FROM THE INDUSTRY don’t actually know if there has been an incident until something goes wrong, by which time it’s too late. It’s never a priority until it goes wrong; then it’s an express purchase after there’s been a breach. A reluctant purchase too, because it’s a hindrance. There is a view that security slows processes down. It’s important that we work with the customer to produce solutions that will help with operational efficiencies and health and safety rather than the other way around. We need to make sure you don’t have to think about how you get in. We need to be able to make your life easier, both for the engineer and the team managing the system. We need to enable them to do that to the best of their ability, not put a barrier in the way. There’s the ‘better to be safe than sorry’ cautious crowd, and the breezy, ‘just wing it,’ types. You must come up against those two groups all the time. Absolutely. I’ve been in this industry for 30 odd years, and I’m still amazed at the blasé approach of customers at times. A lot of the time it comes down to that lack of time and resource. Security isn’t just a quick patch job. No, but again it’s time and resource that forces people into that corner. We hear a lot of “I just need to fix it and fix it quickly.” Well, we can fix it, but let’s do it properly. Let’s make it so that you don’t have to come back and do this again in another 12 months. If we can take that time so they understand that there is a better way, that has more longevity, more sustainability, actually over time it will cost them less. We do that just by taking a bit of time, understanding the customer’s needs and guide them through the process of making an informed decision based on facts and benefits.
In the Lake District in the middle of a storm, that’s not going to work. Plus, you’ve got safety glasses on. We do use biometrics on the phone, and the key and the phone will talk to each other via Bluetooth. With the fibre industry and on cabinets, having this level of control is a major benefit, because there are engineers turning up, sometimes unannounced, and it avoids someone having to travel out to where that engineer might be to give them access, because you can send them access in minutes or in our case unlock the asset remotely, which is something the sector has been requesting for some time. How does Abloy have the edge on its competitors? There are businesses that have solutions that certainly have a place in the market, but haven’t been developed for critical infrastructure. Their solution is absolutely perfect in a warm, fluffy environment but they struggle to adapt to an external environment. The two are chalk and cheese, whereas our products have been developed specifically to be outside. Many pieces of infrastructure are located in very exposed environments not just exposed to rain or snow or wind or whatever, but often they’re in really dirty, horrible environments.
Are you able to create bespoke solutions rather than a cookie cutter approach? We make your standard components, and then we build those components to build a solution that fits that customer, designed by how they need to work, how they want to work, what they need to achieve. How sustainable are your products? Is that a big part of what you’re doing now? Sustainability is a massive driver. Reducing electricity, water, chemicals, is a huge priority for us all now. We have achieved zero to landfill already. We can recycle our products, so if we’re upgrading the customer’s system and if it’s our padlocks and cylinders, we’ll take them back and we’ll put them through a proper reprocessing process so that it can be reused to make new products. Are there still companies out there who are still being ridiculously slack about their security? I think telecoms are getting there. Some of the slower progress might be because there’s not been an incident to drive it that they know of. If they don’t know who’s coming and going, then they
www.abloy.com
SEPTEMBER 2024 Volume 46 No.3
45
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker