Monday, 27th March 2023

During this month Trident Manor personnel undertook security audits at locations on the West coast of Scotland that presented different challenges than those normally faced.

During March 2023 Trident Manor personnel had to drive the long journey from County Durham to Argyll in Scotland. The journey took in some stunning landscapes, a ferry journey and every weather type you could think of.

The first venue was owned by a local government and had been redesigned to provide services for the community under the trusteeship of a local representative body. The purpose of the visit was to confirm the suitability of the venue for the loan of high-value items which would benefit the wider community and give access to art that most would never have the opportunity to experience.

When assessing the risks that exist many factors have to be considered including crime levels, the fabric of the building and the availability of emergency responses. A degree of proportionality has to exist especially when engaged in outreach programmes and an acceptance that not all venues can meet the exacting standards expected at National Galleries. This is where the experience and expertise in assessing risks and recommending sensible solutions really came to the fore.

Although located in a small town the venue itself was secure and had walls that were 450mm thick, no modern materials were used in this building. As well as the physical and technical security measures that exist the operational practices have to be considered, and in this case they were first class.

The second venue that was visited was a building project Trident Manor had been involved in for a couple of years and which was isolated in the ‘Glens’ with an emergency services response time on a good day of 20-40 minutes.

The project was nearing completion, and the visit was to evaluate whether previous recommendations had been implemented.

During this visit some design changes had taken place which adversely affected the overall protection afforded to the client and its contents. Andy Davis said, “This highlights the importance of maintaining that engagement with security advisors during building projects and to ensure that periodic site visits take place to ensure that what is being delivered is what was agreed and what meets the required standards.”

In this case, the client was advised of actions that needed to be taken to minimise the risks that had been created by the changes or accept the risks, which is unfortunately sometimes an option that has to be given.

One of the things that the Trident Manor team is increasingly experiencing is the demand for our services, especially our CPS (Cultural Protection Services) where we are seen as having the experience, expertise and pragmatic approach that instils confidence in our clients that we are a safe partner with whom to work with.

For further information about any of our consultancy services, wherever in the world they may be needed please feel free to Contact Us.