Feral Jundi

Monday, February 25, 2013

Surveys: RAND Launches Contractor Health And Well-being Study

Filed under: Industry Talk,Surveys — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 9:51 PM

Hey folks, I was contacted by RAND awhile back about this survey and they asked me if I would be willing to help them out when the time came. So that time is now, and here is the survey which is described below.

Also, I asked the folks at RAND what they plan on doing with this information and who was sponsoring this, and this is is what they said:

…this is actually a RAND-sponsored study, funded with RAND’s own internal research and development funds. The goal of such studies is to build up a knowledge base on topics such as this one that may not have much existing research done on them to date, with the goal of raising awareness and potentially bringing in follow-on work from various sponsors. We will be briefing several of the participating companies on our results, as a courtesy to thank them for their assistance in distributing the survey. We will also make an attempt to brief the study’s results to any interested government parties, and will aim to distribute the report, once published, as widely as possible. Ultimately, we are not doing this for any one client, and our goal is to make the published research very widely available.

What is cool is that if you complete the survey, they will make a donation to the Wounded Warriors Foundation. When they complete this study, I will put up a post about the results and it should be interesting.

My personal view on this is that we need to get a handle on where this industry is at when it comes to our health. All of us have been participating in the war for a very long time and I have no doubt that our community has been impacted–much like the military has. Contractors from 2388 companies have had over 3,258 killed and over 89,182 wounded–so the war has definitely had an impact on our health and well-being. Check it out below and let me know if you have any issues with the survey or if you have any feedback, because I imagine the team at RAND will be checking out your comments. –Matt

Link to survey here.

 

If you are a private contractor with deployment experience:

The RAND Corporation, a non-partisan, non-profit institution that helps improve policy and decision making through research and analysis, is sponsoring a study on the health and well-being of private contractor personnel who deploy to conflict zones (including maritime security personnel). Private contractors continue to provide crucial support to both governmental and non-governmental entities across the globe, yet the health and well-being issues facing deployed contractors are not well understood.

To that end, RAND is conducting a short, 10-minute survey of current and former contractors with deployment experience. The reliability of the study’s results – and hence its usefulness for the contractor community – will depend upon the number of people who complete the survey.

Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary and confidential. The study is completely anonymous: no identifying information on either yourself or your employer will be collected, your answers will go directly to RAND, and your company will never see them.

This is your chance to share your experiences. If you agree to complete the survey, you can access it online at this link:

To thank you for your participation, we will make a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project for every person who responds in full to the survey. The Wounded Warrior Project is a non-profit organization that provides programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members and veterans.

We hope you will agree to participate in this study by completing the survey. Every contractor experiences deployment in a unique way and your contribution will help us get the full picture of how the deployment experience affects contractor health and well-being. If you have any questions about the study, please contact us at the following email address:

contractorsurvey@rand.org

Monday, October 8, 2012

Nigeria: Survey Report Creates ‘Wall Of Shame’ For PSC’s

Filed under: Industry Talk,Nigeria — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 12:26 PM

What is interesting here is the idea of creating a wall of shame for companies. To actually analyze and determine who the good companies are and who the bad companies are, and publish those results. This process is great, if everyone respects the group doing the survey and agrees upon what the industry best practices are–or standards.

I have no idea if the group doing the survey is actually respected and legitimate, and the article gave no link to this survey or the company that performed it. But what I wanted to do here is highlight the effort. If Frank Anderson Consulting would like to come up and talk about this survey, feel free to do so in the comments or contact me directly. As it stands, I can’t even find a link to the company and I have never heard of them before.

Not only does the group doing the survey have to be respected, but the same group must also be tasked with doing the survey again in the near future to show any trends.  That way you can see what companies are making a turn around, and which companies are on the decline. It will also help investors and clients determine who the true winners and losers are. –Matt

 

Survey report okays 12 security firms in Nigeria
October 2, 2012
By Kingsley Adegboye
THE report of a survey of private security companies operating in Nigeria just released has shown that most of the security firms guarding homes and business places across the country lack the competence to secure lives and property.
The survey conducted by Frank Anderson Consulting however, gave 12 security companies a clean bill of health after a tour of the nation in the wake of recent security challenges nationwide. These companies that were given A+ rating are; ASE  Security Ltd, Bemil Nigeria Ltd, Cardinal Security Ltd, Crest Security Ltd, Executive Guards, Halogens Security, Kings Guards, Nigid Security Ltd, Monaco Security, Prudential Guards, Technocrime  Security, and Pahek Security Services.
The consulting firm noted that “Our survey and appraisals report of the numerous security companies operating in Nigeria was based on assets, branches, people, technology, refined systems, years of existence, board of directors structure and business focus.”

(more…)

Monday, August 20, 2012

Mobile Apps: Theodolite–Turning Your Smart Phone Into A Precision Survey Instrument

Filed under: Mobile Apps,Technology — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 10:49 AM

Now this is cool and a big hat tip to Soldier Systems for putting this one out there. This mobile app basically converts your smart phone into an actual theodolite or surveying instrument.  Why is this cool? Because this device not only has application for cheap and quick surveying of land, but can also help in military operations where surveying, targeting, and reconnaissance is vital.

The other thing I was thinking about here is something like this could quickly help land owners settle disputes over boundaries. So instead of hiring a survey group to do this, two parties can just pull out their smart phones and confirm together where the boundary is between their properties. In the west where folks have all sorts of surveying assets to call upon, this is not too big of a problem. Although I could still see folks using such a thing to confirm or use as a preliminary survey tool.

But in poor countries with minimal resources, having an ability to determine borders and boundaries cheaply can mean the difference between life and death.  Many wars and conflict start because of boundary disputes between two parties. Especially in places with very weak legal systems, or non-existent legal systems.

The other thing I was thinking about here is the ability to take an app like this and download it into a ‘smart scope’. Or basically take an optic like an EOTech and design it so that it can put this data in the view if you want it–and all with the press of a button. Or you could cycle through your reticles for whatever application (like grenade launcher, machine gun, etc.). Anything that helps the soldier with targeting and making the optic useful.

I also like the idea of using this tool to help in setting up a remote site or combat outpost/FOB. From lining out the Hesco barriers, to setting up defensive positions and fire plan sketches–having a survey tool like the Theodolite mobile app is incredibly useful. –Matt

 

Theodolite is a multi-function augmented reality app that combines a compass, GPS, map, photo/movie camera, rangefinder, and two-axis inclinometer. Theodolite overlays real time information about position, altitude, bearing, range, and inclination on the iPhone’s live camera image, like an electronic viewfinder.??Uses are endless, and Theodolite is great for outdoor sports, hiking, boating, hunting, golf, sightseeing, photography, and navigation. The app is used in the field every day by surveyors, geologists, architects, engineers, military personnel, competitive sportsmen, and search and rescue workers.??Theodolite set a new standard for augmented reality navigation apps when it debuted in 2009. It has been featured numerous times in iTunes (including honors as a “Rewind 2010” app), and has been the #1 selling Navigation app in iTunes stores around the world.

Theodolite works on any iPhone or 4th generation iPod Touch with OS 4.1 or later.?Compass requires iPhone 3GS, 4, or 4S. iPhone 4 or 4S, or iPod Touch 4 required for gyro and Retina Display support.
Features
Ability to take geo-stamped and geo-tagged photos, screenshots, and movies from the app, with 2X and 4X zoom, buffered background image saves, plus an option to write custom notes on photos and movies. Integrated map with standard, satellite, and hybrid views, compass rose, and bearings. Manage location markers on the map and share with other users via SMS text messaging or e-mail. Optical-mechanical gyro/accelerometer calibration. Zero angle reference mode. A-B survey calculator for height, distance, heading, triangulation, position, and angles. Data logging. E-mail data export with KML. System-wide clipboard integration. Percent grade display. Six different optical rangefinders. Mils. Night vision lens filters. MGRS, UTM, and six lat/lon formats.For use on an iPad, check out Theodolite HD.

What’s New in Version 3.0
NEW! Movie recording, with optional screen/watermark overlays and multiple video quality settings. Three large-format stadiametric rangefinders (sniper/artillery/hunter style, showing distance multipliers, yards, or meters). Revised position formats with new decimal minutes option. Larger font sizing for photo data stamp watermark, with three color options. Onscreen indicator for magnetic declination errors. Bug fix to e-mail export URLs. Numerous performance improvements and tweaks.
Website here.
Purchase at iTunes here.

 

 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Surveys: The Annual DZ Jobs 2011 ‘State Of Overseas Contracting’ Results

Filed under: Industry Talk,Surveys — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 4:17 PM

I posted just one of the survey results, and if you would like to see the others, follow the link below. This is a really cool survey about our industry and a big thanks to William for doing this every year. Danger Zone Jobs covers all contractors and not just security contractors, so this stuff gives you a good feel for where we are at as a whole.

Probably the big surprises for me was how many 1st year contractors there were, and how little folks are moving around to different gigs. I would have expected to see a lot more contractors jumping contracts? This is probably an outcome of the economy and of companies becoming more stable and professionalized.

The Facebook results were interesting too. Meaning more and more contractors are using FB to network and research ideas for jobs. It makes sense and that is why I hang out on FB so much. Plus, folks use FB to communicate with home and friends, so it is not that big of a jump to use it for work related stuff. Not to mention all of the really useful groups on FB, which is now starting to compete with the utility of the forums.

Networking and applying for jobs through company websites were the two top methods of getting a contract according to the survey. No shock there.

This one graph I posted below though, was the one that grabbed my attention. I would have thought that more contractors would have had military backgrounds? But that is just not the case. Although for the security contracting side of the house, I would have to say that a large percentage are former military or police, just because that is what is required for the job application. Of course when it comes to medical contractors being used on security contracts, we are seeing the companies not caring about military or police backgrounds. Primarily because there are not enough medically qualified folks to draw from in this military/police pool. That is at least what I am seeing.

The other other statistic that would be interesting, would be how many folks are using mobile devices or tablets over laptops/home computers for work related stuff? More and more soldiers and contractors are depending upon mobile devices for their everyday digital life, and I would suspect that there are a lot of folks that use that stuff. It is why I souped up my mobile game for the blog. Interesting stuff and check it out. –Matt

 

2011 State of Overseas Contracting Survey Results
September 22, 2011
Here are the results from our third annual State of the Overseas Contracting Industry Survey. This year 1,263 people took the survey, which is about 100 more than last year. I will be releasing the Advice from Contractors section a bit later after I have finished editing it.

Link to survey here.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Maritime Security: Feral Jundi Survey–The Best Company To Work At For Maritime Security In 2011

Filed under: Industry Talk,Maritime Security,Surveys — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 3:11 PM

This is cool. On the internet there has been a list floating around that detailed all of the maritime security related companies out there to apply with. I thought I would make a survey based on this list and offer it up for the readership to participate in. You get one vote per computer and one company of choice. Once you vote, you get to see the results, so it is pretty simple and quick. I also apologize if any companies are missing that are relevant, and I think I can make some edits to this thing. If not, this is just a test to see how this goes, and I might do more of this type of thing in the future. Let me know what you think in the comments section, and this should be fun to see what company gets the title of Best Company To Work At For Maritime Security In 2011. (also, feel free to pass around the link to get more folks taking the survey)-Matt

Edit: 07/12/2011- I have closed down the survey and these are the results. I had to shut it down because someone decided to cheat on the thing. I won’t name names, but they know who they are. It is the weakness of such surveys like this, just because they work great all the way up until someone decides they want to cheat the system. A better survey is one that can minimize cheating, and automatically keep people honest. That is the reality of the internet I guess, and it is too bad. Here are the results for the top three companies, and take it for what it’s worth.

MAST 8 votes
PVI 7 votes
EOS Risk Management 5 votes

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