Owners Must Become More Active In Key Safety Decisions
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Thavorn Srisukato
May 9, 2013, 12:35:03 PM5/9/13
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Thavorn Srisukato
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Article Title: Owners Must Become More Active In Key Safety Decisions
Author: Thavorn Srisukato
Word Count: 991
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=127166&ca=Real+Estate
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=127166
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=127166
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While it is alarming that the security of many buildings, http://www.realestate-direct.info/building-security.htm , in Thailand does not meet international standards, a bigger concern is that even top-notch systems are often not managed properly, says Thavorn Srisukato, the chief operating officer of a security service and real estate broker, Bangkok.
For building owners who want to protect their investment, failure to demand high security standards could be disastrous.
"The big mistake is that the owners of the buildings themselves don't get involved in decisions of security, fire and safety," he says. "They leave it to people who are not professionals in security to make decisions for them, and I find that to be one of the biggest problems.
"Or second, they leave security decisions, and I find this in most cases, to unqualified HR managers or, worse, financial managers. I find that in 98% of all properties I have visited for 10 years.
"This is a fatal error by building owners who wish to attract tenants today because they want to promote their buildings as safe and secure, particularly high-rises."
Fire prevention and control are vital for high-rises given the basic physical constraints on firefighting equipment _ most rigs can only reach 12 floors or so.
"If you have a fire that starts on one of the ground floors or near one of the ground floors, heat and smoke only travel up and the length of time to come down, say 40 floors, you probably won't survive and most people know that," says Mr Thavorn .
Despite this scary scenario, buildings with proper security equipment, http://www.realestate-direct.info/security-equipment.htm , and management should be safe. "If you have your systems installed and they are inspected and they work and you have a good reaction force, 99.9% of fires are going to be put out before they become anything major."
Mr Thavorn also notes most buildings today use materials that are not flammable so they take much more time to burn.
But the reality is that security decisions in most buildings, be they offices or condominiums, are usually made by management companies and they focus on saving costs for the owners.
"They have no people qualified that work just in the security field. They cover all aspects, from pest control, to toilet cleaning to building maintenance, air-conditioning systems to lift operations _ they don't have specific expertise of security in house."
Often a security firm is hired because it quotes the lowest price but the building owners do not do due diligence or background checks.
"One of the biggest problems here is that guards have to work a 12-hour shift, a very long shift. They're not given much respect. The manpower delivering security at the site seven days a week are usually ill-trained, not sufficient, underpaid."
He recommends that building owners get involved and bring in professional security advisers to review all security programmes, such as electronic systems, and the integration of these systems with the manpower, at least once a year. Among the vital systems are fire alarms, smoke detectors and sprinklers.
"You have to have back-up emergency power that works, you have to make sure that if all the water fails there's a holding tank with sufficient water to pump into the sprinkler. The batteries in the emergency light areas and stairwells have to work."
Importantly, one also has to ascertain that emergency stairways are not used for storage, and the emergency exit door bar needs to be alarmed so that the guard in the control room is alerted if it's opened.
Above all, these systems have to be monitored by well-trained people. "So the best security plans do not require a lot of human manpower. What's needed is smart, sharp, well-trained, well-rested manpower driving those systems."
The smart technologies now available are helping to improve security. Mr Thavorn cites the example of cameras that rotate and cover all parts of a room, or technology that alerts the control room if, for example, someone were to lift a laptop off a table. Prices of these systems have come down sharply while the quality of digital imaging, plus the ability to do remote and online monitoring, offer great potential.
I also advises that building owners and operators maintain a close relationship with the local police and emergency service providers such as hospitals.
"Hire them to come in once in every six months to do some fire training, security awareness training, maybe bomb recognition training for example. They would come in and be your friends _ buy them lunch," says Mr Thavorn.
Also before renting an apartment or buying a condominium, he urges people to inspect the fire procedures and ask the management what they do when there is a fire, how long it takes fire trucks to reach the building _ and whether this has ever been tested.
While security has become a growing concern in Bangkok in light of the New Year's Eve bombings, in Mr Thavorn 's opinion Bangkok is no easier a target than most major cities in the UK or the US.
However, he says he is particularly shocked by the poor quality of security at vulnerable tourist areas. He is also concerned about how well guarded the underground and skytrain stations are, as well as petrol pumps.
"The problem in Thailand is always enforcement, you have laws _ it's illegal for prostitution here _ you have many laws, you have laws about fire codes that have to be met but are they enforced?"
About The Author: Mr. Thavorn Srisukato has many years experience with leading consulting firms. He currently start up business consulting company, http://www.realestate-direct.info/ , which concentrate in area of property development, marketing management and investing.
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=127166
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
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Message delivered directly to members of the group:
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*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Thavorn Srisukato
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=127166
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=127166
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Owners Must Become More Active In Key Safety Decisions
Author: Thavorn Srisukato
Word Count: 991
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=127166&ca=Real+Estate
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=127166
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=127166
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
While it is alarming that the security of many buildings, http://www.realestate-direct.info/building-security.htm , in Thailand does not meet international standards, a bigger concern is that even top-notch systems are often not managed properly, says Thavorn Srisukato, the chief operating officer of a security service and real estate broker, Bangkok.
For building owners who want to protect their investment, failure to demand high security standards could be disastrous.
"The big mistake is that the owners of the buildings themselves don't get involved in decisions of security, fire and safety," he says. "They leave it to people who are not professionals in security to make decisions for them, and I find that to be one of the biggest problems.
"Or second, they leave security decisions, and I find this in most cases, to unqualified HR managers or, worse, financial managers. I find that in 98% of all properties I have visited for 10 years.
"This is a fatal error by building owners who wish to attract tenants today because they want to promote their buildings as safe and secure, particularly high-rises."
Fire prevention and control are vital for high-rises given the basic physical constraints on firefighting equipment _ most rigs can only reach 12 floors or so.
"If you have a fire that starts on one of the ground floors or near one of the ground floors, heat and smoke only travel up and the length of time to come down, say 40 floors, you probably won't survive and most people know that," says Mr Thavorn .
Despite this scary scenario, buildings with proper security equipment, http://www.realestate-direct.info/security-equipment.htm , and management should be safe. "If you have your systems installed and they are inspected and they work and you have a good reaction force, 99.9% of fires are going to be put out before they become anything major."
Mr Thavorn also notes most buildings today use materials that are not flammable so they take much more time to burn.
But the reality is that security decisions in most buildings, be they offices or condominiums, are usually made by management companies and they focus on saving costs for the owners.
"They have no people qualified that work just in the security field. They cover all aspects, from pest control, to toilet cleaning to building maintenance, air-conditioning systems to lift operations _ they don't have specific expertise of security in house."
Often a security firm is hired because it quotes the lowest price but the building owners do not do due diligence or background checks.
"One of the biggest problems here is that guards have to work a 12-hour shift, a very long shift. They're not given much respect. The manpower delivering security at the site seven days a week are usually ill-trained, not sufficient, underpaid."
He recommends that building owners get involved and bring in professional security advisers to review all security programmes, such as electronic systems, and the integration of these systems with the manpower, at least once a year. Among the vital systems are fire alarms, smoke detectors and sprinklers.
"You have to have back-up emergency power that works, you have to make sure that if all the water fails there's a holding tank with sufficient water to pump into the sprinkler. The batteries in the emergency light areas and stairwells have to work."
Importantly, one also has to ascertain that emergency stairways are not used for storage, and the emergency exit door bar needs to be alarmed so that the guard in the control room is alerted if it's opened.
Above all, these systems have to be monitored by well-trained people. "So the best security plans do not require a lot of human manpower. What's needed is smart, sharp, well-trained, well-rested manpower driving those systems."
The smart technologies now available are helping to improve security. Mr Thavorn cites the example of cameras that rotate and cover all parts of a room, or technology that alerts the control room if, for example, someone were to lift a laptop off a table. Prices of these systems have come down sharply while the quality of digital imaging, plus the ability to do remote and online monitoring, offer great potential.
I also advises that building owners and operators maintain a close relationship with the local police and emergency service providers such as hospitals.
"Hire them to come in once in every six months to do some fire training, security awareness training, maybe bomb recognition training for example. They would come in and be your friends _ buy them lunch," says Mr Thavorn.
Also before renting an apartment or buying a condominium, he urges people to inspect the fire procedures and ask the management what they do when there is a fire, how long it takes fire trucks to reach the building _ and whether this has ever been tested.
While security has become a growing concern in Bangkok in light of the New Year's Eve bombings, in Mr Thavorn 's opinion Bangkok is no easier a target than most major cities in the UK or the US.
However, he says he is particularly shocked by the poor quality of security at vulnerable tourist areas. He is also concerned about how well guarded the underground and skytrain stations are, as well as petrol pumps.
"The problem in Thailand is always enforcement, you have laws _ it's illegal for prostitution here _ you have many laws, you have laws about fire codes that have to be met but are they enforced?"
About The Author: Mr. Thavorn Srisukato has many years experience with leading consulting firms. He currently start up business consulting company, http://www.realestate-direct.info/ , which concentrate in area of property development, marketing management and investing.
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=127166
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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