THREE years after diversifying the family business to cover both installation of security systems and CCTV monitoring, Jason McElwaine hopes to build his client base and expand into new technologies.

McElwaine Security Services based in Lisnaskea installs and maintains intruder alarms, fire alarms and CCTV, employing 18 staff. Meanwhile, in Fivemiletown, B Secure Monitoring Solutions provides high quality monitored security solutions, employing 14 staff.

“Three years ago we decided to go ahead and become fully accredited through that National Security Inspectorate. We are part of NSI Gold Alarm Receiving Centre Scheme which gives us a full UK accreditation for CCTV monitoring within UK boundaries,” Managing Director Jason tells The Impartial Reporter.

Through a lot of hard work, dedication and regular auditing, B Secure also achieved full accreditation for work in the Republic of Ireland, through the National Security Association of Ireland.

The move into security monitoring required “a fair investment from our own business, with the support of InvestNI (for training and infrastructure) to get this side of the business up and running,” Mr. McElwaine explains. Despite some cash injections, access to finance “has been challenging”, he reports.

“It has been challenging, especially with trying to develop the business and move things forward the way we want to. But, like everything, we have to take our time. We know where we want to be and we just need to steadily move towards that,” he adds.

Reflecting on the move, Mr. McElwaine comments: “B Secure is a totally different side of the business to McElwaine Security but both work very well hand-in-hand and both complement each other to give the overall package.

“We could see an advantage to have the monitoring as an add on to what we were doing in the industry. It has taken some time to get it built up to where we are but thankfully it’s a fast-moving technical industry and there’s always new technologies to be looking out for.” B Secure now monitors 1,500 cameras all over the UK and Ireland. Customers include construction sites, remote authorisation of fuel, domestic houses, commercial premises and public sector buildings e.g. schools.

“We can design a bespoke system to suit any sort of market, see what the problem is and work with the customer to come up with a solution,” Mr. McElwaine points out.

A major fuel distributor has recently come on board with their unmanned fuel stations in the Republic of Ireland. B Secure monitors the site from its base and signals when the fuel pump can begin to fill the vehicle.

“It’s only with the availability of fibre broadband and modern technology that fuel stations are able to be monitored remotely. Beforehand it was a matter of it being done on site.

“We also have lone worker solutions i.e. people will wear a device if they are working alone so that if they fall, or there is an emergency, they can be located.” B Secure also monitors the Enniskillen CCTV scheme, eight cameras funded by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, the PSNI and Enniskillen town traders. It monitors similar CCTV schemes in Omagh and Cookstown. Enniskillen’s Help Points are also overseen by the company which installs similar two-way intercoms on all of its customers’ sites.

Keeping abreast of developing technologies is imperative for the busy business man. He does this by attending trade shows, listening to advice from suppliers and regular research.

“We will only pick a product that is robust and fit-for-purpose; that gives us what we want and which has little failure,” he comments.

“We use a mix of technology to get the connection from the site back to the Alarm Receiving Centre; dark fibre, which is point to point fibre connections, fibre broadband and satellite broadband.

“Across Ireland we would use a lot of satellite because, when you go into some of the more rural areas, there is no such thing as broadband.

“Satellite is exactly the same as broadband, it’s a little dish on the side of the house and it works very well. There’s not a lot of difference price wise but it gives us the flexibility we need to get the connection in rural and remote areas.

“Locally, broadband is not too bad. We have multiple lines going to multiple exchanges because we have to have redundancy; we can’t afford to go out. If one exchange goes down we can still fail over to the next one so we shouldn’t actually go out.

“That’s all part of our accreditation. We work with two generators in case the power goes off, we have battery back up for 24 hours so we should be able to continue business without any drop in service for 48 hours in the event of a power cut.” Mr. McElwaine points out: “Business for us can be anywhere at all as long as we can get a fibre connection to it.” Going forward, B Secure will “build upon what we have.” Mr. McElwaine explains: “We have a good, solid foundation now and a good client base across Ireland and the UK. We also want to use new technologies. For example we are moving towards video analytics which is the use of intelligent cameras, for example, if you left your bag, the camera will know you’ve left your bag and after a certain amount of time it will alert us to the bag.

“It’s moving into a smarter way of working to remove inefficiencies.” A key influence has been Mr. McElwaine’s father John McElwaine. “My father would still give us some guidance and direction,” he states.

It takes “commitment” to make your business work, he stresses. “It’s not just a get up in the morning and go to bed at night job, it’s full time, our monitoring centre goes 24 hours, seven days a week so I’m always on call.

“I enjoy it. If I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t do it. It’s good to see your business develop.” The busy father of three girls, who often travels hundreds of miles a week, enjoys spending his spare time at home with his family.