The shift in the security landscape came at a time when government agencies were expected to adopt outcome-based contracts (OBCs), which focus on expected outputs and outcomes rather than stipulating headcount, by last May.
At last December’s Singapore Security Industry Awards, winners were recognised based on their competencies in implementing OBCs, said Mr Raj Joshua Thomas, president of the Security Association Singapore (SAS).
He said: “OBCs require that service providers are able to, on their own or in partnership with other firms, provide not only manpower, but technology as well. Security agencies hence need to evolve to be one-stop shops, able to service buyers from the initial consultancy stage, to the installation of technology and eventually the deployment of security officers, who will also operate the technology.”
One of the winners, Singapore Exchange (SGX), bagged a few awards such as Excellence in Video Analytics Implementation and Excellence in Job Redesign.
Mr Tan Hock Seng, head of workplace services at SGX, said it was able to roll out OBCs as a result of investing more time in developing new infrastructure and processes, backed by a strong set of experienced security partners.
Mr Tan said: “We redesigned our security officers’ jobs holistically so that the officers are able to handle multiple responsibilities and yet increase the level of security vigilance and deterrence.
“We are now able to conduct security surveillance more comprehensively, with less manpower.”
One of SGX’s partners, Lorin, an international security consulting firm based in Singapore and Israel, said the pandemic “has pushed the security industry for solutions which are less dependent on the human factor and physical interaction”.
Mr Yaniv Peretz, managing director of Lorin, said: “System integration and remote command and control are a good example of how to achieve this.
“Physical security information management systems are able to integrate and remotely control security sub-systems, such as access control, CCTV and alarms.”