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New director appointed
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THE GUILD OF ARCHITECTURAL Ironmongers ( GAI ) has appointed Neil Fisher as its new Director .
Neil ’ s career has over 20 years of senior management experience in education , training and membership organisations in the public , private and not-for-profit sectors in the UK and internationally . He has extensive higher education experience having managed MSC , PhD programmes , professional short courses and apprenticeships .
His most recent role was director of business development at NCC Resources , a commercial learning development organisation , where he was involved in developing and managing in-house and external courses in the UK and Europe . Prior to this he had roles as director of membership , education and training at TOPRA , the organisation for healthcare professionals in regulatory affairs , and as chief executive of the Work Force Development Consortium .
His experience is particularly relevant to the Guild which has been providing an education , qualification and CPD programme for people who work in and around the architectural ironmongery industry since 1961 . It delivers the only recognised programme in the world that leads to a qualification in architectural ironmongery to British and European standards .
One of Neil Fisher ’ s earliest duties will be the presentation of the GAI ’ s Education Awards on 2 November . He takes over
Neil Fisher GAI Director and Maria Powell GAI President the GAI ’ s most senior executive role from Gary Amer who had led the GAI for the last nine years .
Maria Powell , president of the GAI , said : “ Neil ’ s expertise will be really good for the Guild in our bid to expand our education reach and our portfolio of education products . With a strong track record of leading membership organisations too , we believe Neil will help drive our business plan forward , as well as creating enhanced value for GAI members .”
Neil Fisher said : “ The respect and prestige that the GAI has created so far with its education programme in the UK and internationally is really exceptional , and provides a strong base upon which we can build even greater value for members and increased impact across the globe . I am really looking forward to meeting the members and to achieving even greater recognition for the high levels of professionalism and expertise within this industry .”
The true cost of losing keys
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ABLOY UK IS highlighting the need for key security , following recent revelations that HMP Northumberland Prison incurred costs of up to £ 1million to change the facility ’ s locks after a guard was reportedly taken hostage and had his keys stolen .
Security systems had to be reviewed and locks changed , at an estimated cost of more than £ 500,000 . In addition to this , moving prisoners from cells during the “ re-lock ” could have taken costs up to the £ 1million mark .
Pip Courcoux , Sales & Product Manager CLIQ for Abloy UK , said : “ Losing keys does happen even in the most unexpected of places , and the consequences can be very expensive and a logistical nightmare as we ’ ve seen in the case of HMP Northumberland Prison .
“ However , organisations can protect against the threat of a compromised key system and avoid such expensive replacement programmes by installing an electromechanical key system , such CLIQ CONNECT © from Abloy .”
CLIQ CONNECT © is the next generation of PROTEC2 CLIQ ©, an easy-to-use electromechanical key system , based on mechanical high security disc cylinders combined with highly encrypted electronic locking and identification .
The system allows for remote key management , providing comprehensive audit trails on locks and padlocks , and the ability to electronically remove lost or stolen keys from the system , meaning security can still be confidently maintained in circumstances where a key has been misplaced .
The CLIQ CONNECT © online key uses Bluetooth 4.0 technology , enabling users to update keys wirelessly with a smartphone . The connectivity provides a real time audit trail on non-wired products such as padlocks and cam locks , and access rights can be granted to the user ‘ on-site ’.
Pip explains : “ CLIQ CONNECT © keys can always be disabled , so although a lost key may cost £ 100 to replace , the actual risk is zero per cent . This is because keys are only valid at specific times – this is sometimes restricted down to as little as five minutes operation before they are rendered invalid .
“ This substantially reduces risk in the system and eliminates the potential huge cost and inconvenience of replacing all locks and keys . This is true key control and the holy grail for key champions in critical infrastructure or high security sites .”
Call 01902 364 500 or email marketing @ abloy . co . uk
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL . CO . UK | NOV / DEC 2016