SIA New Member Profile: Business Protection Specialists, Inc.

New Security Industry Association (SIA) member Business Protection Specialists, Inc. (BPS) is a security consulting firm that helps clients assess risk, design, specify and implement the proper state-of-the-art security measures for their facilities. The company has administrative offices in Victor, New York, and Raleigh, North Carolina, with employees working virtually up and down the East Coast.

SIA spoke with BPS President and CEO Frank Pisciotta about the company, the security industry and working with SIA.

Tell us the story of your company.

Frank Pisciotta: BPS was started 30 years ago. I had just completed my master’s degree in public administration from Alfred University in New York and was a newly minted CEO providing support to security managers at Mobil Chemical Company at both the corporate and local levels. I was fortunate to have two mentors at Mobil who significantly shaped and influenced my business and career. Stephen L. Simmons, the corporate security manager, taught me critical lessons about how security professionals must interface with business leaders to be effective and influential, as well as the importance of building credibility to ensure successful client relationships. Fred Van Scott, the local security manager, demonstrated highly ethical behaviors in his personal and professional life and was, and continues to be, a paragon of hard work and perseverance. Over 30 year later, I am still in contact with these mentors and continue to honor and be inspired by them.

I developed a passion for the security industry while serving in several increasing leadership roles in campus security, culminating in a promotion to chief of a small, four-year private university. While I continued to sharpen my skills in corporate security, I also studied for and passed the Certified Protection Professional exam in 1994. Shortly thereafter, I expanded the practice to bring on additional clients. Our business continues to grow through extensive repeat business, as well as via new client opportunities. BPS is now a midsized, independent consultancy providing risk analysis, security design and corporate security program development services globally. 

What solutions/services does your business offer in the security industry? And what makes your offerings/company unique?

FP: BPS provides several specialized solutions for clients in the areas of risk assessment, system design, program development, management, training and audits. The firm creates safer workplaces by identifying relevant criminal or terrorist threats, and we excel in the identification of unknown vulnerabilities. BPS strives to reduce the likelihood of workplace violence by applying federal, state and industry standards and best practices, ensuring that clients are empowered to prevent, respond to and recover from incidents  BPS consultants stress the importance of strategies that measure results to site and corporate security leaders, thereby demonstrating value to senior leadership. The firm has developed layered processes to prioritize the application of risk mitigation to help clients get the most value out of limited security resources. For example, where there are seven physical security strategies available to reduce risk, three are clearly more effective and valuable in achieving better security outcomes. By highlighting these choices, BPS teaches clients to be more self-sufficient at the end of each engagement. With our training, security managers have the knowledge and ability to perform their jobs better and to make continuous improvements to their programs.

On the technology side, BPS helps clients maximize results from security systems and enhances vendor performance by looking at technology from a holistic, life cycle perspective. Getting the system properly installed is only half the battle. For instance, when auditing electronic access control effectiveness, BPS assesses over 40 elements of a clients’ selection, installation, administration, maintenance and testing to determine opportunities for better results. BPS has developed proprietary methodologies to help clients select and implement the appropriate technology to mitigate and manage the local risks and meet their individual needs.

What is something we might not know about your company – or something new you are doing in security?

FP: Providing effective security is an extremely difficult proposition with many barriers (e.g., cost, inconvenience, apathy). BPS is working on many fronts to help the industry to elevate the game against organizational and foreign adversaries. One way is to educate the persons who sit on the edge of the security industry, those employees that are tapped in many organizations to “wear the security hat” as an extra duty. Often, one gets the role but not the training. Through our online e-learning portal, BPS can share foundational security training to build competency in those fighting on the workplace violence and security fronts on a daily basis. 

Additionally, I am extremely proud of my team’s dedication and BPS’ commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, as demonstrated through a 96% net promoter score (NPS) as compared with a consulting industry average of 51%. Since it was developed nearly 20 years ago, NPS has been widely used by Fortune 500 companies and many other organizations to measure their customers’ satisfaction. BPS is grateful for and humbled by this extraordinarily positive customer feedback. The BPS team looks forward to continuing to share with clients our passion for security and protecting people and will continue to measure and find ways to improve the industry and our customers’ experience.

What does SIA offer that is most important to you/your company? And what do you most hope to get out of your membership with SIA?

FP: BPS has supported SIA in the development of industry work products such as the SIA/IAPSC AutoCAD symbols used in the security design community. Additionally, one of the important SIA contributions to the industry is the Certified Security Project Manager (CSPM) certification, which was sorely needed. The CSPM certification helps installing contractors raise the game on the quality of technology deployment.

I personally enjoy serving as a mentor in the SIA RISE program, TIME (Talent Inclusion Mentorship Education.) This is a new mentorship program for early and mid-career professionals. TIME is designed to promote diversity, equity and inclusion and empowerment of underrepresented groups in security. Through these volunteer contributions, BPS demonstrates its commitment to give back and elevate quality outcomes in an industry in which we have been blessed to work many years.

The views and opinions expressed in guest posts and/or profiles are those of the authors or sources and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Security Industry Association.