Month: May 2024

Collaborative Working to Ensure Passenger Safety at the UEFA Europa League Final in Dublin

Posted on by daireleonard

Last week, as the city geared up for the UEFA Europa League final between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen, Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) and OCS security services were busy implementing increased security measures to ensure the safety and smooth transit of the large crowds expected at the Aviva Stadium.

The team had been working closely with Iarnród Éireann for over two months assisting and advising on the development of a comprehensive security plan to manage the influx of thousands of European football fans.

Our security colleagues play an essential role in assisting with crowd control measures and managing the flow of spectators in stations and onboard trains, which is vital for the safety of all attendees using the train services on match days. The key to a successful matchday for both Iarnrod Eireann and OCS is close collaboration with various stakeholders, and listening to their views, concerns and suggestions.

Last weeks success was the result of this collaboration. Our transport security team are experienced and trained to manage any situation that might arise, and last weeks deployment was the perfect example of ensuring passenger safety through correct crowd control processes.

The matchday operation commenced around 3 pm following a final brief, as pictured, with the customer and senior management, with passenger volumes starting to noticeably increase closer to 5 pm. We deployed an additional 22 static officers across several stations in the Lansdown area to ensure smooth access and egress, and to assist with station bag searches where required. Additionally, we increased our onboard presence by 25% to tackle any potential anti-social behaviour and confiscate any open alcoholic beverages.

As with many large-scale sporting events, local councils working in conjunction with Iarnrod Eireann and An Garda Síochána had implemented essential matchday practices, including traffic restrictions and the closure of Landsdown Road station as an added safety precaution due to the very different spectator profiles in attendance. An Garda Síochána had put in place a comprehensive security plan for the UEFA Europa League Final, that included a significant presence of uniformed security personnel, along with specialist units.

Fortunately, there were no incidents reported and by all accounts provided by our security team, both sets of fans were incredibly well-behaved and fully enjoyed the night and the atmosphere. For our team, this meant a short debrief at midnight before heading home after a truly successful night.

Hosting prestigious events such as the Europa League Final is an honour for Dublin City, and it’s an event that residents look forward to hosting and welcoming football fans from around the world. This is why ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for all attendees is of the utmost importance and our team of dedicated security personnel are always glad to play their part in making it a success.

A World FM Day Celebration – Stuart Beards, Security Operations Director

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Stuart is an OCS Operations Director for the Security Division, he ensures our operational teams are delivering the highest standards of contract delivery for our customers, whilst supporting our front-line colleagues with the resources and equipment to perform their jobs safely. This strategic position within the division supports and manages the strategy set by the MD and Business Director. 

Continuing our celebrations of World FM Day, we are focusing on Stuart’s FM career, how his security expertise integrates within the wider FM business and how he sees the FM industry shaping up in the years ahead. 

After leaving the Royal Marines in 2017, Stuart started his journey in security and FM as a security officer and over the following four years continued to progress, becoming the duty security manager of the largest nuclear construction project in Europe. But Stuart’s progression wasn’t limited to his security career, he also pushed himself academically, achieving qualifications like NEBOSH, an honours BSc Degree in Risk and Security Management, and PRINCE 2 project management among others. 

Stuart’s passion for security and protection continued to drive his progress, leading him to London as a security risk manager and then to Atalian Servest as a regional security operations manager. Shortly after joining Atalian, Stuart’s academic qualifications were crucial in supporting his team’s planning and successful delivery of two major events G7 and COP 26, which led him into a regional director position. More recently, following the merger of OCS and Atalian Servest and the subsequent acquisition of Profile Security, Stuart took on a new position within the business as the security operations director for South UK.

Stuart’s continued inspiration comes from a thirst for knowledge of all things security but he is also driven by the daily challenges that our industry presents, and helping customers find the right answers. “Our customers are coming to us for a solution, and I get to be part of the team that finds the right solution” 

The FM industry is about people, and Stuart is very much a people person which is important in a team-based environment. ”I enjoy visiting customers across various sectors as I get to see some amazing projects, buildings and people. The most inspiration that I take from the FM industry is the people who work within it. We are very much a people-led business”

“OCS has given me everything I need and more to ensure that I succeed. I have been fully supported by my line manager and was very lucky to be officially mentored by our UK and Ireland CEO, Daniel Dickson, whose insight and feedback were instrumental to my success”

While his drive and passion for learning have been the primary factors in his academic achievements, Stuart is quick to acknowledge the impact of having a supportive team that mentors its members and the vital role an organisation plays in its people’s personal development.

So for those considering a career within FM, how can Stuart’s lived experiences offer insight? Having started on the front line as a Security Officer, it was Stuart’s hunger to succeed that kept driving him forward, to continue learning and developing. He firmly believes that hard work pays off, and that attitude is often more important than ability. “It’s so important to have passion for what you do, that hunger to succeed is more important than ability if they lack that drive. You do need to work hard, learning and development should be continuous, and take all you can from the mentorship offered by your management team. No one knows everything, so build relationships with those who can support and guide you.”

For Stuart, the FM industry is heading towards an exciting future, where technology and automation will play a huge part in advancing and impacting the industry. In security, E-Guarding is the new exciting space being implemented, a blend of technological solutions and people to provide the best outcome for our customers, driven by data and insights. People will always be central within the FM industry, however, the more advanced technology becomes, the more we can tailor our services based on data, providing cost savings to our customers and improving site security through AI-detected threats. 

OCS Facilities Services

A World FM Day Celebration: Carl Gage, Regional Director, Hard Services

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Carl is one of the Regional Directors within Technical Services that sits within the overall OCS Hard Services Business, responsible and accountable for six key customers across a number of services.

As part of our World FM Day celebrations, we are doing a deep dive into Carl’s FM career, to provide insight into the industry and inspire the next generation of FM professionals.

Carl’s entry into FM was varied, from catering in the military to becoming a Health and Safety Advisor, following his father’s footsteps. Eventually, Carl quickly moved into operations, which he has worked in for 8 years of his 12-year career in FM. “I have been extremely fortunate in my career to date and have been given some fantastic opportunities which I have grasped with both hands”. 

The world of FM is different every single day, but the main benefits are that you get to work with talented and like-minded colleagues and customers. What inspires Carl to work in FM is that many people bring so many different skills and experience which makes for a great team. “Every day is a learning experience which enables us to work smarter for our customers ultimately making the experience for their end users better each day”.

OCS gave Carl opportunities to grow by giving him autonomy and the ability to influence change, two crucial factors in facilitating career growth. 

“OCS is a fast-paced business and is growing all the time, which means the opportunities to grow come thick and fast which I will always take and run with”.

Carl’s key advice for anyone looking to get into FM would be to be open-minded, take nothing for granted and grasp all the opportunities that come your way. A career in FM has endless possibilities and many different paths that can be taken.

In Carl’s opinion, the future innovations in FM will vary from automation, data analytics, and many more, which will all impact our customers positively, but ultimately one thing to remember is that what makes FM so unique are the people that deliver the service to our customers. “Our people ultimately are the ones that make our customer experience greater daily. That is one of the reasons I’m passionate about OCS’s TRUE Values”. 

OCS Facilities Services

A World FM Day Celebration – Tony Parkinson, Sector Director, Hard Services

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Tony is responsible for directing the Technical Services division within OCS, which has 1,000 team members delivering planned and reactive maintenance across a range of contracts and buildings throughout the UK.

As part of our World FM Day celebrations, we are doing a deep dive into Tony’s FM career and journey, to provide insight into the industry and inspire the next generation of FM professionals.

From a young age, Tony had taken a keen interest in physical elements and how things worked. This led him to start his career as an electrical engineer, he then worked his way into management in his early 20s. Naturally, Tony’s career progressed into the FM industry to lead large and diverse teams for over 25 years. Tony’s most recent experience has been supporting growth strategies including the evaluation and mobilisation of new opportunities in the UK and our global regions.

“Our customers are committed to ensuring they have safe, efficient, and pleasurable buildings for their end customers and employees. This drives the FM industry to be an innovative market and suits my desire for advancement and making a difference in the environment”. Tony has been fortunate to work with inspirational teams who make a huge difference to our customers’ buildings and enforce the moves towards a more sustainable and ethical future.

“OCS has a positive people culture and has empowered me to manage my business and ultimately our customer requirements and promises”.

Tony saw OCS as an innovator, pushing high-quality service delivery at our customer sites, and overall OCS has the scale and drive to reach ambitious growth targets.

FM is a wide and diverse arena, and future FM professionals should spend time considering what elements excite them the most and aim for the vocational and academic path that suits their needs.  “My advice would be to start with a specialist area to focus on and gain the FM experience whether soft or hard services or wider support functions such as commercial, financial or procurement”.

OCS Facilities Services

Tony sees three key innovations as part of the future of FM; Automation, data analytics and building intelligence. “We have strong targets to help the government and customers meet their strategic carbon reduction commitments. These commitments need a solid understanding of data to support the investment into smarter, more efficient buildings. In turn, this will also ensure space is managed effectively and aligns with core requirements of FM”

A World FM Day Celebration – Razvan Paun, FM Contracts Manager – An FM Career Ignited

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Razvan is an FM Contracts Manager within Ireland’s Leinster region, ensuring customers are delivered with a full suite of hard and soft services, overseeing planned and reactive maintenance and delivering operational requirements in line with contractual KPIs and SLAs.

As part of our World FM Day celebrations, we wanted to do a deep dive into Razvan’s FM career and journey, to provide insight into the industry and inspire the next generation of FM professionals.

Razvan’s journey, like many others within the industry, started as a frontline operative within cleaning. It wasn’t long before his consistently high standards were noticed, and his career progression started. After a few months, Razvan became a supervisor, then an industrial cleaning manager, an area manager and then a regional manager. It was at this point he joined OCS, as a cleaning contracts manager.

“My contracts were both standalone cleaning services and part of wider TFM contracts”. It was at OCS that opportunities opened up for career progression. As a global FM provider, the size of the OCS business provided the opportunity to work alongside different disciplines within the same organisation, allowing Razvan greater collaboration and learning.

“I worked closely with my colleagues from the FM team, and began to learn more about the FM operations”. FM operations might have been a new area for Razvan, but he quickly knew that it interested him and was something he wanted to explore. As his interests and experience grew, Razvan jumped at the opportunity to become an FM contracts manager last year, “It was the use of innovative systems and the technology supporting a customer’s entire building that appealed to me”

Razvan’s continued inspiration comes from the collaboration between other business units, contractors, and the customer, and being the individual responsible for overseeing the whole contract and ensuring the best outcome for the customer.

The transition in any role can be challenging, having the necessary support structures in place is vital for development and progression. Razvan is grateful for the support he received and attributes his success not just to the training and development provided by OCS, but also to the close mentorship individuals provided in the early stages of his new role.

“OCS provided me with a comprehensive training plan including online, onsite manager training courses and external training identified by management. My biggest support though, was the mentoring and coaching I received from my manager. They put the time in to ensure I understood every aspect of the role, from the operations, financial and business development side. This gave me the confidence I needed to make decisions and use my initiative, knowing my manager was there to support and advise me.”

This year’s World FM Day is themed heavily around inspiration, and driving people towards a career in FM, and Razvan was keen to highlight the benefits of an FM career. Although he admits it’s a little cliché, Razvan points out that no two days are the same and that satisfaction continues to inspire him every day.

“FM is a very attractive industry, you will learn something new and unexpected every day. You’re always connecting with new people, and the sense of achievement you get from the job is what I love the most. You will never regret choosing a career in FM, it was the best professional decision I made.”

The future is bright for Razvan, and in his opinion the FM Industry too, with an increased focus on carbon reduction and sustainability, he believes this will continue to drive innovations within FM. ”Everything needs to be considered, the most minor aspects, reducing paper usage, greener lighting, energy usage, travel reduction, waste collections, the list goes on. But this is what makes FM such an exciting space to be involved in right now and into the future.”