Feature Drone Management and Compliance Read more online at www.securitymattersmagazine.com
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oxymoronic term. Fortunately for all of
us, the Surveillance Camera Code of
Practice has been written to promote
inclusivity and accessibility across the
full surveillance spectrum.
Belfast-based Crowded Space Drones
was the willing participant for the
aforementioned ‘industry first’.
Something of a bold decision driven by
the company’s organisational
commitment to bettering standards
within the private sector industry.
On completion of the audit, Andrew
McQuillan (director of Crowded Space
Drones) observed: “Given that we don’t
fit the traditional scope of having a fixed
surveillance system in a confined
geographic area, this was our main
concern ahead of going into the audit.
We were particularly pleased that the
assigned IQ Verify auditor understood
this point right from the outset.”
On Tuesday 13 October, a little over a
week following the date of the IQ Verify
audit (and as reported at the time on the
Security Matters website), the
Surveillance Camera Commissioner
formally awarded Crowded Space
Drones the first-ever private sector
Certificate of Compliance in relation to
surveillance camera systems and the
Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 for the
use of UAS in surveillance.
“When conducting any form of
surveillance for public authorities,
transparency of compliance is crucial to
both the authority and the public,” urged
McQuillan. “We’re exceptionally proud
to be the only private sector organisation
to have obtained this certification to date
as it not only affords our clients
confidence that we comply with all of the
relevant legislation in this area, but also
enables public trust in our work.”
Tangible value
In order to satisfy the original objectives
of the project – and also address the
issues caused by a lack of available
certification frameworks – it stands to
reason that any certification must lead
to some real world value, be that at an
organisational level or one more closely
aligned with commercial success.
That being so, what’s Andrew’s take
on the value of the certification that his
company has just received, both at an
industry and an organisational level?
Also, what does he believe to be the next
step for those drone solution providers
looking to stand out from the
competition within the industry?
“Adherence to standards and the
attainment of formal certification are
crucial for maintaining safety and Best
Practice,” stated McQuillan. “They
demonstrate a recognised level of
compliance, both internally and
externally, offering a transparent
overview of business operations and
showing a defined and determined
commitment to quality. It’s for these
reasons that we wanted to put our head
about the parapet and be a driving force
behind the certification changes we
firmly believe the sector needs.”
He continued: “The Surveillance
Camera Code of Practice audit has
already driven positive change for our
business. This includes the deployment
of over ten improvement actions,
primarily aimed at helping both our
own team members and the general
public at large to understand precisely
how standards relate to their interaction
with our work. We also fully anticipate a
growing commercial value with regards
to future tendering success.”
Further, McQuillan said: “Owing to
reduced work during the pandemic,
procurement is currently overloaded
with the number of tender submissions
being received. In our recent experience,
tenders that used to entice four or five
bidders now peak the interest of
between 40 and 60 solution providers.
Competition is good, of course, but
most of these operators are not
experienced in niche areas of drone use
and they overwhelm procurement,
delaying it and, on occasion, cancelling
the procurement exercise entirely.
Formal certification against recognised
standards provides a method for
streamlining this process, allowing UAS
organisations to quickly differentiate
themselves from the competition.”
For McQuillan, the next step is very
clearly the segregation of quality service
provision among the 5,832 CAA-approved
organisations in the UK using
drones. “Parallels can be made with the
security industry following the
introduction of the Security Industry
Authority (SIA) in 2003,” highlighted
McQuillan. “Once the SIA had achieved
a high level of personal licensing
compliance, the focus moved towards
organisations becoming Approved
Contractors which then set a
benchmark of quality in line with ISO
9001 and the various British Standards.”
The CAA isn’t like the SIA in the
sense of recognising the business need
for quality scoring in procurement as
the aviation sector rarely has to deal
with such issues. “This is where we hope
the recently published International
Standard for drone operations,
specifically ISO 21384-3:2019, will play a
pivotal role,” concluded McQuillan.
On that note, IQ Verify will soon be
introducing a UAS Operations Gold
Scheme which, in our view, is going to
become the Approved Contractor
Scheme of the drones industry.
Laurence Clarke is Director of IQ
Verify (www.iqverify.org.uk)
Adherence to standards and the attainment of
formal certification are crucial for maintaining
safety and Best Practice
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