Chairman announces retirement

Current Chairman of SAIS, Terry Scallan, announced on Wednesday that he would not be standing for re-election when his term of office ends in August of this year. His decision is based on ill health and work pressure.
 
'It has been gratifying to see the Institute grow from strength to strength and become a voice to listen to within the private security industry,' he said.
 
'I would like to thank you all for your support during my term of office.'

IFSEC Training Sessions

NB: There is no charge for these sessions at the IFSEC-SA Educational Theatre in Hall 2.

Tuesday 31 August
15h00-15h20: Terry Scallan Getting your money back from SASSETA - discretionary and mandatory grants
15h30-15h50: Errol Peace, Armed robbery survival in South Africa
16h00-16h20: Gert Pretorius, What is a continuing development programme for the security industry?

Wednesday 1 September
15h00-15h20: John Kole, The role of UNISA in tertiary security training
15h30-15h50: Mike Verster, The role of the skills development facilitator in security skills development
16h00-16h20: Errol Peace, Security training compliance

Thursday 2 September
15h00-15h20: Terry Scallan The envisaged new security training regulations
15h30-15h50: Steve Conradie, The role of the Security Industry Alliance in the Slouth African Security Industry, and interaction with government

6th Annual Security Managment Skills Updating Seminar

Following on from the very successful previous five Security Science Skills Updating Seminars, the University of South Africa’s Department of Criminology & Security Science will be holding their 6th
Annual Security Science Skills Updating Seminar on the UNISA Muckleneuk (Pretoria) Campus on 5 August 2010.

Within the context of this ever-growing industry faced with changes on many fronts namely legal, economic, technological, educational and political - the holding of such an updating conference is in itself a self-fulfilling need.

Objectives of seminar:
The objectives of the seminar are to provide you with an opportunity to:

• Upgrade your knowledge by being exposed to relevant academic topics
• Add value to you in your daily operational environment and decision making processes
• Inform you of the latest developments in the private and public security field
• Provide you with an opportunity for networking with academics, past lecturers, specialist experts and past students
• Expose you to some of the latest books relevant to the security manager
• Make available advice to you on Recognition of Prior Learning possibilities and procedures should you wish to study for the Diploma in Security Management or BTech/MTech (Security Risk Management) degrees.

Fees are R650 per delegate and R350 per currently registered student, which includes teas, lunch, a seminar file and data pack, CD with all past and current presentations, plus a Certificate of Attendance. Registration closes 22 July 2010.

Download programme and registration form.

Charity Golf Day 2010

Once again we held a successful golf day at the Waterkloof Golf Club in Pretoria on 7 May. The golf day was once again sponsored by Omega Risk Solutions, and thanks must also go to the SAIS organisers, Reggie Marimuthu and Rosemary Cowan, for all the hard work that they put into making the event such a success. As usual, we had a full field, but unfortunately no-one managed that elusive hole-in-one to win the car sponsored by Nissan.

The event was highlighted by a visit from Miss South Africa, Nicole Flint who posed for photographs with every four-ball, much to their delight. The day ended with a full buffet dinner in the evening and entertainment was provided by Francois Marais.

The winning four-ball was from Omega Risk Solutions, who were presented with the floating trophy by Alex de Witt. A cheque for R5 000 was presented by our chairman, Terry Scallan, to the South African Police Services Widows and Orphans Fund. Reggie Marimuthu presented a thank you gift from the Institute, to Charmaine van den Berg of Omega Risk Solutions for their continued generosity in the sponsoring of this event and Mr de Witt confirmed that they would be sponsoring again in 2011.

Click here for more photos

SAIS Trip to IFSEC, UK - 2010

This year saw some 22 people join the Institute's tour group to IFSEC. Check out the slideshow below of the group on their way to Birmingham by coach and at IFSEC on the Security Focus stand, where a competition was held to play a tune on the Vuvuzela - much to the fascination of the English people surrounding the stand who had never seen one before.

At the South African evening organised for the Tuesday, a few additional South Africans joined in and as you can see from the pictures, a great evening was had by all and Jimmy's Spices in Birmingham, will never be the same again. As the group left, one of the waiters could be heard attempting to play the Vuvuzela and this will now proudly be exhibited over their bar.

It was a very tiring week as you can see - and culminated in a tour around London and a trip down the Thames on a Duck!

Arrangements are already in hand for next year - with some exciting additions - so watch this space!!!!

SAIS presents at IFSEC Birmingham 2010

The Chairman of the South African Institute of Security, Terry Scallan, addressed a full house at the IFSEC Birmingham 2010 exhibition.

The topic was Safety and Security at the FIFA 2010 World Cup: Is South Africa Ready? The presentation concluded with: Yes, South Africa is ready.

Errol Peace the SAIS vice-chairman also met the UK Security Institute chairman, Mike Bluestone.

Award to Jockey van Eeden

David Miller attended the ASIS Chapter 203 Cape Town meeting on Wednesday 12 May, at which he had the very great pleasure to present  the ISSM Best Practice 2009 Award to his old colleague, Jockey van Eeden.

Armed security officers

New standards and laws have been introduced into the security industry by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the South African Police Service Central Firearms Registrar (SAPS CFR). Details are -

· Armed security officers’ training has become far more structured and specific. The exact number of rounds required to be fired as well as the size of the targets is now clearly specified and no longer left to security companies’ discretion.

· Once the training has been successfully completed, the security officer must apply for a competency certificate. The application must be sent to SAPS CFR and once issued is only valid for a period of five years, after which one is required to reapply. SAPS CFR will run the security officer’s fingerprints to ensure that the applicant is not a “disqualified person” before issuing the certificate.

· In addition to the initial training and the competency certificate, every armed security officer is required to undergo “one proper practical training session every 12 months at the cost of the security company” and “one briefing session at the cost of the security company every 12 months or sooner as may be reasonably necessary in the circumstances”. It is also the security company’s responsibility to “actively monitor whether security officers, who are issued with firearms and ammunition, are trained, instructed and guided in respect of the possession, handling and use of firearms and ammunition”. (Quotations extracted from Regulation 21 of the Firearm Control Act 60/2000).

· No security officer may perform a security function with his privately owned firearm. The firearm used, must be licensed in the name of the security company.

International comparability

When Unit Standards are approved by SAQA, they are required to measure up against similar standards found in other countries. The firearm standards were measured against 26 other countries and, as a result, a comprehensive set of 16 standards are now in place. These cover basic to advanced training and new standards for firearm instructors and range officers.

A security officer carrying a handgun is required to complete three unit standards, covering subjects such as the Firearms Control Act 60/2000, Section 49 (when to shoot and when you may not) and a very strict practical portion. These standards are pitched at levels 3 and 4 on the National Qualifications Framework, making them equivalent to the level found at Grade 11 and 12 at high school.

The security officer must also undergo a rigorous practical assessment, which includes a 25 shot qualifying shoot, which should be passed with a minimum of 80%. Failure to pass the qualifying shoot means the guard may not be issued with a firearm. The officers’ ability to pass must be tested every year in accordance with regulation 21. Evidence of the shoots and written tests must be kept on file for 6 years. Only training providers who are accredited with the Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority (SASSETA) as well as the South African Police Services (SAPS) may provide firearm training and assessments of the new standards.

Initial testing of the standard showed that less than 20% of the security industry was able to pass the shoot before going through the new training. The reason for this appears to be that there are not enough practical shooting opportunities consistently provided to security guards due to the high cost of ammunition. There are no exceptions to this new legislation and companies found to be non-compliant are likely to face criminal prosecution.

SAIS to apply to be recognised as a professional body

The South African Institute of Security is to apply to be recognised as a professional body and was represented by governors, Gert Pretorius and Mike Verster.

On 21 April 2010 the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) hosted representatives from the professional body community for a consultative meeting at Kopanong Conference Estate..The purpose of the meeting was to inform the sector, and allow opportunity for input, about the proposed process that will be followed to develop policy and criteria for the recognition of professional bodies (for the purposes of the NQF Act) and registration of professional designations on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

The meeting was attended by more than 250 people, representing more than 90 professional bodies, the Departments of Higher Education and Training, Science and Technology and Human Settlements, as well as HESA, QCTO, Umalusi, CHE, BUSA, Palama and 14 SETAs. The meeting included constructive debate on SAQA's proposal based on presentations made by SAQA, a statutory professional body (ECSA) and a non-statutory professional body (SAICA).

By Terry Scallan
Chairman of the South African Institute of Security

Invitation to present papers for IISSM-2010

The Board of Governors of the International Institute of Security and Safety Management have decided that, marking as it does the twentieth year of its existence, the XXth Annual International Seminar of the IISSM, will be held in New Delhi. It will be a 3-day Seminar between Diwali and Christmas (with sufficient interval from the festive days).

Basing on excellent inputs received from the learned participants at the last year’s Seminar, the theme for IISSM-2010 has been chosen as: “Private Security Industry in the Next Decade - Role, Responsibilities and Methodologies to Enable Business and National Security”. The logical presumption obviously is that the burgeoning security industry in the private sector will and can play a very significant role in the next decade. It will be an exercise in perspective thinking and planning on the role, responsibilities and methodologies of the private sector security industry that would not only lend muscles to overall national security concerns but will also be business enabler to justify its efficiency and effectiveness to stay in competitive business.

Should you wish to present a paper in the Seminar, could we request you to select some specific aspect to speak on within the broad parameter of the overall theme, as explained above? Each business session will generally be of 30 minutes’ duration, in which the speaker takes at the most 20 minutes with the remaining ten minutes left for floor participation and other formalities. It will be appreciated if you could illustrate your presentation with reference to actual case studies, as demanded by the participants.

IISSM being an academic organisation, a convention has developed that we pay only one-night accommodation to the faculty but offer other local hospitality for all the days of the Seminar, including airport pick-up and drop-back. Well, we are obliged to all those who have been joining us year after year within these limitations.

• Expression of your interest to join as faculty: By May 31, 2010.
• Title of the paper you wish to present with an abstract of it within 200 words for the consideration of the Screening Committee: By July 31, 2010.
• The full text, on acceptance, of the paper: By October 31, 2010.

The full version of your paper, if submitted in time, would be printed in the Seminar souvenir that would be distributed to all participants and faculties. Email communication is preferred for the sake of avoiding mistakes in transmission.

D.C. Nath, IPS (Retd.)
President & Director General
International Institute of Security and Safety Management

SAIS hosts another successful black tie bash

The South African Institute of Security (SAIS), hosted its annual ball at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways, on 20 February 2010.

Former SAIS chairman Francois Marais, facilitated the evening’s events and was a highly entertaining MC for the night.

Terry Scallan, chairman of the Board of Governors of the South African Institute of Security, welcomed the guests and presented Security Publications publisher, Godfrey King, with a lifetime membership to the Institute for 30 years of service to the security industry.

Guest speakers for the evening included wellknown local football coach Steven Barker, who expressed his hope that the 2010 stadiums would be utilised for the development and training of South Africa’s future football stars. Police Commissioner Ben Groenewald was also pleased to announce that the Safety and Security Plan for 2010 delegated to National Deputy Commissioner Andre Pruis has been accepted by FIFA.

After the prizegiving, guests danced the night away to the sounds of Havana Gas.

Next year’s SAIS Ball will take place on 19 February 2011 at the Indaba hotel.

The following sponsors all contributed towards the evening’s success:
• Welcome drinks sponsored by IFSEC-SA Securex.
• Tickets sponsored by Risk Diversion.
• Sparkling wine sponsored by SASSETA.
• White wine sponsored by Spar South Rand.
• Red wine sponsored by SVA Security.
• Chocolates sponsored by Hi-Tech Security Solutions.

Raffle prizes were provided by:
• BTC Training (Africa).
• Gold Fields Protection Services.
• Hi-Tech Security Solutions.
• Sun City – Sun International.
• UNISA.
• Zurich Insurance Company.
• Spot prize (bottle of wine) provided by Omega Risk Solutions.

Click here to view the photos from the black tie bash

The Role of the ETD Practitioner in Skills Development
by Mike Verster Grad 1S (SA) AISM and member of the Board of Governors of the South African Institute of Security

'Education, Training and Development Practitioner', the new buzzword everybody uses, but do we really understand what the roles of these individuals in a skills development organisation, consists of?

Firstly we must realise that Outcomes Based Education is not just new terminology that replaces the old terminology. It is a total new approach. A total 'paradigm shift' must be undergone by all ETD practitioners in the Outcomes Based ETD organisation. The focus thus, is on the 'approach' on how we did training in the past, to how we do it in an Outcomes-Based learning environment.

To clarify, here is a comparison table of the 'old way', (Traditional Approach) and the new, (Outcomes Based Approach), the ETD Practitioner needs to change too.

Secondly, Education, Training & Development (ETD), in our current situation is an art on its own. Trying to adapt training material, facilitate, assess or manage ETD to suit the guidelines given to us by legislation is not enough and would result in long-lasting confusion. A total ETD systems change has to be undergone by all the relevant role-players, being: skills development facilitatators, ETD-administrators, marketers, designers, developers, facilitators, assessors, quality assurance staff and ETD Managers, from a content approach towards ETD to an Outcomes-based approach towards ETD. The mentioned role-players must work together as a system.

The success of an Outcomes-Based ETD system will greatly depend on maintaining and upholding quality standards in your ETD environment. As change is taking place more rapidly, we will have to adapt or be left behind with old approaches.

ETD Experts have identified 11 ETD Practioner roles or groupings. The NTB (1994:137) mentions that ETD practitioners perform all roles to a greater or lesser extent as part of their overall job.These roles of the ETD Practitioner in Skills Development can be seen as the following. Mc Lagan (1989:49) identifies them as:

• Researcher – identifying, developing, or testing new information as change occurs that impacts on the organization. Showing how the information can be applied to improve individuals or orgaisations. Pace et al. (1991:76) refers to the main task of the researcher as primarily finding general explanations of factors that contribute to ETD.
• Marketer – contacting ETD viewpoints, services and programmes. Positioning ETD products and opening minds to accept programmes. The marketer is expected to improve the image of the ETD department. (Pace et al., 1991:137).
• Organisational Change Agent – influencing and supporting changes in organization behaviour to improving the ETD culture/system.
• Needs Analyst – identifying the ideal and actual performance and performance conditions and determining causes and discrepancies. In other words, determining skills gaps and/or training needs that may exist.
• Programme designer – Preparing Outcomes, defining content, sequencing activities.
• ETD material developer - compiles the learning/assessment material to be used by facilitators/assessors/moderators and QA personnel according to Unit Standards and most importantly to what the learner is supposed to be able to do in his/her working environment.
• Facilitator – Presenting information, directing structured learning experiences and managing group discussions and group learning processes. Understands adults learning theories and the application thereof. “Makes Learning Easier”
• Individual career development advisor – helps individuals to assess personal competencies, values and goals and to identify, plan and implement development and career actions.
• Administrator – providing coordination and support services for the delivery of ETD programmes and services. Pace et al.(1991:160) explains that the administrator is essentially responsible for coordinating the ETD process from beginning to end.
• Evaluator – identifying the impact (effect) of an ETD intervention (action) on individual or organizational effectiveness.
• ETD Manager – Plans, organizes, leads, controls and supports group work, linking that work with that of the ETD organization as a whole.

As stated in the Preliminary Report by the National Training Board (NTB) (1994:134) it was decided at the time the report was compiled to identify and define only compulsory core competencies for ETD Practitioners. The concept of these competencies was to provide a broad foundation for ETD Practitioners to develop themselves and a basis for progression. These competencies in the compulsory core are divided into three areas:

1. Occupational/Subject matter expertise: this includes accredited qualifications, applied occupational competence or work experience and placing a particular area or field of work into a wider context. The appropriate level of expertise is determined by each sector or workplace.
2. Contextual understanding: This includes a broader understanding of society, macro, political and economic issues and sector and workplace contexts.
3. Education, training and development: This includes an understanding of broader ETD issues, an understanding of learning processes, competence in both verbal and written communication as well as interpersonal and analytical skills.

If there is one thing I have learnt in life it is: CHANGE = LEARNING & LEARNING = CHANGE “If you do not change you will not learn and if you don’t learn you will never change.”

Mike Verster is the Manager of GEM ETDPS and has been involved with ETD and Skills Development services for the last 22 years. GEM ETDPS delivers numerous ETD Systems Re-engineering services and ETD/Security related Training programmes. Can be contacted @ 0795267771 or etdprovider@absamail.co.za

Security Professional Certification (SPC) Course for 2010.
The International Institute of Secuity and Safety Management in New Delhi, India, has provided us with details for Security Professional Certification (SPC) Courses for the year 2010. Further details may be obtained by downloading the brochure.

Security Training for 2010
by Terry Scallan FIS (SA) MSyl (UK) AISM and Chairman of the South African Institute of Security

We need to put the South African training of Event Security Officers into perspective.

The unit standard: Conduct Security at an Event has been registered by South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and is the official training programme for Event Security Officers. PSIRA have also included this unit standard in their newly advocated training regulations. Once legislated, no Security Officer will be allowed to officiate at any event without having this qualification. The unit standard was based on the forthcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup, but is relevant to all major events, sporting and other events.

I headed the SAQA task team (Security Standard Generating Body) that developed this unit standard or training programme. The task team consisted of security consultants, SASSETA, PSIRA, event security specialists, event management consultants and the South African Police Service. The unit standard was benchmarked internationally. There was also consultation with the English Football Association as well as English Club security management. We also looked carefully at the English Stewards Training Programme.

Event Security Officers are not stewards. Stewards are a UK term and is misinterpreted in the South African context. We do not have stewards in South Africa.

Let us then look at the requirements of an Event Security Officer:

• Must have a minimum of a Skills Programme 3 (Old PSIRA Grade C). This includes Conflict Management.
• Must have the unit standard: Conduct Security at an Event:
  • Perform event security.
  • React to incidents and breaches of security.
  • Direct crowds at special events.

In addition, they must have the following unit standards:

• Access and Egress Control
• Handling of complaints and problems
• Evacuation and Emergency Drills
• First Aid
• Fire Fighting
• Use of Security Equipment
• Teamwork

It seems to be advocated by some in our industry that for 2010 we should be using the English model of stewards training. Why? Our Event Security Officer training is more than adequate, if not better and is based on the South African situation and on South African experience.

Safety and Security at 2010
by Terry Scallan FIS (SA) MSyl (UK) AISM and Chairman of the South African Institute of Security

In the November issue of Security Focus there were numerous articles on Security at and 2010. Before this edition virtually none.

I have presented numerous talks on safety and security at 2010, both locally and internationally. I also headed the SAQA task team that developed the training programme for security at an event, which had the 2010 FIFA World Cup in mind. This, besides numerous consultations with the Local Organising Committee for 2010 as well as with the South African Police Service and local, and international event security specialists..

There is nothing in these articles that the Operational Plan for the Safety and Security at 2010 has not covered. The overall responsibility for safety and security is that of the South African Police Service and delegated to National Deputy Commissioner, Andre Pruis. For those who do not know, a special committee called JOINTS (Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure) chaired by assistant Commissioner Ben Groenewald and consisting of various government, menial and, provincial authorities as well as FIFA, South African Football Association, the FIFA Local Organising Committee, the National Intelligence Agency, South African Police Service, Metropolitan Police Services, the South African National Defence Force to mention some of the role players. The result was after consideration of all possible risks, a safety and security plan for 2010. This plan has been accepted by FIFA.

JOINTS must be congratulated on the excellent safety and security plan for 2010 and we can be confident of a safe 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Occupational Health and Safety Compliance and FIFA World Cup 2010 –
are we ready?
by Errol Peace FIS (SA) MSyI (UK) AISM and Vice Chairman of the South African Institute of Security

Business owners and Chief Executive Officers, together with Management, are constantly driving the business to reach their goals and objectives in order to grow productivity and become prosperous. However this can be compromised by the lack of knowledge and understanding, when it comes to the health and safety legal requirements that need to be in place.

Complying with health and safety provisions benefits you, your employees, enhances productivity, reduces loss of operating time and minimizes costly litigation and hefty fines.

On the subject of litigation, there are many instances where employees have civilly litigated against their employers and have been successful.

Visitors and shoppers have also been successful in civil litigation:

• A lady, who was knocked down by a merchandiser in a retail store and broke her ankle, was awarded R175 000.00 for pain and suffering.
• In the case Gordon vs. De Motta, Mrs. Gordon was awarded a substantial amount after slipping on a cabbage leaf in De Motta’s fruit and vegetable store.

These cases are endless ….

Our visitors from overseas, and there will be plenty during the Soccer World Cup, and very well informed when it comes to civil litigation, especially our friends from the USA, where they have the Stella awards.

Stella Awards are named after 81 year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald's. This case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous, ridiculous, successful lawsuits in the United States, and is awarded annually.

Here are some of winners from last year:

3rd Place:
A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and broke her coccyx (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.

2nd Place:
Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware, successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge.

She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses.

1st Place:
Last years runaway winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mrs. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, (from an OU football game), having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go into the back & make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising her in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually do this.

The jury awarded her $1,750,000. Plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons around.

Strange, unbelievable? ……Yes……..But true!

So are we ready and compliant to be able to handle these types of events?

It is imperative that every workplace has a copy of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (OHS Act). The Burden Of Health And Safety Provision Rests On The Company Owner or Chief executive Officer.

The provisions of the OHS Act may seem to impose yet another administrative burden and added expense on employers. However, by maintaining a safe workplace and ensuring that employees comply with health and safety regulations, you will be the overall winner.

Understand Your Obligations Regarding Health And Safety. You have a duty to:

• Provide a safe and risk-free workplace.
• Ensure employees are given proper training, information and supervision regarding health and safety risks and that safety regulations are enforced.
• Make sure that all plant, machinery, tools and equipment are in good working order and properly maintained.
• Provide employees with protective clothing and equipment, but only after all other reasonable steps have been taken to eliminate health and safety hazards.
• Find out what hazards are associated with the storage, handling, production, transportation and usage of substances and machinery.
• Ensure that plant and machinery are used under the supervision of a properly trained person who has the authority to ensure that workers obey instructions.

Section 9 stipulates that the Employer must also ensure the health and safety of other people who are affected by their activities.

How To Provide A Safe And Healthy Work Environment
Most health and safety requirements are simple and inexpensive to apply. It doesn't’t cost much to make sure that exits are kept clear and items are properly stacked. You must ensure that the premises comply with legislation, local authority by-laws and regulations.

It is imperative that the Owner or Chief Executive Officer conducts a health and safety risk assessment, to be able to identify and establish the risks. Thereafter it is required of him to either eliminate or reduce the risk, before issuing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

To assist with this the Employer needs to elect, train and appoint Health and Safety Representatives.

When You Must Elect and Appoint Health And Safety Representatives
If your workforce at any workplace exceeds 20 (Twenty) employees you must designate at least one Health & Safety Representative for every 100 employees in a shop or office and at least one for every 50 (Fifty) employees in any other kind of workplace.

Functions of the Health And Safety Representative
The functions and responsibilities of a Health and Safety Representative, include:

• Reviewing the effectiveness of current health and safety measures.
• Identifying potential hazards.
• Investigating and examining causes of incidents at the workplace.
• Investigating employee complaints relating to health and safety.
• Required to make representation to the employer or Health and Safety Committee with regard to health and safety risks, hazards and concerns.
• Conduct regular health and safety risk and hazard inspections.
• Attend incident investigations or formal inquiries.
• Inspect documentation relating to health and safety matters.
• Encourage and promote health and safety standards.

When You Are Required To Establish A Health & Safety Committee
Once there are two or more Health and Safety Representatives at the workplace, you are required to establish a Health & Safety Committee and all Health and safety Representatives must be members of the committee. In addition you may nominate other members of staff to serve on the committee, as advisors but they may not vote.

Regulations
It is important that the Owner or Chief Executive Officer identifies the appropriate and applicable regulations for their business. The regulations include to following:

Two of the most important regulations regarding emergencies are:

Fire Precautions and Means of Egress
Ensure that fire escapes are not obstructed; this is one of the points to be emphasized to the Health and Safety Representatives. Fire escape passages are often used as ‘store rooms’. Work places have been closed down due to escapes being obstructed.

Although the Act does not mention the appointment of Fire Wardens, the principle of ‘reasonableness’ must be applied. Why have fire-fighting equipment if there is no one that can use them?

We need to read this regulation in tandem with General Safety Regulation 3 (4): ‘Where there are more that 10 employees at the workplace a fire warden needs to be appointed”

Here the same formula may be used as in the case of First Aiders.

Employers must guard against appointing the same person to both First Aid and Fire warden positions, as in an emergency the person cannot perform both functions! There is no problem in appointing a Health and Safety Representative to one of the functions.

With regard to Portable Fire Extinguishers:

• The rule of thumb for an activated fire extinguisher or a gauge that indicates activation is to have the appliance recharged/refilled.
• The servicing of fire fighting equipment is done under SABS specifications and must be serviced, at least once every twelve months.
• Portable fire extinguishers and hose reels must be numbered.
• All fire equipment must be inspected regularly to ensure that they are in good working order and that they are available in the event of an emergency.

Emergency Exits:

• All emergency escape doors, must as far as practicable, open outwards.
• All doors must be kept clear.
• Nothing should be stacked in front of doors.
• All EXIT doors should be clearly marked with appropriate symbolic safety signs.
• Emergency escape doors must be kept unlocked at all times.

First Aid and First Aid Boxes
Both the OHS Act and COID Act stipulate that the employer should provide first aid equipment and services to employees who are injured at work.

The formula is as follows:

• A first aid kit must me available if there are more that five employees at the workplace.
• Where there are ten or more employees at the workplace, a First Aider must be trained and appointed, one for every 100 for shops and offers and one for every 50 for other workplaces.
  

The employer is responsible for providing or arranging transport for any injured employee who needs to be taken to a hospital or medical doctor.

Non-compliance Offences and Penalties
Offences – Section 38(1) states: “Any person who

• Contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of the Act
• Interferes or obstructs an Inspector
• Tampers with evidence
• Misuses safety equipment
• Fails to use safety equipment
• Willfully or recklessly does or omits to do anything which threatens the health and safety of any person

in respect of that act or omission will be guilty of an offence.”

Section 38(2) states: “Any employer who does or omits to do an act thereby causing any person to be injured at

• workplace
• employed by him
• any place in course of his employment
• using plant or machinery

in respect of that act or omission will be guilty of an offence.”

The penalties:
In respect of general offences under Section 38, the penalty will not exceed a fine of R50 000.00 or 12 months imprisonment or both, is respect of general offences under Section 38.

However, with regard to an employer who commits or omits and causes a negligent injury which would have been culpable homicide had the person died, the penalty will not exceed a fine of R100 00.00 or 24 months imprisonment or both.

Conclusion
The question that must be asked by the Owner or Chief Executive Officer is, “Can the Company afford not to comply with the provisions of the OHS Act?”

From a risk perspective one can only answer “NO”, the physical and monitory risks are one thing, but what can be said about the risk of the company’s reputation?

I would like to repeat the second paragraph of this chapter:

“Complying with health and safety provisions benefits you, your employees, enhances productivity, reduces loss of operating time and minimizes costly litigation and hefty fines.”

The results of compliance with the OHS Act, include:

Reduced costs – Employees are using the equipment with respect and properly, as they have now been trained.

Better quality – Trained staff will produce a better quality of work.

Higher productivity – Employees will feel motivated, because the company is concerned with their health and safety, also they have been trained and received development – and with a better quality of work being done, this will result in higher productivity.

Less staff turnover – Happy, motivated, healthy and safe staff will stay with the company.

Fewer labour disputes – So much has been done as far as Labour Relations and Basic Conditions of Employment is concerned, by applying the OHS Act, there can be very little discontentment in the workforce and very little to ‘strike’ about!

AND LAST BUT BY NO MEANS LEAST: Elimination of costly civil litigation.

Armed Robbery Awareness Training
by Errol Peace FIS (SA) and Terry Scallan FIS (SA)

In recent months, one opens any newspaper or listens to news bulletins and there are reports of armed robberies where people are being injured and killed. To a large extent these armed robberies target banks, retail outlets and cash-in-transit carriers.

If one looks at Law and Policy, an employer is under a duty to refrain from injuring or harming the employee and thus providing a safe working environment. This duty operates both in contract and delict. In delict it is no different from the duty of care each member of society owes another.

The health and safety of employees is regulated under the Occupational health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (OHS Act).

The Act read with the Regulations thereto imposes a general statutory duty on a employer to provide and maintain as is “reasonable practicable”, a working environment that is safe and without risk to the “health and safety” of employees.

Employers are also obliged, as regulated in Section 8(1)(e), to provide such information, instruction, “training” and supervision as may be necessary to ensure, as far as is “reasonably practicable”, the health and safety at work of its employees.

The King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2002 (King Report) also needs to be considered.

Section 2 of the Report deals with risk management, it being also dealt with in item 3 of the Code of Corporate Practices and Conduct. Although the Code only applies to listed companies, financial institutions and public sector enterprises, all companies are encouraged to adhere thereto.

In essence, the board of directors of a company is responsible for assessing risks to the business on an ongoing basis, and then designing, implementing and monitoring a process of risk management and integrating it into day-to-day activities of the company.

Section 4 of the Report deals with integrated sustainability reporting. It being taken up in item 5 of the Code. The essence of these provisions is that every company should report at least annually on the nature and extent of its safety and health policies and practices and what health and safety training has been conducted.

On a proper interpretation of the OHS Act, its scope is such as to cover the danger, hazards and risks occasioned by armed robberies in the workplace, the Act provides the simplest and most compelling foundation for the need for training in armed robbery survival skills.

The important issue is that employers must in terms of the OHS Act and the King Report, conduct a proper assessment of their risks, on an ongoing basis, and then responsibly decide whether precautionary measures are called for. If the decision in favour of such measures, then an Armed Robbery Survival Skills course would be an excellent mechanism for dealing with what is, unfortunately, a prevalent problem in our country.

It is worrying factor that the retail and bank industries appear, in our experience, to show minimal interest in training their frontline staff, cashiers and tellers, in armed robbery awareness, even though there are SETA accredited training providers who present these courses. The armed robbery awareness training programme is a seven hour programme that can be broken up into sessions in order to accommodate operational requirements and can be presented at the workplace.

The training programmes includes identifying indications that an armed robbery could take place and therefore sounding an early alarm, immediate action drills to be followed during and after an armed robbery, post trauma, suspect, vehicle and weapon identification, opening and closing procedures.

These training programmes are pro-active in preventing a armed robbery taking place by identifying the indications, preparing employees of what to expect during an armed robbery and reducing the trauma of an armed robbery. They instill employee self- confidence in dealing with such a situation and contribute to the prevention of serious injury and even death.

Errol Peace and Terry Scallan are security training and development consultants who have specialized in armed robbery awareness training. They are both governors on the Board of the South African Institute of Security

Who's who on the Board: Prof Kris Pillay

Currently the Director of the School of Law at the College of Law at UNISA, Durban-born Prof. Kris Pillay completed his BA (Hons) and Master's degree in Criminology at the University of Durban-Westvile (UDW).

In 1984, he started his academic career as a tutor in the Department of Criminology at University of Durban-Westville now University of Kwa-Zulu/Natal. In 1985, he took up a lecturing position at the University of Transkei and subsequently promoted to senior lecturer and acting head of the Department of Criminology. In 1995, he joined the former Technikon SA as a senior lecturer in Community Policing and in 1999 he was seconded to the position of acting Executive Director of the Security Management Programme.

After the merger with TSA, UNISA and VUDEC, he was appointed as the Head of the Department of Security Risk Management. In May 2006 he was recognized for his contribution towards scholarship, research and teaching in the field of criminology and criminal justice and was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor.

In March 2007, Professor Pillay was appointed as Acting Director – School of Criminal Justice – College of Law and in July 2007 he was appointed as the Director of the School. The School of Criminal Justice consists of four academic departments, namely, Police Practice, Criminology and the Programme Security Science and Penology and it offers academic programmes ranging from short learning programmes to diplomas and degrees up to PhD level. The current enrolment of students is in the region of 13 200.

Prof Pillay is a member of numerous UNISA structures and committees, namely: Council, Executive Committee of Senate, College Executive Management Committee, etc. He is also a past Chairperson of the South African Institute of Security (SAIS) and at the Annual General Meeting held in August 2009, he was re-appointed as a member of the Board of Governors of SAIS. He was made a Fellow of the Institute in 2005.

He is currently the African Vice President of the International Institute for Security and Safety Management [IISSM], a member of their Board of Governors and a Fellow of the International Institute. In 2002, he was presented with two prestigious awards at the 12th International Seminar of the IISSM, namely the International Security Practitioner of the Year and a Special Recognition Award for the most Valuable Contribution and Support to the promotion of professionalism with the security industry.

In 2003 he was nominated as Security Practitioner of the Year for the Johannesburg region by the Security Association of South Africa. He is the immediate past President of the Criminological Society of Southern Africa (CRIMSA) since 1993. He serves on the Council of CRIMSA and is a member of the Editorial Board of Acta Criminologica – The Southern African Journal of Criminology.

In May 2009, Professor Pillay was awarded a Fellowship of the United Kingdom Security Institute and he is the first South African to be bestowed with such an honour.

He has presented a number of academic papers at various international conferences and published widely on criminal justice and security related issues in scientific journals.

Training update

I have recently been asked by a number of people what the difference is between SASSETA training mandatory grants and discretionary grants.

A Mandatory Grant is payable to skills levy paying companies on submission by 30 June of each year of a Workplace Place Skills Plan and Annual Training Report.
The relevant Seta will pay 50% of the total levies back to the employer. Payments are made quarterly. The relevant Seta for the security industry being SASSETA.

The purpose of the Discretionary Grants are to encourage employers to contribute towards the objectives of the Human Resources Development Strategy and the National Skills Development Strategy. These Grants are funded by the relevant Seta and are allocated to compliant employers. One of the criteria to qualify for a Discretionary Grant is to have submitted a Workplace Skills Plan and an Annual Training Report.

This brings me then to the Workplace Skills Plan and the Annual Training Report.

A Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) is a plan that outlines envisaged training for the year and is submitted to the relevant Seta on the 30th of June of each year.

An Annual Training Report (ATR) is a report of the actual training completed and also submitted on the 30th of June of each year.

[posted by Terry Scallan, 23 October 2009]

Essential guide for everyone involved in the close protection industry
Written by Gavriel Schneider, a serving member of the SAIS Board of Governors – and endorsed by a wide range of industry experts – Beyond the Bodyguard is a well-researched book aimed at helping you to be among the best in the demanding world of the truly professional bodyguard, by giving you the tools to develop and measure yourself.

Essential reading for anyone who:

• is involved, or wants to be, in the close protection industry;
• operates within the security industry worldwide, including: police, military and related agencies; anti-terror and counter-terrorist units; private security organizations and companies;
• is a high level corporate or makes use of Close Protection or special security services;
• is involved in specialist security training;
• is involved with an academic institution that has security education departments;
• is a security regulator or standards body.

Copies of the book may be ordered online from Universal Publishers, amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.

Annual Subscriptions
We thank those members who have paid their 2009/10 annual subscription. We request those who have not yet paid to do so as a matter of urgency as our cash resources are experiencing strain.

Currently, there is almost R50 000 at 90 days plus overdue which represents 82% of subscriptions invoiced on 1st July 2009. You will notice that your certificate has an expiry date of 30th June and you will only receive your new certificate when you had paid your subs – and will only then start to receive your complimentary copy of Security Focus magazine. [posted by Peter Jephson, Treasurer]

Stock items
We still have cufflinks and crystals in stock. The crystals have proved very popular and we can arrange to have them engraved at low cost should you wish.

Prices are R75 for the cufflinks and R125 for the crystals ... engraving is extra at around the R20 mark. Ties are issued to all new members once their fees are paid, and for those older members who do not have the new tie, these are available at R95 while current stocks last. When the new order is placed, there will be an increase in the cost of the tie, but we will keep you posted.

For those who attend the lunch seminars, you know how important it is to have a new tie – otherwise our 'Traffic Officer' will fine you.

All stock items can be ordered directly from Rosemary at the Administration office.

IFSEC South Africa
Because of the World Cup Soccer, the 2010 IFSEC SA will take place later this year - from 31st August to 2nd September.

Lunch Seminars
These are proving so successful that we are fully booked now two months in advance; it does appear that the speaker is not the draw-card but it is the networking that goes on with your peers.

However we will continue to source speakers that are both informative as well as entertaining and all governors have been tasked with this for the forthcoming year. Should anyone have ideas, then please let Rosemary at our offices know and she will pursue them with alacrity.

International News

Bill Wyllie the immediate past president attended our AGM and gave a talk on the British Institute’s History and their Vision. On the Saturday, my wife and I had the pleasure of taking Bill and his wife Annette to the Krugersdorp Lion Park. Here is an extract of the letter I received from Bill, together with pictures of our day out at the Lion Park:

Dear Errol
From both Annette and from me, a million thanks for all of your kindness and help during our stay in South Africa last week - and very much the same to Kay, as well. You put yourself out tremendously to look after us, and your wonderful hospitality was greatly appreciated. We have arrived safely home, to cold and torrential rain, but never mind - we have some very warm memories of our trip, and happy stories to tell.

INDIA: International Institute of Security and Safety Management (IISSM): In line with the reciprocal membership all six of the IISSM members in India were awarded Members of SAIS and Terry Scallan and Errol Peace were awarded Associate Membership with the IISSM.

AUSTRALIA: Mike Murtagh who has been based in Australia for many years has decided to return to his native land, New Zealand. Mike will be relocating to Auckland at the end of November. This will give SAIS a footprint in All Black Country!

Education & development

Continued Professional & Development (Cpd) Programme: This has slowed down considerably and needs to be revitalised as part of the Education and Development programme of the Institute.

Reciprocal Membership With The UK Security Institute: This project is going well. Three of our members have received UK membership and two of their members have received membership of the South African Institute of Security. Congratulations to Prof Kris Pillay who was awarded a Fellowship from the UK Institute. The criteria for membership is based on security experience and qualifications.

Recognition As A Professional Body: Once the new Skills Act is finalised, the Institute will make formal application to the South African Qualifications Authority to be recognised as a Security Professional Training Body.

Conferences: Our chairman addressed the Retail Risk conference in Cape Town in May on the key risk scenarios for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Governor, Buddy Anderson spoke on End Processes Reduce Shrinkage and Trudie van der Merwe on Pre-Employment Screening.

SIA, PRSIRA, SASSETA, SASA and SAQA

Good working relationships exist with all these bodies and cooperation is excellent. SIA recognises the Institute as its professional training body and we sit on the SIA Board and Council. This in itself keeps the Institute up to date with all security industry related matters that included the recent wage negotiations. this information is in turn communicated to you, our members.

At the initiative of the Institute, a SIA/SASSETA training workshop was held to address problems that the industry was experiencing with SASSETA. This was a unique first of its kind workshop and was most successful. Concerns will now be tabled for response by SASSETA and communicated to all our members.

PSIRA intends to legislate the new Skills Programmes that will replace the Grades. This is planned before year end.

Membership

This is still on the increase and since our last newsletter in June 09 we have acquired another 29 members with several still in the pipeline. The majority of these are UNISA students and graduates, so our history with UNISA is of great significance in growing the membership of SAIS.

We welcome the following new members to our ranks:

We have also upgraded our Guyanan Member, Mr Clairmont Featherstone to M.I.S. ... welcomed back one of our old members now based in Australia, Mr Bruce Braes ... and at the October meeting, it was unanimously agreed that the Chairman, Terry Scallan be upgraded to Fellowship status.

Commissioner Ben Groenewald of the SAPS was awarded Honorary Membership. He has been a staunch supporter over the past few years and will be retiring shortly.

We have also reached a reciprocal agreement with the International Institute of Security and Safety Management (IISSM) and are delighted to welcome the following who were all appointed as Members (M.I.S.) SA.

• D C Nath
• Prem Sagar
• R.K. Sinha
• Rituraj Sinha
• R Swaminathan
• S B Tyagi

They will be presented with their certificates by Professor Pillay at the forthcoming IISSM Conference to be held in December.

The following members of SAIS were accepted as Associate Members of IISSM:

• Johan du Plooy
• Errol Peace
• John Piek
• Terry Scallan
• Gavriel Schneider
• Mike Verster

Further to our reciprocal agreement with the UK Security Institute which we spoke about in our last newsletter, a further four UK Security Institute members have all been awarded Membership status.

• Craig Goodwin
• Paul McDonnell
• Emma Shaw
• Joe Winson

Read all about it! Read all about it!

Security Focus: As you will know from past correspondence, we have negotiated with Security Focus magazine, and every 'paid-up' member of the Institute will receive a copy of this magazine each month.

However, to assist in curtailing our costs (and save trees), we are asking you to let us know firstly, if you would prefer to receive an electronic copy, rather than a printed version and secondly if you receive Focus already and don’t require a second copy. This should go a long way to helping us balance our budget.

Terry Scallan continues his monthly column and readers will notice how often his photograph is in there! He will be charging for his autograph soon!!

Hi-Tech Security recently organised the iLegal Conference held at the Airport Sun, and we were lucky to be offered space to exhibit there. This conference proved a huge success with over 200 delegates and the Institute’s stand drew a lot of attention, and we are already reaping the benefits with membership applications coming through.

Advertise on our site

Our website attracted double the number of visitors this year - and could be a very good marketing tool for your company. A small banner of the site is only R250 per month or R600 for three months. All advertisements must be cleared by the Board of Governors prior to being accepted. For more information, please contact Rosemary at the admin office.

Also, if you have anything specific you would like added to the website, please contact Rosemary.