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FEATURE | ||||
Back to Facility ManagerContents |
You are the facility manager of an arena, a convention center, or a conference center that is either freestanding or part of a hotel, casino or other mixed-use complex. You know your facility better than anyone else and…you are faced with upcoming appearances by a rock band, a politician, a preacher, a national convention of security industry analysts, a corporation’s annual shareholders meeting and a variety of spectator events. You have your hands full and then comes that inevitable tapping at your door as the security chief or advance team for the act or the event informs you of what they expect to be secure in your house. In the old days the response might just have been a tad adversarial, or at the very least, strained. What might once have been an unwanted intrusion has taken on a new perspective since the morning when the date coincided with the nation’s emergency phone number: 911. Getting the security “411” in the aftermath of 9/11 is a whole new ballgame (so, yes, stadium managers we’re talking to you too). Today, that “411” is what Amsec considers proper risk mitigation.
As the ones often cast in the role as security chief or advance team for the act or event, we know that security risk management issues cannot be a competition between our client and the venue. Rather, it must be a cooperative effort that establishes the appropriate level of risk mitigation and ensures that old theatrical promise “the show must go on” is fulfilled. Quite simply, our client has to perform a service and the venue has to perform a service. Proper security risk mitigation supports this symbiotic relationship while keeping focus on those risks that can significantly jeopardize both client and venue. Unpreparedness for such risk invites security breeches, tragedies and potential financial disasters. It is true that security/risk mitigation expertise is being called on with far greater frequency in the post 9/11 environment. Still, the basic approach to the risk issues has not changed. Our focus continues to be to provide client security risk management and oversight without unreasonable intrusion, or unnecessarily interfering with the viability and visibility of the event. This requires an ability to mold security risk management around all the other business elements. While the primary goal is to work with client and venue to ensure a safe and profitable event (often working around identified risks or threats), there have been rare occasions where our best judgment has compelled us to advise a client not to stage their show or event in a particular locale because the risks outweigh the gains. Generally, such advice is motivated by activities or clear indicators of political and social unrest in volatile areas of the world. Those few situations notwithstanding, proper risk mitigation in the world of event management requires “connecting the dots” of client, venue, the venue’s vendors, the audience or general public, and the law enforcement/safety communities. Only then is the appropriate risk mitigation able to support the business expectations. Approaching this “risk mitigation mission” requires three basic processes, none of which can stand alone: understanding the threat to the client or venue; using highly skilled and experienced staff and industry best practices to develop plans to mitigate the threat; and maintaining in-depth liaison between client, venue management, venue vendors and the law enforcement community. So…what exactly is risk management and what risks are we trying to protect against? Clearly, traditional risks associated with injury, violence, vandalism, loss of life and property destruction are always on the list. Add to those the risk against business interruptions including the loss incurred due to a concert, speech, meeting, or other event not going on; public embarrassment or adverse publicity as well as the protection of the client’s public image and reputation; losses due to litigation, protests and intentional disruptions of events for social or political motives; and of course, terrorism or political disruptions. In general terms, proper risk mitigation safeguards people, brick and mortar as well as those events that can cause a negative financial impact on a client’s bottom line. Essential to the success of our risk mitigation mission is ensuring that the resources are on-hand to deal with virtually any reasonable risk at the event. If the venue does not have, or cannot provide adequate security, we will look elsewhere, perhaps to local law enforcement or even other security vendors for help. The greatest nightmare for all concerned is to be unprepared for the unexpected. The greatest liability risk should something go wrong is to be unresponsive to a need for more security, or not provide the appropriate response to a crisis. Providing appropriate security risk mitigation begins with the threat assessment. In plain terms, the threat assessment is the analysis of potential risks and possible problems that can adversely impact our client at a given place, time, or under certain circumstances. Point in fact, the threat assessment is not a phase that can be addressed, marked off some preparatory checklist and neatly put away. The threat assessment is the foundation and guiding intelligence that risk mitigation plans and strategies are based on. Threat assessment is an ongoing, unending process that, to borrow a phrase from Thomas Jefferson, requires “eternal vigilance.” Nowhere in recent memory was that need for vigilance more apparent and the lapse more tragic than in July when a man was permitted to sidestep the security checkpoint at New York’s City Hall because he was the guest of an elected official. A short time later, that man--so courteously treated--shot and killed the very elected official who had helped him avoid the security metal detectors. The gunman was himself shot and killed by an alert New York City policeman on the City Hall security detail. Presumably the metal detector would have alerted City Hall security to the presence of the gun, preventing two deaths. On the day after the shooting it was announced that no one, including the mayor and city council members, would be exempt from passing through the metal detectors. In evaluating risk in the post- 9/11 world, it is easy to focus our collective attention and angst on possible terrorist attacks. However, most occurrences do not involve malevolent plans and malicious perpetrators of that nature. The real role of risk mitigation managers is to address the more routine and realistic risks to our clients such as disgruntled audiences/public; protestor disruptions; random acts of violence; fire or safety threats; and to prepare for the possibility of natural disasters such as extreme weather conditions like blizzards and hurricanes. Other disruptions add to the risk management mix such as power blackouts, fires, flooding, and, as happened after the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship a few years ago, out-of-control fans that overturned police cars and set fires outside STAPLES Center. Plan, Plan, Plan When it comes to security risk mitigation, the reality is there is no single outline—no one-size-fits-all solution for every facility, every act or every circumstance. Due diligence changes from venue to venue. As such, it is always approached on an individual basis. For example, a “high net worth individual” such as a corporate CEO or chairman likely faces far different issues and threats than say a rock ‘n’ roll band on tour, regardless of how heavy the metal is. While threat assessment factors remain fluid and in a constant state of change, what does not change from venue to venue is the essential approach to determining the threat assessment and acting on the risk for that location. Those determinations take time…and timing is critical to the “Five P’s” (“proper planning prevents poor performance”). Certainly, the more lead time we have prior to an appearance or event, the more thoroughly we can plan and coordinate efforts and strategies with venue safety/security, vendors, management, and local law enforcement. Ideally we look for at least a month lead-time to prepare and coordinate with all venue management elements, as well as local, state and even federal law enforcement, particularly when we are new to a venue. Since ideal conditions rarely exist in the real world, that one-month lead-time is often whittled down to mere splinters of time. If our client has performed or conducted business at that venue in the past, we can and do look to that history as a possible indicator or harbinger of things to come. Even with that past history as a guide, the question, “What has changed since they were last here?” must be asked and the answers evaluated. (By the way, the answer to the “What has changed?” question is never, ever, nothing.) It is in everyone’s interests to ensure the event succeeds; that the audience/public gets what they came for at the event; that the client has a successful business conclusion; and, of course, that it all goes safely and securely. Working together to determine the possible issues or risks, planning and deciding on lines of communication; establishing the responsibility for response (venue, private security, or law enforcement); emergency and non-emergency actions; and working closely to facilitate even the most routine concerns such as traffic flow, parking, vendor access, and creature-comforts are all parts of that joint strategy. In some instances, it is the facility manager’s intimate knowledge and familiarity with his charge that creates a security blind spot. In these situations our security management approach offers a new set of eyes to survey the scene and make suggestions as needed. Business as usual is a relic of the pre-9/11 past. Today, a “fresh perspective” is needed to evaluate the risks and bring client and venue together for a more responsible application of risk management. Venue risk managers and security professionals often ask what the foundation is for a solid risk mitigation program. Resoundingly, that answer is pre-employment screening. Effective security risk programs begin with having the right workforce. Employment screening helps determine who the right workers are. Whether in large facilities or small, quality employment screening is essential to risk mitigation. Of course, having just venue employees screened is not enough. Experience has shown that for every venue employee properly screened with a background investigation, there are many, many more vendors—on cleaning crews and catering staffs, selling souvenirs and refreshments, and even contract security—that go unscreened, and thus provide an increased risk. It is simple common sense to demand that vendors undergo the same level of scrutiny as venue employees. In truth, we can position ourselves to try and prevent all that is foreseeable and a hefty chunk of the unforeseeable. The key to our approach is to analyze the risk, plan for the risk, and be prepared to react appropriately to risk. While no one can ever plan and stop every eventuality, being ready to properly respond helps mitigate those events that do slip through. A free society must recognize the balance between security, business goals and freedoms and know when to apply (or shift) the weight to bring about the best balance of all three. Bringing about that balance is the key to success. T.J. O’Connor is executive vice president of operations of AMSEC International, a Virginia-based international risk mitigation firm specializing in security risk consulting and investigations. Prior to joining AMSEC he served as a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI). Mr. O’Connor also handled assignments domestically and in Turkey, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. AMSEC can be reached at 1-800-447-5070 or www.amsecsolutions.com |
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©
2003
International Association of Assembly Managers |
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