NSI to grow UK certifications
TAPA EMEA’s commitment to driving down cargo thefts, improving security and minimising associated reputational damage for companies involved in the transported asset supply chain, has been given a further boost with the unveiling of the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) as a newly-appointed Regional Independent Audit Body in the United Kingdom to support growth of the Association’s industry standards.
NSI now offers cost-effective certification for TAPA’s three primary Standards – Facility Security (FSR), Trucking Security (TSR) and Parking Security (PSR) – with fully trained auditors.
Vigilant spoke to Matthew Holliday, Director of Approval Schemes, National Security Inspectorate (NSI), to tell us more about NSI and how it works with industry.
Matthew has over 30 years’ experience in the security industry, including 15 years representing the electronic security installation sector as a subject expert at BSI and CENELEC. He joined NSI in 2019 and has responsibility for providing technical expertise, managing the pipeline of changes to Standards and Codes of Practice, and developing relevant documentation for both NSI’s auditing team and approved companies. This is his introduction…
NSI’s pedigree
As the UK’s most highly trusted and respected not-for-profit, third party Certification Body in the security and fire safety sectors, NSI approves over 2,000 providers and conducts over 4,000 annual assessments to verify compliance with relevant British and International Standards and industry Codes of Practice.
In 2021, NSI celebrated its 50th anniversary as an independent, United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS)-accredited Certification Body protecting the interests of buyers of security and fire safety services and key stakeholders including the Police, the risk control and insurance sector, the Security Industry Authority government licensing body and others.
Industry collaboration
The scale of today’s challenge is clear. Millions of pounds worth of goods are transported each day around the UK and the risk of being targeted by increasingly sophisticated organised crime groups, who consider supply chains as lucrative targets, is a growing concern. NSI brings a wealth of experience in supporting the development and adoption of industry standards along with Codes of Practice and influencing revisions through participation on Standards committees and related forums.
Having worked in cross-industry collaboration with stakeholders in the security alarms sector, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council, to reduce an untenable 92% national false alarm rate reached by the mid-1990s, NSI has helped address a similar scale challenge before. At that time, intruder alarms were notoriously unreliable, burglary rates were high and responding to them was considered both costly and a huge waste of police resources, meaning many were simply ignored.
By implementing measures including a requirement for installation and maintenance of police response alarms to be undertaken by third-party certificated providers who are subject to an ongoing programme of independent inspection and approval, the operational benefits of this approach saw the false alarm rate being reduced by more than 90 per cent, with certified alarms playing their part in the greater deterrence of criminal activity.
NSI will bring its auditors’ expert skillsets to bear in helping to tackle the unacceptable level of cargo thefts, where over £100,000 of goods are stolen from UK supply chains each day* – and this being only a partial picture, given the majority of cargo crimes in the UK still go unreported. In a connected world where organised crime groups see supply chains as lucrative targets and attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, opportunist offenders also remain a significant threat with many crimes caused by a simple lack of due diligence.
Whether it’s considering protection of facilities such as warehouses and distribution centres, or assessing the risks associated with theft during the transportation of high value goods, it’s essential that every step in the supply chain from manufacture, storage, transportation and delivery is operated to best practice standards to minimise loss and to protect the interests of clients.
NSI’s dedicated audit team, comprising Paul Henderson-Lowe, Steve McHugh and Nicholas Wheeler, is well-placed to support the adoption and growth of leading industry standards amongst manufacturers/shippers, logistics service providers, freight transport companies, and security service providers and help drive more certifications.
Companies in the UK who want to learn more about the benefits of gaining TAPA certification, can speak directly to NSI by calling +44 1628 764887 or via tapa@nsi.org.uk.
We are proud to be playing an active future part in supply chain resilience to combat the tangible risks faced.
*Source: TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS)
