While it is true that Singapore is widely regarded as one of the safest countries in the world, that doesn’t mean that security concerns don’t exist — especially for those in condos or HDB flats.
The over-reliance on security guards, electronic gates, doormen and CCTV cameras is a great start for providing residents with a welcome sense of security, but what happens when there are a series of break-ins and the fire alarm has gone off? Without an extra pair of ears and eyes, monitoring systems and real-time information, it would be impossible for security guards to reach everywhere.
The pandemic has also boosted interest in video surveillance systems, and cloud-based access controls which can all be done remotely to ensure guards have more information at hand to handle multiple things at once without the need to be physically at all places.
But is this enough for condos ‘peace of mind’ and how can technology help security guards move away from 12-hour shifts six days a week to eight-hour shifts five days a week in Singapore?
Resistance to changes
Although many condo management companies value technology to enhance risk management, the industry is still behind at various maturity levels.
In Singapore, the majority of security agencies are SMEs. Some are family owned with little or no understanding of the latest security technology. On the other hand, the security technology companies in Singapore are not security specialists but more electrical engineering companies that “happen” to install security equipment among their other services.
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Even those that do specialise in security technology tend to adopt an “installer” mindset as opposed to a solution provider approach in their offerings.
For this reason, the Singapore government has developed a road map for the security industry. Led by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), it seeks to transform the industry from one that is manpower-reliant, to one that leverages technology and raises skills to deliver high-quality security solutions.
Security cams that are better in every way
Expanding locations, increasing users, adjusting resolution or extending retention periods; are just some of the reasons that might demand a scalable solution when it comes to CCTV cameras in condos.
More than that, with a remote surveillance system that connects to a command centre, guards are able to take swift action.
In the past, the CCTV camera was a simple static device that would record everything that was going on in its field of view. That was its only purpose aside from acting as a deterrent to would-be trespassers.
With the introduction of cloud-based video surveillance systems, these systems offer better business continuity and disaster recovery. Even if someone tampers with the recorder, the recording is stored in the cloud. This also means it’s accessible to users remotely.
Another feature is the introduction of video analytics. These features allow real-time notifications to be sent to users and security officers on incidents as and when they occur.
Making the security industry more dynamic
A recent survey by the Union of Security Employees (USE) stated that four in 10 face abuse at work and six in 10 are planning to leave. The role of a security officer in residential, commercial, office and even social spaces are often stretched too thin as they need to manually do inspections, capture site evidence and keep tenants safe and informed at all times.
In Singapore, the government had proposed that baseline wages for security officers should include wages paid for work done in addition to the regular work week and the basic wage for the rank of security officer be increased to US$2,650. This will assure security officers of sustainable wage growth without needing to clock in excessive hours for a higher gross wage
With the aid of new technological advancements, the security industry in Singapore is bound to fit new roles and adapt to the needs of disruptive technologies globally encouraging innovation and penetrating the untapped potential of the digital age.
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Moving forward with outcome-based security contracts
As of May 2020, the Singapore government had long advocated for outcome-based security contracts to drive innovation challenging the status quo to augment manpower by providing integrated security solutions through the Transformation Map of the Security Industry (ITM) supported by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
These contracts will focus on the outputs and outcomes, which can resolve manpower issues and reduce costs in the long term. The best part is that an outcome-based approach integrates technology into the solution.
For instance, if a condo in Singapore has recently reduced its manpower to half as it’s not a public holiday and there is no need to deploy security personnel for a particular time period, the remaining personnel will be sent for retraining to accommodate the higher technical requirements. This helps them to achieve this by enhancing their existing security infrastructure and systems.
This changes how we look at a security guard for simply ‘peace of mind’ as technology will replace that. The now and future security officer will no longer be a simple “caretaker”. They will be an empowered professional with an advanced career trajectory akin to that of other professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) while playing an important part in the safeguarding of the community as a whole.
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