The Silver Fox Audit scheme, a division of FM Contract Watch, has been established for over 20 years and provides nationwide on-site penetration and customer service audits to test front-line security teams on their alertness, efficiency and compliance.
The audits are unannounced, and we are testing the individual Security Officer’s reaction to the auditor attempting to gain unauthorised access to the premises or notice a period of hostile reconnaissance taking place. Our auditors use many disguises to appear as a genuine visitor to the premises.
We have a wide range of clients and work on behalf of both end-users of security services, in-house security teams and SIA ACS accredited contract security companies who see the advantage of regular audits which keep their security teams alert and aware of suspicious circumstances.
With the current UK Threat Level set as Substantial – with an attack likely – such exercises are of great benefit to complement the ongoing training of frontline staff.
It is inevitable that our auditors will gain unauthorised access to the premises on occasions, and this is often due to loopholes which can quickly be remedied, and new procedures introduced which will prevent such intrusions in the future.
In addition to the initial attempted penetration into the premises, this is followed by a short compliance audit which starts with checking that the Security Officer is in possession of and displaying a valid SIA licence.
The Silver Fox Audit is comprised of 3 sections, the initial access attempt, assessing the Security Officers for Alertness, Attitude, Understanding of Duties, Training and Appearance. This is followed by checking a variety of on-site operational documents to ensure that they are up to date, signed appropriately, not overdue for review and comply with the relevant standards.
The Audit is a concise, independent overview of the service being provided and many of our Contract Security clients share our reports and findings with their customers. They offer this as a cost-effective differentiator when tendering for the contract and the results of these audits form an integral part of the Key Performance Indicators and Service Level Agreement.
We accept that there will be times when things may need improving, however, the tests are not designed to catch anyone out or to apportion blame. In fact, it is just the opposite and one of our main aims is to recognise and reward good security work. Individuals that prevent an unauthorised access attempt receive a Silver Fox Pin Badge and some of our clients have adopted our award scheme presenting the individuals producing the best results annually with an engraved Silver Fox Award.