Track24 features in Times article

Track24 has recently featured in a Times article which explores the increasing risks facing companies that are involved in emerging global markets.

Companies are increasingly looking for sustainable methods of stand-off security (SSOS) to safeguard their personnel from the risks that are inherent from working in such markets. As a result the use of security tracking and risk management solutions has become an essential tool for companies operating in these regions.

The Times
January 6, 2010

When the job puts your life on the line
Emily Ford

…As the case of Peter Moore, the IT consultant released last week after being held hostage in Iraq for two and a half years demonstrated, it is not only high-profile political targets or VIPs worth millions who are at risk of being abducted, but ordinary executives.

Many companies eager to move into emerging markets send employees into hostile environments, from oil and gas companies exploring the Niger Delta to retail banks setting up in Kosovo. Threats can change almost daily: while the security situation in Colombia has improved dramatically, Venezuela is increasingly unstable, Mr Bullivant says. Meanwhile, the growing telecoms industry in North Africa is having to deal with heightened terrorist activity.

A burgeoning corporate security industry is springing up to meet the demand. Revenues at Track24, a company that provides high-tech panic alarms and satellite tracking devices for corporate executives, governments and NGOs working in hostile environments, have risen steadily over the past six years.

Tim Grant, chief executive of Track24, says: “Companies are globalising, looking for contracts in new places that are often either unfamiliar or there is an element of threat. As an executive, you are an obvious target.”

His clients have encountered extortion, abduction and low level criminality such as theft, a big issue in emerging economies. While companies understand the risks, they often do not know how to deal with them, Mr Grant says. “They hand out a mobile phone and say ‘call in once a day’.” This can prove problematic. Often no one realises that an employee is missing until he or she fails to turn up at the embassy the next day….

To view the complete version of this article, please click here.

5 tips for crisis prevention when working remotely

When working abroad or in remote parts of the world, be it through serving for the armed forces or being part of an aid group, it’s unfortunate that a crisis situation might be not far away. In this situations its absolutely essential that procedures are put in place to help prevent crisis, or give the personnel involved a change to evade crisis should it occur.

Here are 5 simple tips to help remote workers in the event of a crisis:

1. Ensure that your team have up to date maps. When working in a country that is foreign to your personnel l an up to date map can help them find their way should they venture from their main routes and get lost.

2. Food and Water supply. Make sure that your team have stocked up on food and water. Dont just look at packing the bare essentials, but consider a scenario where you might be forced to stay away overnight or for a few days.

3. First Aid. Always have a first aid kit at the ready. You never know when it might be needed, even for the smallest accident. A first aid kit will help buy you some time should an unfortunate event occur within your team.

4. Clothing and footwear. When you are in a foreign country you never know when the weather might turn. It could be extremely hot one minute with a downpour of rain (and floods) the next. Be prepared for a sudden change in the weather

5. Communications. Give your team the ability to communicate with a central base within the distance of their travel. GPS Tracking can prove to be a life saving technology be it through simple tracking of personnel or communications over a radio network.

All of the above 5 points should be part of any remote teams planning and preparation when sending personnel out into the field. The welfare and safety of your team should be the absolute paramount of importance and nothing should be taken for granted. Up front planning and a well thought of crisis management plan will not only help save lives, but also give your team the confidence to go out and concentrate on their task at hand.

Track 24 provide global tracking and crisis management technology for remote workers in the field. Their unique communications platform enables tracking over land, sea and air ensuring the safety of troops and aid workers. Track 24 technologies have been used in conflict situations in Iraq and Afghanistan and will continue to prevent and manage crisis situations for years to come.