RiskUKAugust2017

Meet The Security Company: Cobra Security
In association with the
NSI Guarding Gold-approved and accredited to
ISO 9001:2008, BS 7984:2008, BS 7825:2012,
BS 7499:2013 and BS 7958:2015.
The fact that we’ve been awarded these
accreditations shows clients that the business
is professional, audited and regulated. In short,
they’re in safe hands when they work with us.
Risk UK: Specifically, what value does ACS
registration and NSI Guarding Gold approval
bring to your business and its clients?
Stephen McComb: ACS registration and NSI
Guarding Gold approval demonstrate to clients
the level of service and quality they will receive
from a highly accredited company. They show
that we adhere to the most stringent auditing
processes available in the industry.
In terms of our business, this helps us to
continually raise our standards, embrace new
methods of working, develop efficiencies in
order to advance our company and improve on
what it is that we already do.
Risk UK: In practice, what are the main
differences between ACS registration and NSI
Guarding Gold approval?
Stephen McComb: ACS registration and NSI
Guarding Gold approval are voluntary schemes
in the security business sector. Security
companies don’t have to have these
accreditations to operate in the industry. Cobra
Security chose to be audited at the highest
level as we know that not only does this afford
our customers added peace of mind, but it also
helps us to achieve more as a business.
NSI Guarding Gold is a more rigorous
auditing scheme than that imposed by the ACS.
The ACS audits to ensure that a company
understands what it should be doing, while the
NSI audits to make certain that a business is
actually doing what it should be doing.
Risk UK: How do you think technology has
changed the industry over the last couple of
years and what do you feel will be the
direction of travel in the future?
Stephen McComb: Technology is moving at a
very fast pace and, at Cobra Security, we
absolutely believe in embracing it.
We’ve found that the business community in
particular also embraces advancements in
technology and fully realises the benefits of
using it in terms of their budgetary spend. This
trend is speeding up, and specifically so in
relation to the apparent decline in the demand
for manned security personnel.
Risk UK: When it comes to negotiating
contracts and responding to tender requests,
what aspects are of most value to customers
and how are these changing?
Stephen McComb: Value for money and cost
savings are two of the most important elements
here. Clients are constantly looking for ways in
which to save money. Introducing technology
and value-added services to contracts is the
way forward, while at the same always ensuring
that a given contract is tailored to the client’s
specific and stated needs.
Risk UK: How has Government legislation (eg
the National Minimum Wage, the National
Living Wage and holiday pay) affected your
business? Do you believe such legislation is
a good thing?
Stephen McComb: The legislation you’ve
mentioned is attempting to improve the living
standards of workers in low or minimum wage
jobs. I can completely understand the
sentiment behind what the Government is
attempting to do here, but in the security
industry it’s simply not working.
In practice, clients now offset these increases
with a change in service requirements such as
replacing physical security guarding with a
technology-based solution or otherwise
reducing man hours. This is a massive factor
facing the security industry as the increases are
set to continue until 2020.
As time goes on, I strongly believe this will
show a direct correlation with a reduction of
people employed in the security industry.
Risk UK: What are the most important
attributes you look for in your security
officers and staff members in general?
Stephen McComb: Cobra Security ensures its
employees understand the importance of
customer service and customer care. Without
doubt, the key attributes we look for in
employees are honesty, integrity, a hardworking
attitude, excellent presentation and smartness,
the ability to think quickly, conscientiousness
and the overriding desire to be a team player.
Risk UK: How can the SIA, the NSI and
industry standards best serve the sector in
addition to the needs of your company’s
clients and the wider public interest? Will
the introduction of business licensing be a
positive step?
Stephen McComb: I don’t believe there’s
enough of an understanding of who or what the
NSI and the SIA are, and specifically so in
Northern Ireland. Raising awareness is key.
Mandatory business licensing would be a
good thing because, as stated, the ACS and NSI
Guarding Gold are voluntary schemes.
Name
Stephen McComb
Job title
Company Director
Time in the security sector
I’ve worked in the security
industry since 1985 for
companies including Federal
Security Services, Resource
and Mitie. I joined Cobra
Security in July 2015. I’ve
served at every level in
security, including the roles
of security officer, CCTV
operator, operations coordinator,
operations
manager, regional manager
and general manager
Location of the business
Lisburn, Northern Ireland
Areas of expertise
Cobra provides services in the
commercial, industrial and
events sectors, with those
services including door
supervision, corporate
concierge, CCTV installation
and monitoring, security
guard dog and guard dog
handling provision, key
holding and alarm response
Accreditations
SIA ACS, NSI Guarding Gold
Scheme, ISO 9001:2008, BS
7984:2008, BS 7825:2012, BS
7499:2013 and BS 7958:2015
Stephen McComb:
Director of Cobra Security
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