For Immediate Release
Please Contact: Christina Calbi at
KMR Communications, Inc
(212) 213-6444
Christina@kmrcommunications.com

THE LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER CAN LEAD TO A LAPSE IN CORPORATE SAFETY AND SECURITY: WHAT EVERY CORPORATION MUST KNOW TO KEEP ITS EMPLOYEES SAFE

It's summertime and the living is easy, casual Fridays, summer hours, and long holiday weekends. While the slower pace of business during the summer is a welcome reprieve, corporate CEO's and those in management must remember that there cannot be a casual approach to safety. Alan Breindel is president of Secure Defense Systems, Inc., a New Jersey firm that specializes in consulting with companies on security and safety risk management. Mr. Breindel wants companies to be aware that summertime is a season when people generally have their guard down. The overall level of alertness is weakened by the fact that staff size is reduced due to vacationing employees and temporary personnel who may not be trained in emergency procedure and protocol.

As Mr. Breindel explains, "during the summer faces and vendors within a corporate structure may change, and people anticipate this. They expect the mail carrier to be on vacation and permit entry to a substitute at face value without ID being shown. Consider this hypothetical but plausible situation: A new face arrives to deliver the mail and claims to be filling in for someone who is on vacation. They know that mail usually comes at 11:30 and they show up at 9:15 and say that the delivery route has been altered due to vacation schedules. Due to this lapse in security, the terrorist bomb goes off 15 minutes later. The other issue is the person who is filling in at the corporation for the individual who usually receives parcels if there is no defined mailroom. The mail carrier (who is a terrorist) knows that the internal person is on vacation and asks the substitute if he can drop off a package in another area, or perhaps just needs to use the bathroom. The unsuspecting employee is overwhelmed with the additional responsibilities, is probably looking for some help and is also not being vigilant about asking for identification. When the chain of normal command is disrupted without provisions being made, this leaves the playing field wide open for terrorists to strike.

During the summer employees may be vacationing who have the job assignment of floor fire warden, or searching restrooms in the event of evacuation. While most companies will re-assign client or regular workload responsibilities, most companies never think to assign an "understudy" for vacationing employees who also assume emergency responsibility. As Mr. Breindel states,"If I were a terrorist, I would probably strike on a summer Friday, because the first priority for an employee is wrapping up their business day and getting to the beach early. Security issues are likely the last thing on their mind. Therefore, this allows potential terrorists access to cause harm."

When staff members do go on vacation the chain of command is disrupted with respect to a n individual's responsibility for safety and security as well as reporting suspicious activity or items. If people are trained they don't panic in a tense situation. Untrained employees feel helpless and frightened when confronted with an emergency. People are conditioned to respect their superiors, and if they don't feel they have the authority to pull a fire alarm, or stop an unidentified person on the work premises, this can be problematic. Training needs to occur to teach people to act on suspicious circumstances and not be afraid to overstep the traditional boundaries of authority when something seems amiss.

Many companies have handicapped people who may be assigned to a partner or someone to help them in the event of an emergency. If their partner is on vacation, and they have not had another staff member designated to help them, this can put the disabled person in physical jeopardy.

The solutions involve looking at protocols for lower staff levels during the summer and mapping out and alerting staff to the following:
" Schedule of vacationing employees and names of their temporary replacements
" Plan for who will identify mail carriers and other transient workers
" Assignment and training of staff members who are replacing vacationing employees in their emergency roles
" Briefing the engineering team if the chief engineer is vacationing. The chief engineer may be the only one who knows how to deal with the HVAC system in the event it needs to be shut down due to a terrorist chemical release or other toxins in the air.
Mr. Breindel emphatically states that, "if companies are not reviewing their course of action during periods of staff reduction they are dramatically increasing their vulnerability."

ABOUT SECURE DEFENSE SYSTEMS, INC.

Secure Defense Systems, Inc. located in Springfield, N.J. provides risk management services to help people and organizations mitigate the risks that affect their families, employees, property and operations. Services include: emergency preparedness; evacuation planning; threat and vulnerability assessment; security surveys; parking lot security; executive and family protection; business continuity; and design, installation and maintenance of electronic surveillance and monitoring equipment. Products include emergency preparedness kits for the office, home and automobile. www.securedefensesystems.com

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