Essay: Creating security awareness

This thesis is about the topic security awareness. In fact it is about creating security awareness. As described in the research employees find themselves abroad working on engineering projects for Tideway Offshore Solutions. Rules and regulations for safety and security are strict on board ships and in port facilities. During travel in land abroad these regulations are not or rarely present. Companies still have the responsibility to care for the safety and wellbeing of employees. Employees do need to be able to travel safely in these sometimes high risk countries. Employees in these cases have a responsibility to comply to the standards set by the employers. For instance a project manager is visiting a quarry where rocks are hauled from for a project. He/she travels from the ship or airport to the location. How do you prepare him for the local crime and terrorism? How do you keep him/her aware of risks? What are some of the higher standards that can be used in preparing him/her for his travels? The goal of this research is to come up with a set of tools that can help generate security awareness for employees working abroad in high risk countries.
The research methods used to achieve the results are as follows. For researching the laws and regulations relevant to security awareness several laws and regulations are reviewed. For instance websites and documents with the according regulations. The 13 most relevant actors in the area of marine engineering and security are reviewed on their usefulness for creating security awareness. Correspondence is setup with all the actors via telephone or email and results are processed in the research.
Lastly the awareness of employees is measured by a questionnaire taken from 15 employees. This is done with the aim to advise the management on current security awareness and possible ways to improve this area within the company to a more mature level.
Most importantly it is crucial to understand that rules and regulations necessary to generate a branch specific high standard for security awareness for travel abroad are limited but existent. As specified in the research local security actors like police, medical care and fire departments are expected to react in emergency situations. Although some standards are not useful for travel in high risk countries the format of several rules and regulations reviewed in this research is useful when looking at a document format for standards. Creating an entire new format is time consuming to make and read as a user. These standards should be set by verified information gathered from different actors, different open sources and current literature. In preparation of travel abroad projects and employees can be equipped with information and timely reminders about local situations.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Motivation
3 Crime scene in Mexico
4 Research of literature
5 Results
6 Advice
Appendix A Laws and Regulations
Appendix B Actors
Appendix C Research methods
Appendix D Quality insurance
Appendix E Correspondence with Mexican embassy
Appendix F Correspondence with Shell
Appendix G Project security preparation
Appendix H Effective communication
1 Introduction
In this section of the research, the definition of security awareness, limitations on research, the offshore industry, the activities of Tideway Offshore Solutions (further referred to as Tideway), the field of security and the responsibilities of a QHSE-S department within the company are explained. Balancing freedom and security is a challenge for democracies as well as companies. This research will show that regulations, procedures and continuous self-sustaining effort of management and employees as well as cultural commitment are to be combined in combating security awareness in companies that operate in high risk areas. Security in the offshore industry is heavily guided by rules, procedures and regulations on board ships and in port facilities. However when the employees of Tideway are abroad in high risk countries this regard to rules, procedures and regulations with regards to security is not as clear as it should be. The QHSE-S Manager and coordinator see this research as an opportunity to review and possibly improve current policy practice. The chosen text format is a reflection of the companies’ wishes. Risks can be caused by a security threat but still can be described as unsafe situations. In terms of defining threats the word ‘unsafe’ in this research is used as an adjective to describe the situation and not the source of the threat. Safety issues and measures along with the word ‘safety’ in general is used to describe risks that are caused by human error in workplaces and not by deliberate external force as in security risks.
Goal of research
This research is aimed at the management of Tideway. The main goal is to provide the management several ways of dealing with security awareness aside from the travel risk management and regulations applicable to ships and shore facilities. For instance the measurement of security awareness culture by Shell Measures with regards to the subject security will prepare the organization and its employees for a more mature form of security awareness. The goal is also to use laws and regulations to describe that attention to security awareness is indirectly forced by law on companies. Comparison of laws in different countries will provide Tideway with clarity of how different crimes are punished and defined in different countries. Furthermore this research will describe if the roles and responsibilities of different actors change respective to the countries. Recognizing this beforehand can make taking actions when incidents do occur easier. By using the different actors in the field of security to gain knowledge and to subscribe this knowledge with literature on how security awareness should be formed within a company, a verified and integrated advice on security awareness is formed.
1.1 Research
Thesis Question
How can Tideway increase security awareness amongst their personnel during travel from ships and work sites to in land locations in Mexico?
Sub-Questions
To answer the thesis question several sub-questions are answered. First the laws and regulations should be reviewed on their relevance to security awareness during travel. Following this research it is important to view how laws and regulations influence the present security awareness policy. Thirdly it is important to view which actors within the offshore industry are most relevant for Tideway in forming a security policy. Then through a questionnaire it will be researched how aware employees are of security threats. Finally in asking how Tideway can communicate effectively about security awareness to their personnel will aid the company in keeping employees security aware.
Vision
As an international company operating abroad as well as in European waters Tideway encounters security situations in high risk environments. Security awareness should be the cornerstone of a company’s security policy and culture. It is not the technical safety measures that have the most impact on security within a company but the security culture that makes the biggest difference. A security awareness program for Tideway is most effective if employees feel responsible about security. Not only do employees need to be security mature, but also the higher management of Tideway should provide management support to this culture. As role models, managers form a crucial part in this process. Employees should know what needs to be reported, and to whom it needs to be reported, how to handle critical situations and who to contact internally (coordinator or management) and externally (private or public emergency responders) from the company. Additionally, it is critical to know how to contact the persons in charge.
In addition a culture of security with employees, a clear description of what to write in incident reports like who did it, what happened, where it happened, when it happened and the persons or objects involved which can help the company learn from incidents in the future. Employees should know what to look out for in the environment and know what to do in case of emergency. It should be clear which security procedures to follow. Are current security procedures up to standard? The current relationship of the company with law enforcement agencies also is important. Knowing who you cooperate with and having met them beforehand or better yet knowing them more closely makes working together easier when incidents do happen. Knowing who has authority to call who in case of emergency makes for better crisis management. Due to the daily activities of Tideway, employees tend to forget the risks of terrorism as is also the case in public society. A big challenge is to know at what moment security awareness starts fading, complacency is setting in, and at what moment attention to detail is reduced.
Employees should know the potential risks they encounter in a specific area. Risk categories divided in common areas should be made (Incorperating transportation security awareness in to routine state DOT operations and training, 2014). The best approach is to attain a risk specific management strategy.
In the advice security awareness is measured by two models for culture within companies. Ideally the management should aim at the level of Generative (Shell model) and Effective (Gartner model) for self sustainable security awareness culture of the highest level.
To generate a broad view on security awareness multiple sources are combined in finding a true definition. Security in some literature is defined as the freedom from any intentional harm or circumstances. According to some security experts, awareness is not training but the attention for security issues (academies, 2014). The risks specific to Tideway when operating in Mexico are all the reviewed but not limited to the criminal acts in this research. Security awareness, according to transport professionals, is the process of creating consciousness about security. In this definition training goes into dealing with robberies, kidnapping and all other forms of criminality that the employees might encounter when traveling abroad. Technical safety measures are not effective without security awareness of employees (TLN). As well as generating a higher degree of competency in crisis situations, it causes the employees feel safer on the job.
Defining security awareness
Security awareness in context of this research is defined first by the awareness employees have of risks abroad. To generate a broad view on security awareness multiple sources are combined in finding a true definition. Security in some literature is defined as the freedom of any intentional harm or circumstances. Furthermore it is stated that security awareness is not training but the attention for security (academies, 2014). Within this research these risks are all criminal acts that are found in the national territory of Mexico. The methods used in this research can be used on other high risk countries. Security awareness according to transport professionals is the process of creating consciousness about security. In this definition training goes into robberies, kidnapping and all other forms of criminality that the company has to face. Technical safety measures are not effective without security awareness of employees (TLN). As well as generating a higher degree of competency the employees feel safer on the job.
Security awareness in this research is broadly defined by the knowledge, experience and attitude that employees have of and towards risks abroad in the context of a company’s operations, visited country risk profile and personal risk profile.
Limitations on research
During the research it has become clear that limitations had to be placed on the scope of subject matter. These limitations are presented below.
-In the analyzing of laws and legislation it is assumed that technical safety measures are taken. Furthermore, these measures are not the scope of this research. Most of the IMCA SEL 037 and other manuals generated by parties in the shipping industry is part of this subject.
-The quality of local emergency services plays a big factor in security of employees in foreign countries. Aside from a brief notion of police effectiveness abroad the assessment of the quality of these operational partners is not part of this research.
-Due to the limited reach of this research only three most relevant articles with regards to security have been reviewed per regulation. All reviewed regulations have more relevant articles and are more extensive in their relevance to security for Tideway.
-Tideway is active in multiple countries. The laws reviewed in this research are limited to Mexican, Canadian and Dutch criminal law.
-No occupational health and safety regulations of different countries have been reviewed.
-No security measures countering specific types of crimes are reviewed in this research.
-No ISO regulations have been subject of the research.
-In no way is this research assessing the reasons behind the rampant crime rates and corruption in Mexico. Therefore this research will only be explaining the different ways in which crime and corruption has a hold on Mexico and is a threat to the employees of Tideway.
-The company has much information about security on internal networks. For this research no access has been granted to this database. Therefore quality is limited to the reviewed documents and information gathered during research.
-In the analyzing of different actors it became clear that Tideway was reviewed on the risks in a threat assessment, critical assets, risk register and risk treatment plan by a renowned company called Control Risks in cooperation with International SOS. No access to this document was granted during this research because of privacy related to the discussed facts and the aim of the risk assessment. This research is aimed at increasing security awareness. The research from Control Risks is aimed at damage control for Tideway.
-In travel advice from ministries of foreign affairs some areas in Mexico are measured for security and in some countries given a color tag for the level of risk when traveling to this area. Additional analysis of local crime activity is necessary because, for instance, in areas where drug cartels are active it would not be advisable to travel to even if the ministry of foreign affairs says it is possible.
-In this research no possible measures to counter specific risks abroad, such as vessel protection detachments and private armed security are reviewed.
-The models used (Hearts and minds model, Security maturity model) are limited in their description because actual application of the models requires a payment as can be seen on the website (Institute, Hearts and minds brochure request). Therefore information described in this research is limited to what the website provides.
1.2 Offshore industry
The offshore industry is a vibrant industry concerned with different aspects of engineering in the marine environment. The science of geology is used to research the sediments on which the industry is relying. The offshore industry originated from crude oil drilling. Current examples of expertise’s are generating wind energy, deep water operations, mining, dredging in lakes, rivers and seas. Other areas in which the offshore industry works are pipe laying, protection of installations, land reclamation, port construction, shipping and more. The industry is diverse and internationally active on a wide range of projects.
Oil is created when compressed fluid sediments over time get trapped in reservoirs under the surface of the earth’s crust. Essentially still oil is dead plant and animal matter. Oil is crucial for the making of plastics, pesticides, fertilizers, paint, rubber and asphalt and is also a key component in the current agricultural system. Without oil and its derivatives our current food production in the world would not be achieved and several industries would not be able to function.
In offshore operations several different structures and ships are used to extract, drill, dredge, transport and lay substances. Examples are laying rocks and sand. Oil is extracted and production materials are transported for construction.
Oil reservoirs are formed by the movements of the earth’s tectonic plates. First a large amount of organic matter is formed by this massive force. Under a tremendous amount of pressure and heat biomass is transformed into hydrocarbons.
In different areas of the world different kinds of projects described above are undertaken by companies like Tideway. In the Middle East, Australia, Europe, Mediterranean, Mideast, North-America and South-America projects are undertaken.
1.3 Tideway
This research is performed within Tideway Offshore Solutions. Tideway is a globally operating marine engineering company providing the following services on the edge between land and water: preparing sea bedding for the oil and gas industry, protecting offshore installations, installation of high voltage cable networks, harvesting minerals and every aspect surrounding these processes. Finally the company lays rock foundations to protect pipelines from the weather elements. The Balearic Pipeline project, Nord Stream Project and BorkumRiffgrund1 shown below are examples of projects performed by Tideway.
Figure 2: Balearic Pipeline project
Figure 4: Nord Stream Project
Figure 6: Borkum Riffgrund 1
Tideway has several offices in different countries across the world. Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, USA and Vietnam. Tideway cooperates with other sistercompanies of DEME group. DEME group is the parent company of Tideway. The companies that are working under DEME are: Dredging international, Baggerwerken Decloedt & Zn, Geosea, Scaldis Salvage & Marine Contractors N.V., DEC environmental contractor, Ecoterres traveaux environmentaux, grond recycle centrum, de Vries & van de Wiel Milieu GWW & baggerwerken, DBM Building Materials, Power@sea, DBE DEME Blue Energy and C-Power (Figure 8: partners of Tideway). Other companies are no stakeholder in this research.
Tideway has 21 years of experience, is a global player and promotes its company culture with a multidisciplinary approach. High tech innovation and sustainable development drive Tideway. Quality, health, safety and environment are not only important for the company and its employees but also for acquisition of new clients. Results are not dependent or influenced by the direct partners of Tideway. The daily management of Tideway is performed by a Management Team. Tideway has no board of directors and is led by two directors. Further Tideway has an engineering department consisting of rock placement, landfalls, cable installations, subsea construction. Other departments are productions, operations and human resources consisting of payroll and crewing. Finally departments like finance control, legal counsel, insurance and ICT department are present within the company. The department within which this thesis is executed is QHSE-S. Captains and shipmates are incorporated in the different engineering departments. Captains and shipmates perform a dual function on board ships. In case of emergency the captains lead the ships as security officers and ship mates are trained in security duties. The highest authority on board ships belongs to captains. Tideway is currently active in Canada, Mexico and on the North Sea. In the past Tideway has had projects in Venezuela and Australia.
Tideway owns 3 ships (Rollingstone, Seahorse and Flintstone) and around 300 employees are presently on active duty within the company (figure 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14) . One of the three ships is shared with another company called Boskalis. Most of the employees are under contract with Tideway, some are subcontracted from other external companies. A large part of the preparation for projects Tideway does is done in the offices by project teams. Shown below are the three ships currently active within Tideway.