The Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) is a hugely valuable tool for buyers, if used wisely and not in isolation believes Stuart Lowden, the Chairman of the British Security Industry Association and Managing Director of Wilson James Ltd. In an article in the Features section of Infologue.com, Lowden set out a useful guide for buyers to use when considering the ACS scoring as an integral part of their decision making process.
THE
ORIGINS OF ACS
After nearly 40 years of
lobbying, the Government of the day finally bowed to increasing pressure and
passed The
Private Security Industry
Act 2001. In
addition to licensing individuals to operate within the security guarding
sector, the Act required the new Regulator, the Security Industry Authority (SIA)
to establish a "system of inspection for providers of security services, under
which those organisations who satisfactorily meet the agreed standards may be
registered as approved, and may advertise themselves as such". The Approved
Contractor Scheme came into being at the same time as compulsory licensing for
security officers, in March 2006.
HOW
ARE THE BENEFITS OF ACS SOLD TO THE BUYERS
In the words of the SIA,
‘Approved
contractors are demonstrably committed to customer service and the compulsory
licensing of their staff. This means their customers can rest assured that every
private security operative deployed on their premises will be working within the
law (unless we have withdrawn the company's authority to deploy staff whose
licence applications are pending, which can be checked via the public
Register of Approved Contractors)’.
Key advantages to
buyers are defined as being;
·
Continuity of Service
·
Best
Practice and Continuity of Quality
·
Clear Customer Focus and Increased Flexibility
·
Leadership and Innovation
These are explored
in greater detail on the ACS section of the SIA’s website
www.the-sia.org.uk
Without question
the ability to deploy staff whose applications for licence are still pending is
a huge benefit and considerably assist security companies in maintaining
continuity of service. But how valid are the claims that ACS approved companies
are genuinely better, in terms of quality, customer focus and leadership? It
needs a deeper investigation into the way the scheme operates to find out.
ACS SCORING AND
INSPECTION
The cornerstone of
ACS is the Self Assessment Workbook and it’s independent inspection regime,
monitored closely by the SIA. Full details are available on the SIA website but
in the broadest terms the scoring system works as follows. There are 89 workbook
indicators spread across 9 key categories of compliance
Strategy
Processes
Commercial Relationship Management
Finance
Resources
People
Leadership
Corporate Social Responsibility
Results
Over two thirds of
the workbook indicators are likely to be met or exceeded if companies are
already complying to existing standards ie ISO 9000, BS7499, BS7858, however
there are a significant number that are breaking new ground, particularly in the
areas of CSR, Leadership and Benchmarking. The 89 indicators can be simply met
(effectively a pass in that category) or exceeded by degrees. So for example,
let us look at a key indicator, a company’s approach to welfare and benefits,
indicator 6.3.4 (Supplied courtesy of the SIA);
6.3 An SIA Approved Contractor can demonstrate that its people are provided with
appropriate benefits and welfare arrangements.
6.3.4
An approach to provision of welfare and benefits is in place.
|
|
Required Achievement Level
|
|
|
|
The welfare and benefits offered
by the organisation meet the legal requirements.
|
←
All aspects of the previous
column plus:
Appropriate uniforms are supplied and the organisation ensures they are
cleaned and renewed.
Necessary Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) is provided free of charge.
All employees are made aware of the welfare and other benefits package.
All employees have regular contact with a supervisor or manager who can
address any welfare concerns. |
←
All aspects of the previous
column plus:
The welfare and benefits offered by the organisation exceed the legal
requirements and include such things as:
•
compassionate leave
arrangements
•
self certification for periods of sickness up to seven days
•
payment of training required to obtain an SIA licence
•
days spent on the training
required for an SIA licence are
paid All employees are made aware of the welfare and other benefits
package.
|
←
All aspects of the previous
column plus:
The welfare and benefits package also includes:
•
payment of the SIA licence application fee
•
personal accident cover
•
sufficient legal cover
•
counselling service from trained professionals after suffering
trauma. |
The way the scoring system works, the Required Level earns the base mark of
zero, columns to the right of the required level earn +1 and +2 respectively.
Anything to the left of the required level constitutes a fail in that category.
ACS companies are not allowed to fail in any of the 89 categories. Some
categories offer greater opportunity to exceed the required level, some less,
but in total there is the opportunity to exceed the base level by 157 marks.
HOW THE INDUSTRY SCORES
The following diagram shows a breakdown of the scoring of the 611 Approved
Contractors as at 31st March 2009
What is very interesting is how many companies are complying by a very low
margin, doing enough to pass but not a great deal more. By contrast, there are
at least 60 companies operating well above basic requirements, exceeding the
target by over 71 marks, and of these there is a sizeable minority with scores
exceeding 100 marks.
USING THE SCORING SYSTEM TO SELECT A CONTRACTOR
The scoring system is a guide to a company’s general professionalism and to the
robustness of its processes. If you wish to use the ACS to help with selecting a
contractor you would be advised to look closely at where the higher marks have
been ‘earned’. Are they in the areas that matter to you? By all means ask for a
copy of the latest SIA inspection; you will learn a lot about a prospective
supplier from the report. The scheme is also a very useful tool with which to
define a buyer’s priorities. For example, which is more important to you, that a
company invests in the training and development of its people or that it has a
documented benchmarking scheme to measure the perception of the public of its
service. Both are important in their own way, both are capable of earning a
potential higher score, but which truly matters to you and your business?
Wilson James Website
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