The second version of TecnoEdificios reaffirmed the role of this congress as a meeting point for the updating, training and development of new security technologies in buildings.
by Duván Chaverra and Víctor Alejandro Galvis
Whether in a meeting of professionals, at a cocktail party, a lunch or other spaces for gathering and discussion, almost always the topic of training is present in the conversation.
That professionals have to be trained, that we have to advise our clients, that the service that is being offered is not the most appropriate, that only good service is offered during the sale and then disappear when closing the business, that we have to update ourselves on new technologies and know how the market is moving.
These issues are constantly addressed among colleagues and members of an industry. It seems clear that training allows to keep the balance level between the novelty offered by the market and the way in which it is presented to the end user or client; we say it seems, because between intention and action there is still a wide gap, but it is apparently narrowing.
It is clear that companies still need to be encouraged more to go to trainings, seminars or talks related to their daily jobs, but why are these opportunities still ignored? Lack of budget? Lack of initiative? Lack of knowledge? Lack of interest?
Each of you, according to your experience, will have an answer to the questions raised above. Perhaps there are not many spaces for training; then those who fail are the associations or consulting companies, or is that in Latin America there is not yet a massive culture concerned with learning.
What is a reality is that Medellín, Colombia, hosted one of the events that step by step is gaining ground as a meeting for training and generation of new business contacts. TecnoEdificios 2011, held last November, showed that in the Andean region the interest in learning about new technologies continues to grow, evidenced by the positive amount of public that gathered in this space (around 1,500 people between attendees and visitors).
TecnoEdificios 2011 had a program focused on four fundamental axes, among which was the safety and control and integration that are those that have an impact on our industry (the others were air conditioning and comfort and sustainability).
Expert speakers presented the latest developments in technologies for building security; this was the case of Colombian engineer Jaime Berrío, who opened the talks with his lecture called "Application and update of IP CCTV systems: costs and benefits."
The general manager of BT Segurity Technology illustrated to the attendees about the most effective and economical method for changes to video surveillance systems, which experts say in their analogous form could disappear.
On the other hand, the international speaker and also supervisor of the Protection and Surveillance Unit in the Atlantic Sector of the Panama Canal, Jaime Owens, shared his knowledge on security management in the twenty-first century, focusing on the importance of the process of quantitatively measuring risks and having basic concepts.
"They often decide to do projects and implement the security system when it is already built, I have found that much more must be integrated and this type of event precisely shows that security professionals can participate in an important way and contribute to the development of constructions in Latin America", was one of Owens' final reflections on TecnoEdificios.
Training, a short- and long-term investment
It is reasonable to think that it is much more expensive to invest in repairs and upgrades than in a previous training and study of the technologies that will later avoid setbacks.
This idea of course is not alien to companies that work in this industry, which now see in training an opportunity for all actors in the industry to speak the same language, "to be able to speak the same language with the people who come to sell us technology, for example, is already a great advance", Jaime Owens scored.
Although organizations such as WINGS play a great role in training and understanding in the security industry, there is still significant ignorance in the sector, says Jime Berrío, who argues his position with the still existing empiricism and the incomplete training of some consultants and entrepreneurs.
"The work with our engineers and technicians is quite arduous, we try to level them annually in manufacturer certification, integration, automation and thus maintain an academic level in our people," says the engineer.
Another point of view is that of the sales manager of Honeywell Life Safety, Carlos Zorrilla, who indicates that people have done training in intrusion systems, ccTV systems, property protection, but we do not have an awareness of protecting lives, that people can learn how to protect them, in that sense we are supporting training and awareness courses, because you need to be able to fight, for example, a fire.
"We through these forums do this type of practice and with associations like Alas we begin to do basic courses that help you know fundamental things such as that a water sprinkler system will not save your life, people die by suffocation not by fire, all those types of myths and legends must be broken, "we must break them concludes Zorrilla.
And when is the change seen?
It is to be hoped that after a well-supported training project, the results will be explicitly present. However, it is difficult to predict exactly how long a real turn will take, if the state policies of each region influence so differently.
"I think it will depend on each country, in recent years there has been a convergence between computer and physical security, that has made professionals from both sectors more involved; in places like Colombia in five years you will see the change, in others in about 10 or 15 years," says Jaime Owens.
For his part, Jaime Berrío refers to Colombia as a leader and pioneer in the security market in the region, with the formalization and professionalization "I believe that here there are outbreaks of that issue and in two or three years we will already have a much more advanced training structure."
As for becoming aware of the implementation of security systems, "10 years ago I could tell you that people did not know what damage a fire could cause, for example, today we begin to see fire systems installed in large structures, in shopping centers where they did not exist before, so it is not a secret that people are becoming aware according to their experiences", said Carlos Zorrilla of Honeywell.
Positive balance
On the other hand and finally, the attendees of the Congress also showed their satisfaction with the benefit they took from this space: "At the fair I saw that the speakers knew the topics they discussed; I came with the intention of learning about the construction of smart buildings and I realized that Medellín is a fairly large city with important buildings, which helped me in my learning. I take a great memory for Ecuador," said Manuel Quichimbo, an electrical engineer specializing in building construction.
For his part, Gustavo Sandoval, in charge of the maintenance area of the Premium Plaza shopping center in Medellín, highlighted the relevance of the appropriate themes to the buildings and considered his participation in the event very profitable: "Really the themes that were handled allow me to apply them to the shopping center where I work and I consider that it will always be important to know the latest developments in technologies and how to apply them to modern buildings."
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