COMMUNITY NEWS
THE ‘NEW NORMAL’ FOR SECURITY POST COVID-19
Jun 9, 2020 4:07 PM
Yannick De Smet, Strategic Solutions Manager, for G4S in Belgium looks at how the security industry might change following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic
Yannick
De Smet, Strategic Solutions Manager, for G4S in Belgium looks at how the
security
industry might change following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic...
Businesses
around the world are planning for tomorrow, and considering what the ‘new
normal’
will be. The central question for security professionals is ‘How will our
industry
change
in a post Covid-19 world?’
To begin
answering such a big question we first need to look at how society has adapted
and
changed during the Covid-19 pandemic and which of those changes will continue
to be
perceived
as normal, even when Covid-19 is no longer a clear and present danger.
In other
words, what are the habits, impacts and trends of the Covid-19 crisis, and can
we
identify
which of these are likely to remain in the future? These new normals will be
the
foundation
upon which future security will be built.
As part
of the G4S Academy, we have created a guide that looks in detail at these new
habits,
impacts and trends, and predicts how they will influence the security solutions
that
become
the ‘new normal’.
The most
significant changes as a result of Covid-19 can be categorised into three
groups;
societal
habits, economic impacts and security trends.
SOCIETAL HABITS
We have
seen, and will continue to see, a huge change in our societal habits, for
example
an
increased focus on health protection and social awareness, plus a dramatic
reduction in
travel,
and we expect this to continue to some degree in the post Covid-19 world.
There
will be continued attention on infection prevention and control. We expect to
see
more
fever detection and screening systems, and a faster deployment and wider
acceptance
of personal protective measures, both with physical distancing and the use of
PPE.
Remote
working, remote shopping, remote sporting, remote entertainment, everything has
turned
remote and the most surprising fact, for many, is that it is working. People
adapted to
the
obligation of keeping a safe distance and have adopted the remote technology
that was
already
present in their lives. For example, remote monitoring by virtual security
checks as
an
alternative to physical officers’ rounds has been in high demand and this will
probably
remain
so.
ECONOMIC IMPACTS
Covid-19
has had financial implications for many, and the OECD has reported a sharp
contraction
in household spending. Most leisure and culture sectors were at a stand still
for
many
weeks. With less or no revenue coming in and production halted, companies have
started
cutting costs. Security activities are being rationalised and it will be more
important
than
ever to provide solutions that are lean and efficient.
This
will require security professionals to be more agile, meaning they will need to
have the
ability
to put new operating models in place (internal or external), supported by the
right
processes
and governance. It is important for customers to know the quality of what they
are
purchasing when it comes to security, not just the cost. Solutions that are
agile are not
always
the cheapest, but will be able to flex and adapt to challenges quickly and
without
compromising
the assets they seek to protect.
Other
significant economic impacts of the pandemic will be seen from increased
unemployment,
and the potential resulting increase in crime. The International Labour
Organisation
estimated that in the second quarter of 2020, worldwide working hours have
declined
by 6.7%, which is equivalent to 195 million full-time workers losing their jobs
globally.
This increased unemployment is all the more alarming when considered alongside
scientific
research conducted in the UK and Italy, which found that in those countries up
to
80,000
additional monetary crimes were committed each year for every percentage point
that the
unemployment rate increases.
Another
economic factor to consider is the movement of goods and services across
borders.
As the virus spread, borders closed and countries went into lockdown, and
sourcing
products locally sometimes became the only solution. The repercussions of this
trend
could be seen when companies are forced to depend on local products as supply
from
beyond
country borders may be limited. If supply streams come under pressure, the
importance
of securing them will increase.
SECURITY TRENDS
Since
the start of the pandemic, global messaging has consistently purported the
benefits of
staying
home, avoiding crowded places and, particularly, the need to minimise physical
contact.
This has unsurprisingly led to a rise in interest for technology by which
processes
or
procedures are performed with minimal human contact, especially “contactless
technology”.
We can
expect a lasting impact in security trends in this area, for example automated
customer
counting and flow control (to comply with social distancing rules in shops),
facial
recognition,
integrated fever screening and detection, remote monitoring systems, robotics
and
drones etc.
However,
automation must be carefully managed. We always stress to our customers that
automation
does not mean the replacement of people. Far from it. For an automated system
to be
effective, it becomes even more important to have reliable and accurate human
input
in order
to respond if something goes wrong. People are less involved, but their
involvement
becomes
more critical.
Perhaps
one of the most notable consequences of the Covid-19 crisis is that it has
given
the
digital transformation an immense boost. At the root of this boost is the
remote
everything
habit that it has been necessary to adopt. We believe that digitisation will
continue,
including in security, where Risk Operations Centres (ROCs) will play a central
role.
They will be the hub where the digitised information is centralised and where
smart
operators
(people supported by artificial intelligence) will act upon the information
received
as
agreed with the customer.
WHAT NEXT?
New
threats may emerge following the pandemic, making it more important than ever
that
threat
and risk analysis is a part of every company’s continuous improvement plan.
Gathering
intelligence, and processing it, will become an essential activity of every
security
professional.
Similarly, companies will have to consider their security needs and with more
people
working remotely, the need to protect ‘just’ an office building is extended to
employees’
homes.
No one
has a crystal ball to look into the future, but by analysing the current
impact, trends
and
habits formed during the pandemic, we can glimpse what the new normal for
security
might
be.
To find
out more about how these ‘new normals’ will impact your security needs, please
download
the full report (click the link below) which was developed as a result of a
global
collaboration
by G4S Academy specialists.
https://www.g4s.com/what-we-do/security-in-the-new-normal