Blog 16.07.18

Quality and compliance: Interview with Pancham Singh, Quality Manager at Vigilance

Following our Quality and compliance theme this month, we once again sat down with Pancham Singh, our Quality Manager at Vigilance to talk about the importance of our annual audit and how we try to continuously improve in order to keep our standards high. 

Tell us a bit more about your role within Vigilance in relation to the audit process        

As security professionals, compliance is integral to our operation. My role as a Quality Manage is to ensure that Vigilance’s policies and accreditations reflect the highest standards and latest innovations. The security industry is highly regulated and Vigilance not only wants to be compliant but also wants to reflect best emerging working practices.          

Why is the audit process important for Vigilance and how do you ensure standards are kept high? 

For Vigilance the annual UKAS audit is key. It is critical that the audit is performed by a UKAS accredited compliance organisation to make sure the auditing is credible and subsequently adding a level of recognition. During the audit by a third party auditor, in our case Alcumus, all aspects of the business is scrutinised. This ranges from systems, finances, our quality service delivery and staff welfare to our wider engagement as a business with the world of security and the broader community. 

We are audited annually as laws, requirements, guidelines, and regulations are prone to change. As these rules change, companies need to adapt their compliances to match or risk losing accreditations and their ability to do business. Vigilance holds  several different accreditations, the foremost of which being ISO 9001:2015 and Approved Contractor Accreditation (ACS) of the SIA (Security Industry Authority). The ISO 9001:2015 is a constant stress test of the company’s quality management system and ensures continual improvement. It is an internationally recognised benchmark of business excellence. The SIA regulates the private security industry and ensures that private security operatives are adequately trained and qualified to do their job. At Vigilance 100% of our operatives are individually licensed to Door Supervisor Level or a Superior License Category. Vigilance is also accredited to the Safe Contractor standard. Operating safely and within the framework provided by current health and safety legislation is a prerequisite of good business. Our company’s membership of the Safe Contractor Scheme proves our ongoing commitment to securing the welfare of our clients, our workforce, and members of the public. Each of our contracts is individually assessed, and we retain the services of highly qualified experts to audit and maintain compliant operations.

It’s really important to us that we keep evaluating which new partners we can work with, new accreditations we can look to gain whilst also working with our staff to ensure we keep bettering ourselves. Our team rigorously applies internal compliance and risk management processes to ensure customers remain protected from liability.

What improvements have been made since the last audit which have increased the score? 

We have recently introduced a few new polices in line with industry best practices to protect our interested parties. An example of this is the Vigilance Site Risk Assessment Tool which  identifies and analyses assignment risks and threats. 

The tool records and analyses security threats at sites and shows how different services affect the likelihood and impact of the threats occurring. This analysis is used to formulate a risk report which is given to clients either prior to, or during an instruction. This risk assessment details and highlights the security measures the company believes should be implemented on site. 

Vigilance was in particularly commended on our Speaking Up Policy, following our partnership with leading integrity consultants Addveritas. Through the exploration of internal practices, we have enabled a clear confidential way in which all staff can freely speak up. Vigilance has created a Whistle blowing policy, which is now referred to as the “Speaking Up” policy. It enables and encourages all individuals to raise concerns they may have about the conduct of others within the company, whether it be work colleagues or management.From an auditing perspective, this allows us to be fully transparent for both colleagues and clients. 

Lastly we were commended on helping to fund and build the Siddhartha School in Nepal. This highlights that the auditing process also highlights positives and improvement suggestions beyond purely compliance related activity. 

How do you reflect on the 2018 audit? What was the result? 

We passed our annual ISO 9001:2015 and ACS audit without any nonconformances and observations. Vigilance achieved a fantastic score of 166 out of 174 in its ACS audit which places it in the top 5% of all British accredited ACS firms by UKAS audit.

I would like to congratulate and thank Vigilance staff for all of their efforts and excellent team work in making this possible. 

Talk to us about your security needs and find out how we’ll keep you protected. Get in touch at solutions@vigilanceprotects.com.