ACS Assessor Guide - Security Industry Authority

ACS Assessor GuideSection 4 – Criterion Specific Guidelines: Criteria 77.1 An SIA Approved Contractor can demonstrate that the leaders have the knowledge and ability to lead from the front.7.1.1 Leaders can demonstrate, relevant to sector, knowledge of the legislative framework, working practices and industry standards/codes of practice.Please refer to the Glossary in section 5, for a definition of: LeaderClarification:It would be expected that, through appropriate questioning, the assessor should establishthat the leaders of the applicant organisation have an outline knowledge, at a minimum, of thelegislative framework, common law, working practice and industry standards/codes ofpractice.It is acceptable for applicant organisations to outsource the procurement of this informationto specialist organisations. This is ‘delegation’ not ‘abdication’ and the leaders have a duty toensure they understand and apply the requirements where necessary.Ref: BS7858; BS7958Test: Where there is a hierarchical management structure a representative sample of leaders atall levels should be interviewed. Familiarity with SIA developments and PSIA requirements should be tested. Does the company attend ACS forums?Good practice:Leaders use various sources of information such as Business Link, BIS, ILM, and BSI updatesetc to keep abreast of current and future developments in their sectors.The senior leaders of the organisation have a recognised qualification in arelevant discipline, for example: Degree/foundation degree in Security Management, Crowd Management,Terrorism, Risk Management, Policing Certificate or Diploma in Security Management Finance or HR qualification MBA or Business Management qualification NVQ/BTEC in discipline relevant to business e.g. customer service, security Qualifications achieved during service with Armed Forces and/or policeLinkages with other Indicators:Leadership links to all other criteria within the ACS Standard. Without the direction of theleaders an organisation would not have policies and procedures in place to achieve therequirements of the ACS Standard.171The contents of this publication are copyright ©2013 Security Industry Authority, all rights reserved. No part of the contents may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner.