Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/31791
16 EDITORIAL www.securitysystemsnews.com JUNE 2011 SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS Tim Purpura, PUBLISHER tpurpura@securitysystemsnews.com R ROI on doing the right thing eturning yesterday from the ADT Media Summit in Chicago, I was thinking about a couple of the sessions I attended and how it’s nice that— sometimes anyway—in business there really is ROI when compa- nies do the right thing. Of course, one can convinc- ingly argue that there’s always ROI on doing the right thing— it’s just not the monetary kind of ROI. Anyway, what got me think- ing about this was one session in particular about food defense. As you may know—and as was reported in SSN’s April issue—The Food Safety Modernization Act was signed into law earlier this year. It’s the first major legisla- Martha Entwistle tive overhaul of food production oversight since the 1930s. The 1930s! There certainly have been enough gross- out food-mishandling news stories in the past couple decades and certainly since the original food-gross-out book: Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” appeared in 1906. That’s the book and author that are often credited with leading to the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act, which became law the same year. Ensuring that food is pro- duced, processed and transported respon- sibly is the right thing to do. And given how food production has grown and changed since Sinclair’s day, it seems reasonable that regulations may be due for an overhaul about now. But there are always (sometime valid, sometimes not) arguments about how further regulation is going to kill business or hey, how really excellent ABC Food Company and the whole darn industry is at self-regulating. Fortunately, the law was passed. And for- tunately for companies like ADT—which is now working with food companies to install security systems that surveil, audit and alert during the food processing and transporta- tion processes—this means business. Mark Powers, regional security and emergency manager for MillerCoors spoke to the media at the ADT event. He said that there is no explicit requirement in the law that food manufacturers, processors and transporters install security systems to be compliant with the law. “But I don’t see how they can meet the requirements without them,” he told us. Powers, who also works in a consultancy role with ADT and serves on the ASIS Food and Agriculture Council, said, as expected, the law was not exactly met with open arms by the food industry. Why are the Smart Guys Choosing America’s Fastest Growing Access Control Company? But, guess what? Advocates have found many examples of how installing security systems has saved food companies scads of cash—in a very short time. Some examples: A pilot project reduced Features Free Software Free Support Free Upgrades Innovative Design 5 Year System Warranty Lifetime Token Warranty No License Fees Paxton Access Current Provider ? ? ? ? ? ? ? With 26 years experience and an enviable reputation for customer service, our systems are recognized the world over as the easiest to quote, sell and install. To fi nd out more call us now for your free demonstration software! 877.438.7298 www.paxton-access.com Dea 5.indd 1 09/05/2011 17:02:50 shrink by 40 percent over six months, a $1.6 million savings; a $150,000 camera system paid for overnight when transport company is seen damaging loaded trailers; one company saves $50,000 to $100,000 per site in late delivery charges because they can prove it’s not late; a plant manager eliminates overnight “product contamina- tion pranks”; an LPR system helps break up a $20 million organized car theft ring. And, the companies greatly lower the risk that something will happen to their food, the incident will be widely reported in the media, and the brand will suffer. And brands don’t always recover nicely from those kinds of incidents, ie. shareholder value goes way down in some instances. It’s nothing new of course—the fact that security systems can and should be looked at as business systems. We write about it all the time. They’re regularly used smartly for non-securty purposes, and they provide business owners with information that’s useful in running their businesses. It’s just nice when the ROI also coincides with doing the right thing. Top three stories on www.securitysystemsnews.com May 5, 2011 - April 12, 2011 • Devcon goes national • Gaylord Security expands • AT&T terminates Xanboo Brook Taliaferro, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Martha Entwistle, EDITOR mentwistle@securitysystemsnews.com Daniel Gelinas, MANAGING EDITOR dgelinas@securitysystemsnews.com Tess Nacelewicz, ASSOCIATE EDITOR tnacelewicz@securitysystemsnews.com Peter Macijauskas, E-MEDIA MANAGER pmacijauskas@unitedpublications.com SEND PRESS RELEASES TO: EDITORIAL OFFICE editor@securitysystemsnews.com Tel: 207.846.0600 Fax: 207.846.0657 ADVERTISING OFFICE Security Systems News 106 Lafayette St., PO Box 998 Yarmouth, ME 04096 Tel: 207.846.0600 Fax: 207.846.0657 EAST Tim Purpura, PUBLISHER Tel: 207.846.0600, ext. 217 Fax: 207.846.0657 tpurpura@securitysystemsnews.com WEST Gregg Shapiro, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Tel: 207.846.0600, ext. 273 Fax: 207.846.0657 gshapiro@securitysystemsnews.com MARKETPLACE & LIST RENTALS Cath Daggett Tel: 207.846.0600, ext. 300 Fax: 207.846.0657 cdaggett@securitysystemsnews.com Glen Halliday, PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Brenda Boothby, CIRCULATION DIRECTOR EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Bill Bozeman, CEO/President PSA Security Network Daniel G. 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