Sept. 17, 2003
GW Launches Access and Security Initiative
Cross Functional Team to Provide Expert Advice and Funding
By Thomas
Kohout
Offices in search of additional building access and security devices may
soon turn to a new cross functional committee for expert advice and dedicated
project management and even financial assistance to get the job done.
The newly formed Cross Functional Team for Installation and Maintenance
of Access Control and Security Devices will be available to provide a
fast and efficient approach to improving campus security.
The team is bringing a customer service approach to administering security
services, providing one-stop shopping for security equipment needs with
centralized, dedicated project management and expert advice to evaluate
building access and security device requirements. The mission of the team
is two-fold: to review the requests for additional security and access
control devices, or their maintenance, from department heads, and to validate
those requests. Once a list of jobs has been approved, the team will prioritize
them, one against the other.
Weve tried to keep this as simple and straightforward as possible,
said John N. Petrie, assistant vice president for public safety and emergency
management, who co-chairs the team along with Nancy Haaga, director of
auxiliary and institutional services.
In January 2002, the Treasurers Office formed the core group for
the cross functional team with representatives from Risk Management, the
University Police Department, Residential Property Management, Parking
Services, GWorld, Information Systems and Services, Facilities Development,
Facilities Management, and Architecture, Engineering and Construction
to establish a more efficient means of providing building access and security.
The team examined the existing process to understand how those kinds of
projects get approved, funded and implemented. A defined prioritization
process along with the criteria to establish priorities were drafted,
and an online requisition form (available at gweb.gwu.edu/mod/sec/) has
been developed to speed the flow of requests.
Previously there was no real coordination of any of these efforts,
recalled Haaga. They were all going on simultaneously. Everybody
was fighting for priority.
Under the new procedures, department heads may submit an online request
to start the screening process. A number of variables will come into play
during the review, but according to Petrie the key criteria is what is
being protected, why people are being restricted from an area and who
needs access. The team then will determine what is the most effective
means of meeting the request. This expert advice is an important improvement
over previous procedures.
Members of the University community know what they want to protect,
but they often dont know the best way to go about it, Haaga
acknowledged. Often, departments that need additional security dont
know how much is enough, so they ask for Fort Knox when all they need
is a better lock.
Rather than employ a card reader or a surveillance system, which require
hard-wired connections and programming in addition to the cost of the
equipment and its installation, some University departments have succeeded
in using cipher locks on top of the line door handles, for about one-tenth
of the cost.
The onus of those kinds of decisions and analyses will no longer
fall on department heads, Haaga added. Why should they have
to know whats best? They just want security. Now it will be the
responsibility of the team to look at the request and make that recommendation
and offer a price and a timeline for completion.
Once the request has been validated and prioritized, the job order will
go to a point of contact within Facilities Management, where it will be
contracted based on the priorities list.
The point of contact at Facilities Management will follow and oversee
these projects from start to finish, said Haaga. That is something
weve never had before.
The team has a limited amount of funds for this fiscal year, allocated
by the Treasurers Office, for projects on the University-wide priority
list. The Universitys revenue-producing auxiliaries Parking
Services and Residential Property Management contributed a tax
up front so the team can centralize the screening and prioritization.
Because these departments produce their own cash flow, and fund their
own access and security needs, they wont be in competition with
the departments for funds.
In terms of access control and security devices for issues of installation
and maintenance, explained Petrie we will fund everything
we can on the priority list until we run out of money.
He added that the information collected by the group, in terms of the
volume of valid requests the cross functional team receives over this
academic year, will be used to establish follow-up funding.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
|
|
Access Control and Security Device Request Form
|