You know, I give Doug and the IPOA a lot of credit for the hard work they have done to get this industry on the right foot. I certainly hope congress is listening, because if they can provide the teeth to a set of standards, then things like the Code of Conduct that the IPOA has been promoting all these years could be something that could be respected.
I have also noticed all the companies that have signed on with the ISO 9000 stuff in recent years. That is great that they are getting that kind of certification, but I always look to the results of such things. What really matters in all of this, is customer satisfaction and service. That and taking care of your people–which I think is vital if you want your customers satisfied. (pissed off employees and contractors tend to pay it forward on to the customer in lots of poisonous ways) Together with happy employees and happy customers, and an application of Kaizen to your company, and the contracts will continue to come in.
And going back to standards, the more we can level the playing field and insure all the companies are operating out of the same rule book, the more professionalized and honorable this industry will become. Just as long as there is an agreement to those standards, and there is adequate enforcement of those standards. It can happen, and we will get there. –Matt
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Security Firms Lobby for Tougher Rules
July 1, 2009
August Cole reports on the Defense Department.
Officials at U.S. private security firms are hoping lawmakers can help tighten rules governing their industry, which boomed during the Bush administration and is now under intense scrutiny in Washington.
The industry association representing companies such as Triple Canopy Inc., which took over from Blackwater Worldwide protecting diplomats in Baghdad, has just helped introduce legislation in Congress to set up a third-party certification system. Industry proponents say the bill would help the U.S. government weed out problem firms while keeping too-tight rules at bay.
The House Armed Services Committee in its version of the 2010 Defense Department budget wants the Office of the Secretary of Defense to report on the feasibility, potential effectiveness and cost of such measures.
“Such a certification could attest that a contractor possesses and utilizes approved hiring, screening, training, and reporting practices, in addition to compliance with tax law, ethics, and auditing programs,” the committee wrote.
This legislation comes at a critical time for the industry’s growth and its political profile. As Iraq work tapers off, Afghanistan contracting is expected to grow as U.S. troops stream in. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is shaking up Pentagon contracting and a congressionally backed Commission on Wartime Contracting is on the hunt.
“Congress would put a lot of impetus into hammering out effective standards,” said Doug Brooks, the president and founder of the Washington-based International Peace Operations Association, whose more than 60 members are supposed to adhere to the organization’s own code of conduct. In the past, the IPOA was not focused on lobbying Congress, but now the group is making a concerted push.
By creating a set of certifiable standards with input from the Defense Department, as well as outside groups, the IPOA hopes the industry can stake out an enduring place in the U.S. government’s military and diplomatic operations abroad.
“You can take away a lot of the myths and misperceptions because you can point to standards and say a company has been audited, and they to adhere to them,” said Mark DeWitt, senior director of government affairs at Triple Canopy.
Story here.