What is the background of your company?
Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) is the state provider of telecommunications for the Kingdom of Bahrain. The
Kingdom is a small island (approx 690 sq. km.) in the Persian Gulf, situated between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Batelco's roots trail as far back as 1864 when the Indo-European undersea telegraph cable was installed, signaling the beginning
of Bahrain's telecommunications industry. The new company operated as the Imperial and International Communications Company
until another arm was created and came to be known as the Wireless Telegraph Company. Together, the two companies built
up a range of international and national radio, telephony and telex services.
Our activities are not limited to the local market but also overseas through participation in key investment initiatives
for developing regional and international telecommunications between GCC states and other countries. We are always trying
to develop new opportunities in the field of multimedia and telecommunications. Today, we have joint ventures in Bahrain,
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt for the provision of Internet access and data communications services.
How many facilities are there?
The company consists of approximately 125 sites spread across Bahrain. Six of these sites are large manned facilities, but
the vast majority are remote unmanned equipment buildings. There are a small number of customer service centers as well.
The total number of direct employees is 2,000 but there are also another 1,000 contractors that work for us.
What are your responsibilities?
I am the “Manager Security Systems”. I am responsible for the design, installation and maintenance of the access control,
intruder detection, CCTV, radio, operator console and of course guard tour systems. I also specify and approve the physical
designs of the sites and design and produce our security department's intranet page. To assist me on this, I have three
engineers and four contractors who work directly for me. All of the sites have a security system of some kind installed;
most have access, IDS and CCTV.
Where do you patrol?
All sites are patrolled and have two to six buttons for a remote site while the manned sites have around 40 buttons. The
sites are split into four regions; we have four control rooms looking after these regions. To cover this we have 85 guards
mostly on eight hour shifts.
The average shift size is 20. At the six major sites we carry out foot patrols every two hours. Vehicle patrols are carried
out to the rest of the sites and we run five patrols in a 24-hour period.
Patrolling is conducted both indoors and outdoors. For example, vehicle patrols check inside and outside of the different
sites visited. Some foot patrols at the major facilities will be entirely internal within particular buildings or conversely
could be completely external patrolling the perimeter of the facility.
What are the security issues you face?
Our biggest concern is the remote sites, ensuring that the integrity of the sites is maintained. This involves the guards
checking the perimeter fences and gates and the security controlled doors in the buildings. Buttons are strategically placed
to encourage thorough checking.
Who generates the reports?
We have ten PIPEs deployed in four Regional Security Control Centers (RSCC) and in three satellite control rooms. Data is
sent back to our headquarters via seven modem downloaders. The information is used by the Regional Security Officers (they
reside in the RSCC's) who generate reports to verify that patrols are undertaken correctly. Any discrepancies are highlighted
to the Senior Guard in charge at the time and appropriate action taken.
How long have you been using Guard1 Plus?
We have been using the system for about 18 months now; initially we had a problem with the Modem Downloaders, which was
dealt with by replacing all of our downloaders. I was very impressed by the attitude and professionalism of all involved
in resolving the problem! The system since then has run excellently with virtually no maintenance, which is outstanding
considering the high usage in the very hot and humid weather we suffer. I particularly like the compact shape and robustness
of The PIPE. No PIPEs have failed yet due to mistreatment! This is in stark contrast to our
old system, which was bulky, plastic and too delicate for our guards, hence spent more time on the repair bench than out
in the field. Robustness and durability is what first attracted us to The PIPE when we were
looking into replacing the old system.
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