said that Amazon’s apparent treatment of Spanish staff deeply damages Germany’s reputation.
“The allegations that were broadcast are very serious and affected me greatly,” head of the Hesse branch of the Federal Employment Agency, Frank Martin, said in a statement. Martin called on Amazon to clear up the “currently non-transparent working practices” as quickly as possible.
A public television documentary on ARD, whose title roughly translated as “shipped out!”, looked into working conditions for seasonal staff – mostly from outside Germany – brought in to deal with the Christmas rush at Amazon’s German outlets.

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India: Topsgrup Showing An Appetite For Risk

Dec 2

Posted by Matt in India, Industry Talk | No Comments

TOPSGRUP is a leading ISO 9001:2008 certified, Total Security Solutions group offering bespoke security and safety solutions to thousands of delighted customers across the world and employs over 93,000 trained human capital assets. TOPSGRUP offers a holistic approach to mitigating enterprise continuity risks across India and the United Kingdom and has ambitious plans of expanding to other corners of the world including Australia, Asia, China, Africa, Europe and USA. TOPSGRUP operates out of 120 offices around the world and is globally headquartered in London, United Kingdom. -from their brochure.


This is a great article on a company making some moves in the world of security. India’s Topsgrup is definitely growing, and ever since the Mumbai attack, private security has been a boom over there. For some background on the company, here is an older ‘company spotlight’ post that I did on them. -Matt

 

India’s Topsgrup: appetite for risk
November 23, 2012
by Neil Munshi
Not every company would be happy to have a prominent right-wing extremist on its roster of clients. But for Topsgrup, India’s largest private security company, Bal Thackeray – leader of the Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena political party and one of the most powerful men in Mumbai before he died this month – was just an ordinary Joe.
Thackeray, a man who in life – and, it turned out, in death – could pack the streets with fanatical multitudes at short notice, entrusted his travel in his waning days to ambulances provided by Topsgrup.
He was one among the company’s 8,000 private and corporate clients, which include other leaders of India’s elite and many of its biggest companies such as the Tata Group, ICICI Bank and the Times of India. Topsgrup also provides security at events including Indian Premiere League cricket matches. In July, it completed a £19.5m acquisition of the Shield Guarding Company of the UK, in which it bought a 51 per cent stake in 2008.

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Africa: LAPSSET–A Massive Oil Project That Is Gaining The Attention Of PMSC’s

Nov 18

Posted by Matt in Africa, Kenya, Sudan | 1 Comment

G4S said it was looking at oil and gas based prospects in countries like Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria and South Sudan, where a huge oil pipeline could be built through Kenya to a port there in order to bypass bitter disputes with neighbouring Sudan.
High potential mining opportunities are also in countries such as Botswana, Ghana, Namibia and Tanzania.
The company expects to move into Ethiopia, Libya, Somaliland and South Sudan in the next year…-Interview

…To reduce its reliance on Khartoum, the South Sudanese government has announced a 2,000 km pipeline, at a cost of $3bn, through Kenya to its port of Lamu. G4S is one of the companies vying to help secure this vital source of South Sudanese revenue… -separate source–see below

I had picked up on this project through some stories I was reading in regards to the future of this industry. That the companies are looking for business in resource rich Africa, and much of that business revolves around energy related projects.

This particular project grabbed my attention, just because of how ambitious it is and how involved the security for it would be.  Because once this is up and running, all aspects of LAPSSET will be a big target for criminals and terrorists. Especially the 2000 km of pipeline they plan on building.

So this should require the services of multiple PMSC’s to help in all aspects of securing this thing. I also imagine that some kind of oil police apparatus will have to be established, which will then require training facilities with instructors. We will see how it goes, and if any readers have any other details about this massive project, feel free to comment below. -Matt

 

 

Lamu Port and Lamu-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor
The Lamu Port and Lamu Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET) aka The Lamu corridor is a transport and infrastructure project in Kenya that when complete will be the country’s second transport corridor. Kenya’s other transport corridor is the Mombasa port and Mombasa – Uganda transport corridor that passes through Nairobi and much of the Northern Rift.
The project will involve the following components:
-A port at Manda Bay
-Standard gauge railway line to Juba (capital of South Sudan)
-Road network
-Oil pipelines (Southern Sudan and Ethiopia)
-Oil refinery at Bargoni
-Three Airports
-Three resort cities (Lamu, Isiolo and Lake Turkana shores)
The project was initially conceived in 1975 but never took off due to various reasons. The project was later revived and included in Kenya’s Vision 2030. LAPSSET cost was estimated to cost $ 16 Billion in 2009. Recent estimates arrived after studies now put the cost of the project at between US $ 22 Billion and US $ 23 Billion.
The timeline of the project is not clear including when it started and when it should be finished. Some projects like the Isiolo-Merille projects began in 2007. At the peak of the project, between 2013 and 2018, it is expected that the Kenyan government will be spending about 6% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product or 16% of its annual budget on the project. The project is in turn expected to contribute an additional 3% increase in Kenya’s GDP by 2020.
Key towns in the project are Lamu & Isiolo in Kenya, Juba in Southern Sudan and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
Wikipedia for LAPSSET here.
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Lamu port project launched for South Sudan and Ethiopia

March 02, 2012
There have been protests against the port by some environmentalists and residents of Lamu island
Construction has begun on a $23bn (£14.5bn) port project and oil refinery in south-eastern Kenya’s coastal Lamu region near war-torn Somalia’s border.
An oil pipeline, railway and motorway will also be built linking Lamu to South Sudan and Ethiopia.
Newly independent South Sudan plans to use Lamu as its main oil export outlet.
A BBC reporter says security concerns for the project may explain the presence of Ethiopian and Kenyan troops in Somalia aiming to pacify the region.
‘Biggest African project’
Kenya’s leader Mwai Kibaki launched the project along with his South Sudanese and Ethiopian counterparts, Salva Kiir and Meles Zenawi respectively.
“I have no doubt that this day will go down in history as one of the defining moments – when we made a major stride to connect our people to the many socio-economic opportunities that lie ahead,” AFP news agency quotes Mr Kibaki as saying at the inauguration ceremony.
Known as Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport Corridor (Lapsset), it is expected to be completed within four years with initial costs coming from the three governments and plans to attract international investment.
Steven Ikuwa, the administrator in charge of Lapsset, told the BBC the scale of the plans was huge.
“I am proud to say this is one of the biggest projects that we are carrying out in Africa.”
The BBC’s Noel Mwakugu in Lamu says there are worries about the impact of the project on Lamu district, which is one of East Africa’s most beautiful and relatively unspoiled environments along the Indian Ocean and includes a cultural heritage site on Lamu Island.
“Lamu is a living heritage. Already Unesco has declared Lamu a World Heritage Site – as an endangered site,” Mualimu Badi from the Save Lamu group told the BBC.
“If 500,000 people come to work as workers, we stand to lose that status.”
Mr Badi also said local residents fear they would be made homeless by the project as most people in the area are unable to prove their right to live in their homes.
In response to these complaints, Mr Kibaki has announced that residents will be issued with land title deeds and his administration will provide training for 1,000 young people to prepare for future opportunities presented by the port.
Oil export alternatives
Our correspondent says Lamu’s 32-berth port will be five times larger than Kenya’s only other Indian Ocean port, Mombasa – which has been struggling to serve the needs of landlocked countries to the south and west of Kenya.

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Jobs: Roving Guard, Germany

Oct 5

Posted by Matt in Germany, Jobs | No Comments

Now this one is interesting. Over at SOCNET, there was a post about EODT needing females for this contract. If you would like to see that post, click this link.

As to the specifics of this contract, here is the award snippet:

EOD Technology Awarded $17.1m for Top Security Security Guard Services?By Department of Defense?Friday, October 5, 2012. EOD Technology, Lenoir City, Tenn., was awarded a $17,172,085 firm-fixed-price contract.
The award will provide for the top secret security guard services.
Work will be performed in Germany, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 27, 2017.
The bid was solicited through the Internet, with one bid received.
The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Kaiserslautern, Germany, is the contracting activity (W564KV-12-C-0058).

If anyone from EODT would like to comment on this job, please feel free to post in the comments or contact me directly.

As for those who wish to apply, I am not a recruiter for EODT and I am not a POC for this job. Please follow the links below to apply and good luck. -Matt

 

Position: Roving Guard (Notional Opportunity)
Req Code: 1003742
Location: Germany – Generic Germany
Primary Functions:
Responsible for installation access control, static perimeter security, roving security patrols, intrusion detection system monitoring in support of a US Government Facility.  Actively support and uphold the Company’s stated vision, mission and values.
EODT Vision:
To promote freedom, stability, and environmental stewardship worldwide.
EODT Mission:
To enhance our customers’ effectiveness – anytime, anywhere. We accomplish this mission by delivering superior expertise to the projects we undertake – and by continuing to improve our work by fostering innovation and providing a project management team of professionals.
EODT Core Values
SERVICE, AGILITY, INTEGRITY, DRIVE
Essential Functions and Duties:
•Conduct roving patrols
•Provide static installation access control
•Perform static perimeter security
•Operate the Electronic System Surveillance (ESS)
Job Requirements:
•Must be a U.S. Citizen
•Must have a valid and current Top Secret Security Clearance with eligibility for SCI

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Industry Talk: US Nuclear Site Ends Contract With G4S/WSI Oak Ridge

Oct 1

Posted by Matt in Industry Talk, Tennessee | No Comments

Wow, another hit to G4S and WSI. Look folks, I hate writing about these things because I truly want companies to be successful and be shining examples of what is good in this industry. But not everyone can be the Swiss Guards of the industry, and there will always be companies that ‘just don’t get it’.

But I also think it is important to not reward incompetence and poor management. That we need to be reminded what the consequence of poor leadership is from time to time, hence why I post this stuff. So either G4S and WSI learns from this and makes corrections to the way they do business, or they will continue to lose contracts and money. And we should all learn from this, and ensure we are doing everything we can to continuously improve our contract and providing the necessary service that our clients need and demand.  Especially if your client is asking you to protect nuclear materials…..yikes.

Every one of these incidents over the years usually involved one of two things. Either poorly constructed/poorly funded contracts, or poor leadership/management tasked with running these contracts. Sometimes poor leaders are the result of a lack of funding for salaries–you pay peanuts, you get monkies. Or sometimes even with a substantial salary, a poor leader is chosen because of a poor vetting process, which is even worse. That a company has no idea what a good leader is, or they just don’t care.

It is also amazing to me that companies make millions of dollars on contracts like this, but they put minimal effort if any into finding good leaders or training up good leaders or putting together policies that grow good leaders within the company. It is an investment that is essential, and glaringly obvious, and yet PMSC’s continue to screw this up.

I mean McDonalds and it’s Hamburger University does a better job of training and growing leaders within their organization than most of today’s PMSC’s. lol And now G4S, the largest security company in the world, is learning this lesson in a very direct and financially painful way. -Matt

 

US nuclear site ends security contract following nun’s break-in
Sat, Sep 29 2012
By Timothy Gardner
The U.S. government’s “Fort Knox” of weapons-grade uranium storage has ended a contract with a unit of an international security firm two months after an 82-year-old nun and other nuclear activists broke into the site.
The managing contractor at the Oak Ridge, Tennessee, site, B&W Y-12, a unit of Babcock & Wilcox Co, said late on Friday it will terminate the contract with WSI Oak Ridge on Oct. 1. WSI is owned by security firm G4S, which was at the center of a dispute over security at this year’s London Olympic Games.
The move came after the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), an Energy Department agency, sent a letter on Friday to B&W Y-12 President Charles Spencer saying it had “grave concerns” about his company and WSI providing security at Y-12, the nation’s only site for storing and processing weapons-grade uranium.
The letter recommended that B&W terminate the subcontract with WSI and work with it to take over security operations after the July 28 break-in.

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Industry Talk: Turkey’s Private Security Officers Outnumber Armies Of Six Countries In Europe

Aug 28

Posted by Matt in Industry Talk, Turkey | No Comments

Turkey has roughly 217,000 private security guards who are employed in public offices and private companies, a figure that outnumbers the soldiers in the armies of six countries in Europe — Austria, Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway and the Czech Republic…Currently there are 1,430 security firms in Turkey, and 737 training centers for private security officers, according to the Security Headquarters’ Private Security Department’s figures.
Candidates receive non-armed certifications after 90 hours of training, but an armed certification requires a further 30 hours…

Every now and then I will come across statistics from other countries about their PMSC industry. These two stories below go into the statistics of Turkey’s market and I thought it would be cool to archive them here.

One statement below brought up an interesting point about loans. Getting a loan in some countries is not as difficult as it is in others, and it looks like Turkey has an industry that is yearning for more capital to expand and grow. From building training facilities to buying all the equipment and weapons necessary to maintain a growing security business, they need it.

“We want the government to support our sector. In a country that is capable of providing loans to the IMF, we want to be able to receive long-term low-interest loans from state banks, as well as support from the Social Security Institution and the Finance Ministry. With this support, our sector will be able to develop even more,” he said.

The other point to bring up is that 9/11 has had a world wide impact on this sector, and not just in the west.  Security services are in high demand all over because of the threat of terrorism or crime, and this industry is in high demand in countries where police forces have been cut. In countries where austerity measures have reduced the number of police, you will see this market of force expand and private security is filling that vacuum.

Of course the final big picture comment is summed up in this statement.

Perut also added that the private security services sector is valued at up to $6 billion for the entire world.

I guess Perut did not have access to the Small Arms Survey done last year that actually put the value of this market much higher. Although he could be referring to just one aspect of PMSC’s, so who knows where he got it from. Here is the quote:

The private security sector has been booming since the mid-1980s and continues to grow steadily (van Dijk, 2008,
p. 217). Recent estimates show that the security market is worth about USD 100–165 billion per year, and that it has
been growing at an annual rate of 7–8 per cent. -2011 Small Arms Survey, Ch. 4

Interesting stuff and if you guys have anything add to this data, let me know. This post will also be filed under Turkey in the categories below if you need it. -Matt

 

Private security officers in Turkey now their own ‘army’
08/28/2012
The 217,000 private security guards in Turkey outnumber armies of many many nations, according to Bülent Perut, chairman of a sector organization. Rapid urbanization is increasing the number, he says.
The number of Turkish private security officers has reached 217,000, greater than the combined military forces of Austria, Belgium, Portugal, Holland, Norway and the Czech Republic, according to data from a sector organization.
“Even though there aren’t specific figures as to the size of the sector’s economy, we believe that in general it ranges between $3-6 billion,” Private Security Associations Federation President Bülent Perut told Anatolia news agency in an interview published Aug. 28.
In Turkey, 886,000 people hold private security certificates, confirming that one has received appropriate education and training in the field. Some 604,000 of these people also hold a security ID, the state authorization to work as a guard.
Perut told Hürriyet Daily News in a phone interview yesterday that many security guards preferred other jobs when they are available, because of the low wages and
poor level of social rights in the security sector.

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