Gold For Scots Firm - Article from Professional Security Magazine
http://www.professionalsecurity.co.uk/news/commercial-security/gold-for-scots-firm/ News about our recent Stirling Alarms NSI GOLD accreditation was boosted with the help of local business Stirling PR.
With guidance and expertise from Lesley Wilkinson our story appeared in both local and industry related publications. If ever you require a helping hand in broadcasting news about your business or new service then Stirling PR are on hand to help. 1/10/2017 Alarm Praise Rings Out In PressWe've been featured in many local newspapers and industry publications over the past few weeks as news spreads about our NSI NACOSS GOLD accreditation. Professional Security Magazine Article
29/9/2017 Charity Coffee MorningOur team held a coffee morning at our office today in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support - proud of our team's effort and baking raising over £200.00 for the charity.
13/9/2017 NSI GOLD - Press ReleasePraises Ring Out For Stirling AlarmsStirling Alarms has secured a second prestigious industry medal in less than 2 years of trading. The Fallin based firm, which offers alarms, CCTV and access control systems across Forth Valley, has been awarded gold status by the UK’s leading approvals and certification body, the National Security Inspectorate. The accreditation is the highest accolade that can be achieved in the security industry and builds on the company’s achievement of a silver medal in February 2016. Stirling Alarms was launched in November 2015 by established local business Stirling Electrical Services, which celebrates its 21st birthday next month. Owner Scott McLean said: “We’ve been in the electrical business for over 20 years now, but lately we’ve been making a big noise in the field of home and business security with the creation of Stirling Alarms. We created the division in response to a surge in customer demand for high tech alarms that can be controlled and maintained from anywhere in the world using a smartphone or computer. We’ve been quick to embrace this new technology and our highly skilled team are experts in the latest equipment and intelligent systems. We’re proud to have passed NSI’s rigorous audit and to have achieved gold so quickly. We have our staff to thank for their hard work, dedication and commitment to delivering the highest standards of service.” Stirling Council Leader Scott Farmer presented Stirling Alarms with their gold medal on Friday. Commenting on the firm’s success, Councillor Farmer said: “It’s fantastic to see such a long-standing business expanding and thriving. I’m really impressed by the work Scott and his team are doing, especially their investment in the next generation through apprenticeships. Local businesses are crucial to Stirling’s economy. We must continue to support an environment that helps companies grow and create more skilled jobs locally.” Media contact: Lesley Wilkinson www.stirlingpr.com 078265225217 Notes to editors: Further information about the award can be found at Stirling Alarms and Stirling Electrical Services. For further details on NSI gold accreditation see www.nsi.org.uk At Stirling Electrical Services / Stirling Alarms we have a permanent position available for 17th Edition qualified Electrician with Security System experience - CCTV, Intruder Alarm, Access Control.
40 Hours Monday to Friday working with overtime and stand-by cover available. Work mostly within but not restricted to Central Scotland. Must have good technical knowledge with relevant electrical qualifications and the ability to work alone and as part of a team as well as excellent customer service skills. Experience working with Security Systems is essential. Competitive rates of pay with salary based on skills and experience. Job Requirements Some of the work covered includes but is not limited to:
You should have the following:
Further details will be provided to suitable candidates but if you want to join the team at our long standing popular Stirling business and help develop both our electrical and security system division we want to hear from you. Send us your CV and to office@stirlingelectrical.co.uk 8/9/2017 Business Talk5/9/2017 GOLD MEDALIt's not everyday you get presented with a GOLD medal.
On behalf of everyone at Stirling Alarms and Stirling Electrical Services I was proud today to receive our NSI NACOSS GOLD framed medal from Max Linnemann of NSI. Our team have worked exceptionally hard over the past year and reaching this high standard is all down to their dedication and quality. Well done all. 3/9/2017 Goodbye Yellow PagesSo the Yellow Pages printed directory will soon be no more. The yellow book we all know and at some point all loved will stop being distributed in 2018 and early 2019 and with it will bring an end to my own 20+ year association with the directory. From 1996 I have had business adverts in various publications but it's not always been a rosy relationship like the time when a Yellow Pages sales rep left the company and destroyed all his customers accounts before leaving meaning we failed to be contacted about renewal one year or Yell's refusal to stop an advert from a company with a totally different trading name from ours from running an advert with our name in it which caused customer confusion. Many of you will question why over the past 5 or so years we still advertised in the printed directory, it's becuase we ask customers where they obtained our contact details from and as a reactive electrical & security system company we still receive phone calls especially from the elderly who rely on the printed directory to contact companies in an emergency. Smaller local printed directories will now benefit from the demise of the yellow book which has been caused by the online internet explosion and Yell will now concentrate their efforts on their Yell.com service. I have never been a fan of Yell.com as with a printed directory you can scan many adverts at once where the online listings is a free for all pay Yell the money to get to the top of their directory listings. As someone who's companies have a good online search presence I have never been convinced to part with my money for Yell's online directory tactics as it brings no significent benefit in increasing our online presence. In today's world the printed directory will probably not be missed and I can understand the decision by Yell to stop publishing it but I think if they thought the challenge of losing readership of the printed directory was a struggle the challenge to dominate the online search listings will be an even greater challenge. 20/8/2017 Rogue ElectriciansNobody can ever say they are the perfect electrician - not me, not any member of my electrical team and not any other qualified electrician with up to date training - we all recognise that fact but we continue to work hard and spend money on training, learning and studying our craft and applying to the best of our ability our knowledge in interpreting BS7671 electrical and other relevant regulations into our everyday jobs.
Unfortunately as it currently stands anyone can call themselves an electrician and carry out electrical work in homes and businesses and the situation is of such concern that Scotland's trade association SELECT are now in discussion with the Scottish Government about regulating the electrical industry in law and making the term Electrician a profession (similar to Gas) which in turn would make it illegal for anyone to carry out electrical work if they are not registered, have no qualifications or have no up to date training. To give context to the above movement I myself have been on the receiving end lately of being involved with people who carry out electrical work who have not been trained in recent years to the current regulations. A number of weeks ago I was a approached by someone in my area who argued with me that they were correct in proposing to install battery powered smoke detectors in a private rented property, after I on the the spot showed them the regulations on my phone they still were not convinced "as that was not the rules 15 years ago and it was fine then" but I eventually found out they had listened to me and correctly installed mains powered interlinked smoke detectors. Unfortunately that was not the end of my encounter and a few weeks later after my company carried out an Electrical Installation Condition Report at a private rented property I was publicly accused by this same person who has admitted having no up to date electrical training, of failing the electrical report for no other reason than failing the report to money grab the remedial work cost. The electrical installation failed on items such as but not limited to - exposed open live electrical connections, a number of circuits/cables protected by oversized circuit breakers, wrong polarity at switch, cables touching sharp metal edges with no grommet(rubber) protection - the accuser incidentally admitted carrying out some of the work we had failed and thought the above 'Danger Present' and 'Potentially Dangerous' items should not have been listed. As you can probably gather I am rather annoyed at my own and my company's integrity being publicly questioned by someone who really should know better but for what ever reason will not update their qualifications or training to todays regulations. I am proud of my own and my companies professional attitude, safety and integrity and these recent personal incidents have made me even more determined to join the fight and campaign to regulate the electrical industry - and why? it's simple - people's property and more importantly peoples lives are at risk with electrical work and homeowners and business owners should be protected and be safe in the knowledge that the electrical work they request to be carried out is undertaken correctly, safely and to today's regulations and by qualified professionals who they can trust their property and lives with. And if property owners wish to still allow these other type of people to carry out electrical work in their property if the industry is regulated then there must be a system in place for the law abiding electricians to report the non-registered and unqualified 'electricians'. 16/8/2017 Listening and LearningNever miss an opportunity to listen and learn and that's why more than 50 members recently packed into the River House, Stirling for the AGM of SELECT - the electrical trade association for Scotland. From the usual business of an AGM to technical talks about the forthcoming new edition of BS7671 the electrical regulations it was another worthwhile event to keep in touch with updates and likeminded members of the electrical industry. Photos courtesy of SELECT & CABLEtalk magazine.
15/8/2017 The Return Of The Dark NightsThe darker nights will soon be upon us and one of our electrical customers in the Glasgow area is taking positive action by preparing just now during late summer.
The installation of new LED floodlighting around the perimeter of the building will make it a more welcome and safer environment for their staff and visitors. We are always happy to offer advice on external lighting, security alarms, cctv as well a much more to help make your home or business property a safer place. Just get in touch with our job booking team. 14/8/2017 NSI GOLDI am proud to announce that Stirling Alarms have been awarded NSI NACOSS GOLD approval, the highest standard a security system company can achieve in the UK.
I remember in the mid-1990's during my early electrical career, learning of an accreditation standard called NACOSS and that this high standard was only held by large well developed security system companies. Around the same time I also became aware of the NICEIC who are accreditors of electrical work and I remember admiring and respecting companies who displayed those highly rated badges. Over the early years building up Stirling Electrical Services I was determined to join those ranks and our first major badge of honour was in becoming an approved member of SELECT in 2005. SELECT is the main electrical accreditation company in Scotland and operates to a similar level to NICEIC. SELECT membership brought regular technical and office system audits and those, alongside other regular audits from Which? Trusted Traders and Buy With Confidence schemes resulted in our office procedures becoming even more effective. Our technical expertise was also increasing as we brought on board further experienced electricians and engineers to enhance our already solid team. In late 2015 I launched Stirling Alarms, the branded security system division of Stirling Electrical Services and within just three months we were awarded System Silver status by NSI the leading security system accreditation company in UK. Since then over the past 18 months our hard working team have built up our reputation and procedures and after a recent technical and quality management system audit we have successfully been approved and accredited to NSI NACOSS GOLD level operating at BS EN ISO 9001:2015 standard. NSI NACOSS GOLD is only awarded to companies who consistently meet the industry's highest standards through ISO9001 Quality Management as well as the relevant British and European Standards demonstrating that the company is run in a competent professional manner operating to the highest standards. Gaining these badges of honour is a fantastic achievement and our team should be proud. Now, we must continue to learn and improve and to maintain our high level of service - as badges of honours mean nothing without happy customers and that is the driving force pushing us all forward. 9/8/2017 A9 Average Speed CamerasAre the A9 average speed cameras a success? Well I certainly think so and the stats prove it.
The most notorious section of the A9 is from Perth to Inverness which I have driven many times and now a handful of times since the average speed cameras were installed with the latest drive being today and I have found the journey to the likes of Aviemore and Inverness to be less stressful and I've encountered less incidents or potential incidents since the average speed cameras were installed. Major roadworks over the next handful of years for dualling purposes will cause distribution and some frustration but there can be no argument that since average speed cameras were installed instead of the small number of static individual cameras the road is crucially safer with journey times far from affected. Dualling the A9 is a massive project and was talked about for decades before the current Scottish Government committed to the long term plan and we are already seeing the benefits of the decision to upgrade the road as well as the decision to take decisive action against speeding. 8/8/2017 Personal TouchIt's crucial I receive feedback about our team from our customers and apart from a rare occasion the feedback is usually positive.
I welcome all feedback and it's particularly pleasing when you receive hand written thank you notes from customers who wish to take the time and thank our team members for the service we have provided. Adding that personal touch these days with a hand written note confirms to me that our customer was pleased about our security alarm install as well as with our hard working team who deserve full praise for the way they go about their business. 2/8/2017 Milestone DayI just wanted to blog and register a post today in what I know I will look back on as a milestone in my business life.
I remember when I was in my late teens admiring what my team and I this week have taken a massive step towards. Ok, too much info already. Hopefully more news over coming weeks. 29/7/2017 Changing ExpectationsAre our expectation levels changing? I believe they are and my conclusion is that internet shopping is largely to blame - but that may not be a bad thing. In the day of instant online answers to our questions and shopping via our computer and smart devices our expectation levels as customers have increased and it's been working it's way into the traditional trades and services sector for a few years now. At Stirling Electrical Services and Stirling Alarms a large part of our service is being reactive to customers who have unexpected electrical and security alarm problems so we are geared up as much as we can be to respond as quickly as possible but increasingly we are finding our customer service team are receiving more phonecalls from customers who these days not 'hope' for a quick response but 'expect' a very quick response. Back to my theory regarding the internet being a cause for increasing expectation levels, I can relate to this in my own experience. I love internet shopping especially for electronic gadgets and devices and purchase many items online for the business and for home and I admit that I will pay slightly extra if it means I receive the goods quicker. Several examples of how the internet and especially delivery timescales are affecting our expectation levels was this weekend when on Friday I ordered goods from Amazon. Not only could I pick up the goods ordered on Amazon immediately at my local Argos store in a partnership between those companies when I returned the item I purchased on Saturday mid-morning as it was defective I was told that (instead of waiting until Monday as I expected too for a replacement) I could return to Argos later that afternoon when a replacement would be delivered to Argos for me to pick up. Another example from this weekend was on late Saturday afternoon when I again ordered goods via Amazon and expected a Monday delivery but in fact I could choose for the goods to be delivered free (Amazon Prime member) on Sunday. The goods arrived at my home late Sunday afternoon. Yes on Sunday, the last few years has seen many of the delivery companies starting a Sunday delivery service to meet the growing demand and expectations of online shopping. The above examples add to the recent orders I have placed just minutes before midnight on Amazon for delivery the following day and I believe Next also offer a late at night ordering service for following day delivery. Our expectation levels and demands are increasing and the instant answers and service driven by internet shopping is well on the way to affecting the expectation levels within other business sectors, and you know what I think it's a good thing. These days when a customer of mine expects me to have an electrician hiding around the corner just on the rare chance that they may have an electrical problem so we can respond to in a matter of minutes, then although I will initially feel they are being unreasonable to expect an electrician to be waiting just for them, it does get me thinking and makes me take a step back and ponder about how we operate and how we can work towards improving our service level. Customers expectations, yes for us business leaders they can be a pain at times but as leaders we must put ourselves in our customers shoes at every opportunity and improve and align our own business services as much as possible to match the changing customer exception levels as well as keeping an eye on and learning from other business sectors. It was pleasing to see the ongoing campaign to regulate electricians in Scotland highlighted on BBC radio this morning by Newell McGuinness of SELECT.
SELECT - the trade association for electricians in Scotland, are in discussion with the Scottish Government to have the profession of an Electrician officially regulated by law, similar to gas installations. I fully support this case as only this week my company lost out on a job to a retired electrician who could carry out a job cheaper than us but has no up to date qualifications and was planning on installing life saving fire detection equipment in peoples homes not to the current standard or regulations. Click the audio player below to hear what Newell had to say. Interview is from Radio Scotland - John Beattie show 27/7/17 (36mins) 26/7/2017 Decisions Decisions Good? Bad?What a day it's been for high profile decisions by both the UK Government and The Supreme Court.
First of all UK Government announced that from 2040 all new cars sold will be electric or hybrid and then The supreme Court ruled that charging employees to bring employment tribunal cases against employers is illegal. I'm going to give it a few days and then blog again in more depth but both decisions leave me with many questions and also anger. I know it's more than a few decades before the new electric vehicle ruling comes into force and many many technology advances will take place within that time but as someone in the industry the generation of and then the infrastructure demand to cope with electric vehicles (in current power demands) is massive. I think its obvious that today's announcement is only to appease and beat a court order deadline knowing new generation and infrastructure plans can be left for another day and another government down the line. The other headline news was The Supreme Court's decision to rule that charging employees a higher fee (introduced in 2013) to bring an employee tribunal case against an employer is unlawful. As I said I will go into this in depth in another post as your point of view on this decision will likely be on whether you are an employer or an employee but let me tell you from experience, this decision will once again increase the risk and heavy burden on small businesses like mine to have to safeguard at a high insurance cost against those odd rogue employees who know at no cost will now be able to again raise a tribunal case against the employer even with a weak and deliberate vendetta case. I really do believe you have to employ people to even start to appreciate the extra demands, burden and costs placed on small businesses who just want to create jobs and contribute to the economy. Let me tell you that when an employee gets charged and convicted in court for a personal offence that means they cannot undertake their job but an employer can then still have an unfair dismissal tribunal case raised against them then the system is wrong and this decision just opens up the floodgates to rouge employees and rogue no win no fee lawyers. 24/7/2017 Back With The Team'Back With The Team' today after nearly two working weeks off and it was great being back engaging with them all again as we collectively work to improve as individuals and also as a business. The family break in Lanzarote was most welcome and deserved after another challenging but also rewarding past 12 months. When you run a business especially one that employs many people there will always be ups and downs and it's how as business owners we react and the decisions we make to the challenges and successes is what determines how the business progresses and grows. Watching my young boys have fun and how they have improved in their swimming over the past 12 months gives me such energy and drive and does an amazing job at recharging my batteries. My office team fully expect me to be on the phone or email to them every day while I'm away but although I have various business information if I require at my fingertips via iPhone/iPad apart from seeking basic updates I have learned over the years that it is not healthy-management and is very soul destroying for my team for me to constantly check in to make sure all is ok.
A combination of introducing various procedures and systems over the years allows the day to day operations to operate efficiently but I am confident in the knowledge that our systems are run by our excellent office team who do a wonderful job keeping everything together and running smoothly. It's a team game, we all have our own individual roles within the team but collectively we must work and be motivated as a unit. Although I've talked about my own experiences above, which I know I must continue to work on and improve, the principles of team building, delegation and trusting your team as well as taking time out to recharge from the day to day coalface are all crucial to small business owners with employees. Time off, recharging and reflecting is a great investment in the business. Do you have plugs still in use like the old style plug to the left above on appliances perhaps such as standard lamps, older garden and household equipment - if so then these old style plugs place the end user at a higher risk of shock due to the non-insulating plug pins.
Notice the black insulating shields on the two pins of the new style plug top right - the new plugs are designed like this so that when the plug is not fully inserted into the socket outlet then any part of the pins on view and exposed are insulated so metal cannot be touched reducing the electric shock risk. This safety feature is not on older plugs meaning a higher shock risk when not fully inserted into a socket outlet. Click for more safety info on plugs and extension leads. 19/7/2017 Changing PaceWriting this blog nearing the end of my family holiday in Lanzarote my mind drifts back more often now to business and the months ahead running several companies.
I don't like taking time off - I know I must, I know I must for not only my family but also for my wellbeing. In recent years I feel that I am getting better at relaxing during the downtime and allowing my team back home to look after the day to day operations. They are more than capable and I do take heart knowing that our procedures and systems we have worked tirelessly down the years developing are now in place and being handled well. When companies get to a certain size having procedures and systems in place that help everyone understand the day to day processes is very crucual to the efficiency and consistency of the business. It's a busy period for us in the electrical and security system trade and we have many ideas and plans for the coming months that will require hard work from myself and the team but for now, for me, there's still another day to relax...the hard work of resuming running can also wait another day or two as well. I know this final day downtime will be another day invested well in myself and family. The development of the smartphone and apps over recent years has given me and other business owners the tools that at a glance an overview of certain crucial business information such as bank, accounts information and emails can be sought easily with the facility to drill down into the information if I wish but to be honest I don't go into them in depth while I'm away. Knowing the information is there if I require it is good enough. On holidays though I do tend to spend time planning my diary, todo list and note taking as ideas and problem solving can become much clearer when your away from the everyday hustle of the office. A change to a slower pace is required at times whether it is for one day or one week. Although I've started to realise this in recent times I've still a way to go and can improve to relax further. I never like taking my eye off the ball from my business life but I've believed this week off has given me the rest and boost required to tackle the upcoming next stages in my business development. 9/7/2017 Helping Protect Your PropertyIt's been a good few weeks since our last website blog post and while we do intend to keep our blog post updates regular sometimes our busy job schedule just takes over and rightly our attention is focused on delivering a high standard of work as well as customer service.
One of the jobs that we have been focusing on was the installation of a new commercial fire alarm system as well as emergency lighting at a church near Stirling. Our team of electricians and engineers did a fantastic job installing the systems to not only help protect the users of the building but the cabling and equipment was installed unobtrusively keeping in mind the nature of the building. Our electrical, fire and security services can help you meet various health and safety regulations and we would be delighted to help with your requirements so please contact us. Some photos of our fire alarm and emergency lighting installation job are below. |
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