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Home Blog

Happy New Year

Written by Mark | Comments

Happy New Year to you. Let’s hope it’s a good one.

The start of a New Year often provides opportunities to make a new start. To  review past successes, focus on the most important tasks for the coming year and to put new systems and processes in place to improve operational and financial efficiency throughout your organisation.

With this in mind, we wanted to provide a brief reminder of the wide range of systems and services we offer at The Thompson Group to improve the security, fire, audio visual, life safety and communications capabilities of your organisation.

Ask an expert

Thompson Group - What we doWith over 20 years in business and almost 100 employees across the UK we have a wealth of relevant industry and business knowledge and experience that we can put at your disposal.

Whether you are looking for the latest in Access Control, CCTV, Fire or Intruder Alarm, Public Address, Room Automation, Audio Visual or Voice and Data network systems  we are ready and able to help – and an initial security, life safety or audio visual systems review is free.

Alternatively, if you are looking for the highest quality Service and Maintenance of any of your existing Fire and Security systems, we have dedicated teams available, as well as on call engineers, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Specialists

Advances in technology and changes to regulations and best practice are happening all the time and so our close working partnerships with the majority of the industry’s manufacturers and distributors provides us with insights, technical support and training opportunities for all of their new and forthcoming technologies – allowing us to design and specify the latest systems and thereby future-proofing your organisation as much as possible.

In addition to commercially available technologies, we have also developed our own systems in some areas such as our latest Fire Risk Assessment app, allowing our independently certified Assessors to include images and make online notes as they conduct the assessment. Making it quicker and easier to complete the Assessment and then to make the report accessible to our clients via a secure portal, where they can add their own notes and pictures to prove compliance.

Savings

Omni Hosted TelephonyWhether you are looking for savings in money, time or other resources, our ability to design, install, integrate, commission and service and maintain a wealth of the latest security, fire, audio visual, life safety and communications technologies can provide your organisation with  valuable operational and financial benefits.

One example of this is our Hosted Telephone Systems which could save you up to 70% off of your phone bills (based on an example BT phone bill). And once again, there is no charge for us to provide a like for like comparison of costs.

Your advantage

To make the most of the New Year and the opportunities available to benefit from the latest technologies, simply get in touch with our team to take advantage of our expertise, free reviews and benefit from the savings on offer.

Best wishes for 2019 from everyone at The Thompson Group

Security over the festive period

Written by Mark | Comments

Many of us will be looking forward to the forthcoming festivities – enjoying some time off, relaxing and spending time with loved ones. A positive time to relax and reflect on the past year and plan for the year ahead.

 

Unfortunately, for some organisations, the festive season and the New Year holidays will bring a difficult time, as whenever premises are unoccupied there is an always an increased risk of theft, arson and criminal damage.

 

Security measures for unoccupied premises; whether they are businesses, schools, leisure facilities or anywhere else should have four main aims:

  1. Make it more difficult  to commit a crime
  2. Reduce the incentive to commit a crime
  3. Increase the risk of the criminal(s) being caught
  4. Reduce any potential reward from committing the crime.

 

Making it difficult to commit a crime

The easiest way to review your security is to take a moment, both in daylight and in the dark after you have locked everywhere up, to take a tour of your premises and identify any potential points of entry. Once you are aware of all of your potential entry points (which could include entry through a roof light, fragile ceiling, etc.) you then need to identify any vulnerabilities.

  • Check that all gates, doors and windows are secure, strong enough to withstand an attempted forced entry and have high quality locks and bolts fitted.
  • Consider fitting security shutters, grilles or window bars to any high risk entry points.
  • Remove anything that may help a criminal to gain access – i.e. remove or secure any ladders which could aid entry, secure any power tools, move stacks of pallets or waste bins which may provide access to low level roofs, etc.

 

Encourage everyone in your organisation to consider security on a daily basis.

  • Produce a written procedure, outlining everything that needs to be switched off, closed, checked, etc., when locking up and leaving your premises. Circulate this to all members of staff who have access to the keys so that everyone can follow the same procedure.
  • Allocate responsibilities for locking up specific areas at the end of each working day. This can either be on a rota basis or just for senior members of the team – but don’t forget to allocate substitutes for when key personnel are on holiday or not at work.

 

Reduce the incentive to commit a crime

If a criminal thinks that a site will be difficult to get into; there is an increased chance of them being caught or they cannot see anything of any great value that they could take and use or easily sell on; then they are far less likely to attempt a break in.

To reduce your chances of becoming a victim of crime:

  • Make sure your site looks secure at all times
  • Don’t leave doors or easy to access windows wide open during the day
  • Don’t leave valuables next to windows or doors
  • Close all blinds, doors, shutters, etc. when you leave
  • Consider investing in an intruder (burglar) alarm (this will also act as a visible deterrent)
  • If you have an alarm system, consider linking it to a professional 24hr alarm monitoring station
  • Consider investing in a professional CCTV system (this will also act as a visible deterrent)
  • Put up relevant signage informing everyone outside that the premises are protected by an alarm system and / or a CCTV system
  • Keep valuables out of sight and locked away wherever possible
  • Bank any cash or keep it in a locked professional quality safe which is bolted to the floor
  • Keep sensitive information (including portable data drives) in a secure place or safe when not needed

 

Increase the risk of the criminal(s) being caught

Anything you can do to highlight the presence of a criminal, bring attention to their activities or even to slow them down, so they would have to spend longer on your premises trying to get to anything valuable, will reduce the risk of criminal activity.

  • Make sure that all doors and entrances have adequate lighting so that anyone going in or coming out can be seen clearly
  • Consider installing motion activated security lights in less frequently used areas / entrances
  • As above – a professional intruder alarm and CCTV installation linked to an offsite 24hr alarm monitoring centre will alert someone to the intruder’s presence, no matter what time of day or night.
  • An alarm monitoring centre can notify your key holders as well as contacting the police where appropriate
  • A modern CCTV system which is regularly maintained should be able to record evidence of criminal activity, which can then be handed to the police – thereby increasing the chance of the criminals being brought to justice.
  • A professionally installed and maintained fire alarm will also provide an early warning of fire – and if your alarm is linked to a professional monitoring centre, the fire service can be called at the earliest opportunity.
  • Securing items in a strong safe and bolting the safe to the floor of your building will mean that it takes longer for anyone to gain access to your valuables – again increasing the chance of them being brought to justice.
  • Investing in a Fog Cannon (which creates a harmless, but visually impenetrable fog and is triggered upon activation of your intruder alarm) will also make it nigh on impossible for intruders to steal anything as, within a few seconds, they will not be able to see anything to steal it.

 

 

Reducing any potential reward from committing crime

Sometimes even the best security deterrents and systems will not be able to prevent items being stolen or damaged, but you can still make it difficult for a criminal to profit from selling your stolen property.

  • Investing in a forensic marking spray system such as SmartWater; which can be painted on to your property, to permanently mark it as belonging to you, or can be sprayed across the entry / exit points upon activation of your intruder alarm (coating any intruders in uniquely coded liquid and irrefutably linking them and any property they may be carrying to the scene of the crime); can significantly reduce the chances of anyone being able to sell items on.

 

Schedule a review

Although these measures will certainly help to reduce the risk of your organisation becoming a victim of crime, criminals will always be looking for new ways to gain entry to your premises and / or valuables. So make sure that you schedule another security review in 6 months to identify any new potential risks.

If you would like a free security review from one of our team of experienced security professionals, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01902 658822.

 

And finally – once you have completed your last checks – you can go home and relax over the festive period, before the start of another fantastic New Year.

Welcome to The Thompson Group Blog

Written by Mark | Comments

Welcome to The Thompson Group Blog where you will find all of the latest information about the extensive range of systems and services we provide for organisations across the UK – as well as a host of related content, and a variety of other articles, which we hope you will find of interest.

To give you a little bit of background about us; we started out as an Audio Visual and CCTV specialist way back in 1995, and have continually grown and developed the range of technologies we can design, install, service and maintain. This diversification has usually been in line with what our clients’ need and want – as well as introducing some technologies they didn’t know they wanted, until we showed them what the latest technologies can do.

 

Why have we diversified in this way?

Well, because that is what we do (and have always done). We have always focused on what our clients need and want – Always looking to add value for every client on every job.

Not only that, but, we always strive to provide the highest levels of quality and customer service in everything we do. We call it our ‘Commitment to Delivering Excellence’ and it is ingrained throughout our business.

We hope that you enjoy reading more about what we do, and why and how we do it; and as in everything we do; we would love to get your feedback.

So if you have any questions about what we write or any suggestions on what you would like to know more about, please get in touch via e-mail or call the sales and marketing team on 01902 658822.

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  • Happy New Year

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  • TECHNOLOGY 2018 event

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