Protecting nuclear facility for a quarter of a century
The US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) is a 310-square-mile Government nuclear facility near Aiken, South Carolina, where Wackenhut Services, Inc (WSI) has earned a “best-in-class” reputation among contractors providing security throughout the complex.
SRS is a key Department of Energy (DOE) industrial site responsible for stewardship of the environment, the enduring nuclear weapons stockpile and nuclear materials. More specifically, SRS processes and stores nuclear materials in support of national defence and US nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
The site also develops and deploys technologies to improve the environment and treat nuclear and hazardous waste left from the Cold War.
WSI, a wholly-owned subsidiary of G4S Wackenhut and the leading provider of security services to the US Government, assumed responsibility for security services at SRS in 1983. It celebrated 25 years of protecting critical Government assets at the site in November this year.
“Our core values of people, safety, professional excellence and customer focus have provided the framework for success in conducting our critical mission at the site,” explains Randy Garver, Wackenhut’s general manager at SRS.
WSI-SRS is a paramilitary organisation that employs an armed, uniformed protective force to fulfill security requirements and execute emergency contingency plans to protect special nuclear material, Government assets, site employees and the surrounding communities from increasing threats.
“We are a flexible organisation that is responsive to new security missions,” adds Garver. “Our organisational structure is team oriented, with a specific focus on safety and mission accomplishment. Each team member is dedicated to the success of our overall mission and takes great pride in assuring the highest levels of protection and professional expertise.”
The security police officers within the DOE nuclear security community face great challenges today. Highly trained and motivated adversaries from across the globe present a constant threat of sabotage and possible theft of weapons-grade special nuclear material.
At SRS, Wackenhut uses a coordinated recruitment and training process to develop a tactical protective force that guards the nation’s critical nuclear facilities and materials.
One of the company’s keys to success lies in the recruitment and selection of the best professional security specialists and managers available to the private sector. Recruiting and maintaining top talent is a high priority with the objective of being the Government’s supplier of choice.
WSI-SRS is aided toward this objective by offering its professional staff and security employees a respectful, inclusive work environment, with opportunities for professional development and career progression that are unmatched in the security industry.
After hiring top security and administrative professionals, the company focuses on training to ensure the team is capable of meeting the demands of protecting one of America’s largest nuclear sites.
“Training is a priority,” Randy Garver observes. “The company takes pride in maintaining a staff of highly qualified instructors with access to state-of-the-art equipment, facilities and proven training programmes.”
Leadership development is a fundamental element of the company’s training philosophy and is consistent with WSI’s belief that leaders of integrity and professionalism develop an organisation with the same qualities.
“We demand consistency in the services we provide to the DOE,” adds Garver. “The client expects to see quality in all aspects of our operation and that begins with leaders who are well-trained and committed to our mission.”
Top performers
The core of Waceknhut’s service to DOE at SRS is protecting the site with a highly-trained and well-armed security force. WSI-SRS has validated their capabilities numerous times in the DOE’s annual Security Protection Officer Training Competition (SPOTC) – a tactical, skills-oriented firearms competition that is held at the National Training Centre’s Safeguards and Security Central Training Academy.The competition is open to teams of protective force officers from the DOE community all over the nation. In addition, US law enforcement and military tactical units, as well as international competitors, are invited to participate.
“SPOTC is a very challenging event,” says Garver. “It includes a series of physical fitness, decision-making and shooting events against the top security professionals in the DOE complex.”
WSI-SRS has won the DOE Secretary’s Trophy, awarded to the top team in the competition, eight times (1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008). In addition, a WSI-SRS employee has been named Security Protection Officer of the Year, awarded to the top individual performer in the competition, eight times (1991, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007).
Furthermore, WSI-SRS captured first place in the Team Leader category, which includes competitors who are supervisors at their respective sites, in 2007, the first year of competition in that category.
Aviation programme success
DOE and WSI-SRS initiated the SRS Aviation Programme in 1984 with acquisition of two American Eurocopter Corporation BK-117 twin-engine multipurpose helicopters. Over the years, the SRS Aviation Programme has become the best in the DOE complex.The SRS Aviation Team, comprised of the DOE-Savannah River Operations Office and WSI-SRS, has earned the DOE’s Jeff Snow Aviation Programme Memorial Award. This was presented for the site’s excellence and innovation in aviation management and administration, operations, maintenance, training and safety. It was also awarded Air Carrier Certification from Federal Aviation Administration for upholding superior standards.
Incidentally, the national DOE award is named in memory of Jeff Snow, the long-time WSI-SRS aviation manager at SRS, who passed away unexpectedly in 2000. The SRS Aviation Team has won the award five times in the last seven years.
Diversity programme
Recently, WSI-SRS received the 2008 Excellence in Workplace Diversity Award from the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the South Carolina Diversity Council. They recognised WSI for creating “an inclusive, respectful work environment that values people and capitalises on diversity to achieve mission success.”In announcing the award, the South Carolina Diversity Council said WSI’s Diversity Plan “reflects a broad array of strategies and includes recruitment, hiring and promotion practices that target women and minorities, diversity training and development, and supplier diversity initiatives and awards.”
Commitment to community
“At WSI-SRS, we recognise that we have an obligation that extends to the surrounding cities, towns and communities of South Carolina and Georgia,” Randy Garver adds. “We are committed to being good corporate citizens, contributing our time, talent, expertise and resources to charitable organisations, Government agencies and small businesses within the surrounding area.”A high value is placed on employee involvement in activities that positively impact local communities, and WSI is dedicated to “building a better tomorrow.”
WSI-SRS’s commitment to the United Way – a national network of nearly 1,300 local organisations that work together for the common good by focusing on education, income and health – is well known within the community.
Since 1985, the company and its employees have donated over $2.3 million (£1.5 million) to United Way. In their most recent campaign, the combined employee and corporate contributions exceeded $208,000 (£140,000) – a new record for the company.
“This says a lot about us as individuals and as an organisation,” adds Garver. “It says we appreciate our quality of life, we want to help others and we don’t mind doing our part to keep this a special place in which to live and work.”
In addition to United Way, the company and its employees actively support numerous charities and organisations. WSI-SRS values this commitment and annually recognises two employees with their Humanitarian Award, presented to individuals who demonstrate an exemplary commitment to community service and volunteerism.
At SRS, in November 2008, the WSI team of exemplary professionals achieved a 25-year record of safeguarding key nuclear facilities, protecting people and the environment, and demonstrating a commitment to community.
We accept no less than being best-in-class!
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Protecting nuclear facility for a quarter of a century
