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1 Sep, 2015

Growing Workplace Violence Threats Open New Revenue Stream for U.S. Security Consultants

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) August 31, 2015 – The Consulting, Investigations and International (CI&I) division of security company Andrews International, an affiliate of U.S. Security Associates, held a Workplace Violence Program training in the last month in Atlanta aimed at educating clients and potential clients on best practices for prevention, mitigation, and response tactics to workplace violence incidents.

Recognizing that organizations are more vulnerable to the impact of workplace violence than ever before, employers must take steps to ensure workplace safety. Valuable to all organizations, the course focuses on developing company-wide policies and procedures for identifying and mitigating potential risks and responding to live threats in the organization, and course topics are developed and presented by the security and protection experts of the CI&I division.

Ensuring workplace safety not only benefits organizations through reduced liability, safeguarded reputations, and prevention of costly productivity interruptions, but workplace safety is required by law. Under the General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers must provide their employees with “a place of employment which is free from recognizable hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious harm to employees.”

In 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported more than 23,000 significant injuries due to assault at work, with projected numbers continuing to rise. More recently, a single example in 2015 resulted in the death of four marines when a gunman opened fire on an army recruiting office. With statistics and examples like this, it is clear that workplace violence is a risk for every organization.

Carin Kantala, CI&I Sr. Consultant, comments, “Research supports that the scope and impact of workplace violence incidents can be mitigated through recognition of the impending signs of potential violent behavior and implementation of proper security measures limiting access.” She continues, “Andrews International’s CI&I (AI CI&I) division has committed to educate all of our clients and potential clients on how to best prevent, mitigate, and respond when safety in the workplace is threatened.”

Led by security industry experts, the AI CI&I Workplace Violence seminar includes topics on preparing policies and procedures, pre-threat actions, threat verification and assessment, threat-maker control and containment, post-threat actions, documentation and reporting, and protective strategies. Through this program employees learn that violence is not spontaneous — it is a process — and how each employee can recognize the warning signs and potential triggers as the threat process escalates. Thus informed, employees can effectively perform critical observation and reporting roles.

Kantala continues, “We educate our clients and help to develop company-wide workplace violence policies and implement procedures that reduce risk and result in a safer work environment for the organization.”