Keeping confidence
Securing a business today requires much more than keeping burglars out at night. Protecting personnel files, profit and overhead statistics, research and development reports, and customer information is vital. A breach in information security can be disastrous.

Intentional or accidental “leaks” impact the bottom line, organization reputation and employee morale. Risk of information and record theft can be significantly reduced through vigilant security practices.

A few points to give attention to include:
• Use discretion when talking about work in public areas. One never knows who might be sitting nearby at the kids’ basketball game or at the next table during dinner.
• Know who is on the other end of a phone call, email or fax. People take advantage of employees’ helpfulness to get confidential information.
• Keep workspaces clean and clear when not at a desk. Put away documents and turn off the computer or put it on standby.
• Shred. Trash and recycling bins are not secure. Shred all paper with any sensitive information.
• Control traffic in, out and through a facility with an access control system (see “Confident Confidentiality” below for more information). Train employees to safely challenge a stranger in their workspace if you don’t have security personnel to handle it.
• Educate employees to guard ID badges, access cards, key fobs and office keys as they would their own keys or credit cards.
• Employees employ safe password practices:
-Use at least eight characters
-Avoid using personal information like birthdays, anniversaries, addresses
-Memorize password(s) rather than using an auto fill option or writing it down
-Add a number and symbol to passwords when possible

For more tips to secure server and record rooms, talk with your Sonitrol Pacific Consultant or Customer Service Representative.

Grab bike security by the handlebars
Hooray for summer! We get to go out and enjoy all a Pacific Northwest summer has to offer. If more time spent biking is part of your summer plans, take steps to protect your bike from theft.

In the beginning:
Insure it. Add your bike to the list of items covered by your homeowners or renters insurance policy, or take out a separate policy for it.
Make your mark. Look into bike security marking systems.
Document it. Record the model, make and frame number of your bike. Take a picture and highlight unique features.
On the home front:
Outta sight. More than half of bikes stolen are taken from the owner’s property. Store your bike away from easy view to avoid being an easy target.
Home security = bike security. If you store your bike in a garage or shed, keep doors maintained and locks robust and use both. Confirm your home security system gives your garage complete coverage.
Go the extra mile. Consider a floor or wall mounted anchor in your garage for the bike.
On the town:
Crowd control. Lock your bike in a high traffic area with lots of people around.
Lockdown. Always lock your bike, even if you’ll only be away for a minute. Someone can ride off on an unlocked bike in seconds.
Stay grounded. Take advantage of bike racks and ground anchors. If you can’t find a bike rack, lock it to a lamppost or strong railing.
Double your pleasure. Choose two different heavy-duty locks and use them both. With two locks, you double the difficulty factor for a thief.
Location, location, location. Lock your bike through the frame, the strongest part of the bike. Face locks toward the ground when securing your bike so the lock can’t be easily turned and picked.

If nothing else, try to think like a thief. If you can figure out how to steal your bike, so can a crook.

Intrusion News: Customer service, not lip service
Things don’t deliver peace of mind. People who care and are genuinely committed to taking care of clients do.

We at Sonitrol Pacific proudly offer unique security technology that actually helps police catch criminals. However, we are most proud of our people and their ability think strategically and apply technology to solve problems to meet our clients’ security goals. We are driven by our Mission and Core Values.

Our Mission
To provide our customers with the highest level of security for their dollar invested and to provide our customers more than they feel they are paying for.

Our Core Values
1. Promote positive, morale, mutual respect and unity.
2. Treat our customers, potential customers and fellow team members with respect and dignity.
3. Be honest (truthful) and accurate in our presentation of the company.
4. Do what is right.
5. Give our customers real value for their money.
6. Provide the best customer service possible.
7. Be friendly and courteous at all times to current and potential customers and to each other.
8. Provide superior training on an ongoing basis to all team members.
9. Provide a clean and professional image.

Caring enough to give our clients the best service, support and custom security allows us to catch the bad guys who target their businesses.  We’ve caught 69 already this year and 5,741 since 1978.

Accessing Access Control: Confident confidentiality
A simple, cost effective way to protect employees and sensitive company information is with a well designed, expertly managed access control system.

Using an “in house” electronic access control system can be tedious, time intensive and complicated. Sonitrol Pacific offers managed access control to give our clients the benefits, without the hassles.

A few benefits include:
· Manage who can enter the business and when.
· Reduced risk of internal theft (inventory, property, office facilities or time) or vandalism.
· Receive reports (an “audit trail”) of who entered the business and when.
· Manage who can enter sensitive areas or rooms, like a server room or records area, within the building.
· Control after hours employee access to the business.
· Increase employees’ safety by keeping out unauthorized visitors.
· Save your employees time by freeing them from policing people entering, exiting and moving through the building and save them time.
· Overall security increased; employees’ security awareness increased.

Most facilities managers and security officers know the value of a managed access control system for increasing facility security. However, these systems also significantly increase people safety and sensitive information security for a reasonable investment. Talk to your Sonitrol Pacific Security Consultant for more information.

Eye on SonaVision: It’s the verification
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Or, if a security camera “sees” a break-in, but no one is monitoring it, will police be sent and the suspected intruder be caught?

When it comes to video surveillance, the camera’s not the big deal. Sonitrol Pacific’s Verification Center is the big deal.

Surveillance technology is powerful, but detecting a threat is only half the story. To stop a crime in progress, you need an expert operator monitoring live security images and taking action when they see something suspicious.

Maranville Named Employee of Q1
Everyday and in many, many ways Jaime Maranville personifies Sonitrol Pacific’s Core Values. She exceeds the expectations of our external and internal customers time and time again. We are pleased to name her our Employee of the Quarter for the first quarter of 2012.

To Jaime’s teammates in the Verification Center, she is always helpful, supportive, and willing to take time to train them on how to track down and correct potential programming concerns.

“If I run into programming that I don’t understand during my shift, I can and do send emails to Jaime explaining what I see, and why I don’t understand what I’m reading. Jaime goes over the programming, and then takes the time to write me an email explaining what exactly was going on, so that I can learn from it as well,” Operator Robin Goings said.

To team members in other departments, Jaime is a “Godsend”.

“Her help with the firmware capture project has been a Godsend, but aside from that she is a team player near and far,” said Barbara Hamlin, Director of Customer Service Sonitrol Pacific Portland. “Jaime has an awareness of even subtle small things that help make us successful in the eyes of our clients.”

To our customers, Jaime delivers “top notch” customer service.

“Jaime goes over and above by actually looking at the report, identifying potential issues and getting service working on any issues found,” Jim Teddy from United Warehouse said. “That’s top notch customer service in my book and very much appreciated.”

To everyone, Jaime is cheerful, gracious and supportive. She makes sure customers are taken care of, even if this means staying late. She regularly volunteers for projects and always completes them with distinction. Going above and beyond is just another day at the office for Jaime.

Her reputation for quality and kindness speak to Jaime’s character and dedication, and earned her this honor.

Employees of the Month
Marolyn Slayter, Jaime Maranville and Ellen Gurney were named Employees of the Month for February, March and April, respectively.

Marolyn Slayter

Marolyn Slayter, Accounts Receivable Specialist, loves what she does and we love that about her. Her enthusiasm for Sound Security is clear to everyone she touches during her daily activity. In recognition of her persistence, commitment to our organization, service to our clients and unflappable demeanor, Marolyn was named our February 2012 Employee of the Month.

Jaime Maranville, Data Center Representative, has been helping Sonitrol Pacific customers and teammates since 2006. She was named our March Employee of the Month. See “Maranville Named Employee of Q1” to read about Jaime’s award-winning ways.

Ellen Gurney, Administrative Support and Customer Service, exhibits grace under pressure. Thanks to her enthusiasm, responsiveness, and solution-focused attitude, her customers and teammates always feel taken care of when they come to her with a need. Plus, Ellen is “super-duper nice”. She earned our April 2012 Employee of the Month award.

We think the world of Marolyn, Jaime and Ellen and appreciate the service they give our clients. They live our Core Values and let our Mission lead their actions as they represent Sonitrol Pacific, a Sound Security Inc company.

Team members win national awards
Sonitrol Pacific sent a contingent of 27 to the Sonitrol National Dealers Association (SNDA) convention in New Orleans and team members came home with awards, sunburns and their heads swimming with great ideas to put into action for customers.

Salena Wolfe earned first place in the Top Administrative/Support category of the SNDA National Achievers Competition. Technician John Provost, Technician Dean Packard, Operator Cami Halstead and Support Specialist Anne Ogama all placed in their respective categories.  You can read about Salena’s experience in this post.

Kerry Goodwin, Puget Sound Director of Schools, earned his place in the Circle of Excellence for the eighth time.

Always a source of great ideas, Wayne Ohlemeier, Chief Technical Officer, was recognized for his Best Practices submission.

We are proud of the Sonitrol Pacific team and their contributions on the national stage.