The concept of security – our practice

In one of our famous companies in the field of food production the management notices a discrepancy between what had been produced and what had been collected . The entire security system was based on the physical security provided to them by a service company and trust in people (employees). Also, the person in charge of general security was a manager responsible for safety and health at work, who performed this duty as an additional burdensome work. They tried alone, together with the head of physical security, to solve the problem. Then they noticed additional problems, even more than initially anticipated. Therefore, the company management estimated that they need an independent assessment in the form of detailed analysis of the security and proposed solutions.

The assessment that followed showed the systematic, long-term, almost a "traditional" rip-off in the company, starting with "petty" taking out of a few pieces of the product by the workers to the organized rip-off by means of making large "surplus" and taking it out by trucks.

Based on information gathered, our assessors determined the focus of the problem and that the root of the problem lied, above all, in poor organization of management and organization of the work. It was noted that the problems have just been transferred from the lower levels of management to the higher ones, and so they burried the problems and created conditions so that the theft and fraud "cannot be seen." Counting of finished products was performed virtually by hand, without the supervision and control, which enabled the smooth creation of surpluses. It was estimated that 2% of finished products per day disappeared through thefts, which caused the damage of around one million euros annually.

Great trust in the executives allowed them to increase the real technological wastage. Also, it was observed that the security guards had also taken part in rip-off. The head of security, one very persistent and professional person, the initiator of preventing these thefts and fraud, at first did not believe in that argument. Coincidentally, shortly after the completion of the assessment, the assumption was confirmed. The police, as part of their action to combat trafficking, arrested several workers from the production department who had been illegally taking out the products, but also three security guards who had allowed them to do that. It was determined that the existing technical security systems (video surveillance) and the system of recording attendance and payroll had not been used. Due to the large number of exceptions (all Heads felt that they should be exempt) time and attendance system was perfunctory and no one had taken it seriously. Video surveillance had not been followed and was partly unusable.

The proposed solution included a range of measures, procedures and specific solutions: organization, goals and objectives of internal control - security, responsible for the management of security affairs; proposal to improve the human resources security, proposed upgrades and use of technical control system with the necessary tactical instructions for use; the elaborate was made - the physical security plan (complete instructions with the individual, specific task for executives, including records); the solution included also the proposed specific measures of control and surveillance of critical points and processes; another proposal was the increase in benefits for the service of physical security guards, so that the regular pay to employees of physical security were stimulating and the introduction of incentive bonus for each case of theft, which was accepted. Some of the measures have been implemented immediately, which resulted in "the increase" of the amount of goods received in warehouses from the production department, reductions of technological wastage, even below the level previously considered normal.

The total price for the described service was below the daily loss of this manufacturing company.