PSIJune2018

together raising standards
Meet the installer
Do you use a distributor or buy direct?
We maintain longstanding partnerships with a
number of key distributors and also trade directly
with key manufactures to ensure we have a robust
and stress tested supply chain in place to meet
the requirements of our customers.
Is third party accreditation beneficial to
your company?
Absolutely! Third party accreditations such as NSI
Gold and BAFE have proven to be invaluable for
us. Externally these certifications provide us with
a badge to demonstrate to our customers that we
have the proven ability to deliver what we say we
can. Internally, they provide a benchmark to
measure ourselves against and exceed.
One of the key initiatives the business has
delivered over the past 2 years is our Culture of
Compliance strategy. All Team Members,
including all our nationwide engineers, have been
provided training and are fully aware of their
responsibilities as an individual and our
responsibilities as a business in the delivery of
our services. The initiative has ensured that all
Team Members understand that we work in
security and fire LIFE safety. What we do is
important and our actions, or failure, can have
serious consequences. Our continued third party
accreditation is an excellent barometer of the
success of this initiative.
What would be a typical project for you?
This is a very difficult question to answer.
Operating nationally, across all industries, we
provide a complete range of security and active
fire protection solutions. While we provide an
integrated CCTV, access control and monitored
intruder alarm system to a leading
pharmaceutical company’s distribution centre we
are also supporting a Housing Association with
the retro fit of domestic sprinkler systems to their
high rise accommodation. While we maintain and
proactively monitor the security and fire systems
of the UK’s largest retailer we also protect and
monitor Mr and Mrs Smith’s semi-detached house
in Preston and service the fire extinguishers at the
independent accountancy practice across the
road.All our customers are important to us and we
recognise that every project is unique.
What would make your job easier?
A few more hours in the day would be nice but I
have a great team around me who absorb much of
the day to day pressure which allows me time to
consider customer development and innovation.
Is there is a security skills shortage?
With the demand for talented and qualified
security and fire engineers increasing year on
year we all need to plan for our future to ensure
that we have the resources in place to fulfil
demand for years to come. What we do is required
and the need isn’t going to go away. To proactively
address this we have invested heavily in our
Improver Engineer programme and are currently
researching various Apprenticeship Schemes and
Ex-Military Service Schemes.
What is the industry’s biggest myth?
That installing an unmonitored intruder alarm
system is sufficient to fully protect your property
from crime. While in many cases, the sight of a
professionally installed, active bell box will be
enough to deter criminal activity what about when
it doesn’t? The value of an alarm system is
measured only by what occurs in the event of
activation. If your neighbour or a member of the
public were to hear the intruder alarm sound at
your home do you know how they would react?
That they would call you or the police?
A monitored alarm system ensures a fast and
appropriate response, significantly reducing the
risk of burglary, intrusion and endangerment.
Operating 24/7, our in-house Alarm & Video
Receive Centre continually monitors thousands of
premises and reacts in the event of activation
contacting the Emergency Services or nominated
keyholders, actively protecting our customer’s
properties. In many circumstances we can quickly
identify false alarms or genuine intrusion from
visual verification through installed CCTV
systems. This is why we always recommend that
an alarm monitoring service be taken out with any
new alarm installation or takeover.
Will England ever win the football World
Cup again?
At risk of being a doomsayer, no, I’m afraid not.
Like it or not, England actually perform better
than we should in these competitions based on
the size of our country, budget and population.
Unfortunately, as other countries develop further
we will only drop further down the performance
stats.For once, I hope I’m proved wrong.
What would you do if you won £25,000?
Personally I would invest in shares of Marlowe
plc and I would give a big donation to our team of
20 who are walking up Mount Snowdon on the
16th of June in aid of Charity Partner, Cancer
Research UK.
Security life with Rob Flinn of
Marlowe Fire & Security Group
Name: Rob Flinn
Job title: Chief Executive
Time in security/fire: 20
years
Company: Marlowe Fire &
Security Group
Location: Regional centres in
Bodmin, Chessington, Derby,
Maidstone, Manchester,
Newcastle, Norwich and
Watford
Areas of expertise: A total,
end to end, fire and security
solution
Accreditations: NSI NACOSS
Gold, NSI Fire Gold, NSI ARC
Gold, NSI EMS Gold NSI H&S
Gold, BAFE SP101, BAFE
SP205, BAFE SP203 – Part 1,
NICEIC, Achilles UVDB,
Constructionline, CHAS,
SafeContractor, Altius,
Eurosafe, Avetta, BSIA, FIA
“We always
recommend that an
alarm monitoring
service be taken out
with any new alarm
installation or
takeover”
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