We recently welcomed Brad to in-house our perimeter protection team as one of our talented automated gates and barriers engineers. We decided to ask him to take centre stage and stand in the spotlight for a Q&A session about how he’s getting on and what his thoughts are on the importance of perimeter protection. Here’s what he had to say.

When did you join Zicam and how is it going?

I started mid-September 2021 and I’m currently in training. I’ve never worked on gates and barriers but I was an installation engineer before joining Zicam and I had a lot of transferrable skills, even though the area is new to me. I’ve learnt a lot of new skills already and look forward to expanding them further as I get more experience.

What made you decide to train in this area?

Zicam was actually recommended to me by someone I knew who worked here, so I knew it was a good company. I also thought the career path was interesting. The options are quite broad and you can follow different routes as you progress which means there’s always going to be something new to learn.

What about qualifications?

It’s more about training on the job, which works really well for me. We work towards gaining accreditation from dhf and Gate Safe – they’re the governing bodies for the health and safety regulations – and I’ll be completing that course after my probation period has finished. I have the competencies because of my background, it’s now just a case of working towards the accreditation.

Tell us about the team and how you work

There can be up to three engineers on a job depending on the size of the install, but a lot of the time there will be two of us working together. We have individual tasks on site but work together to complete the job. We also have Parminder on our team who supports us really well from the office. It’s a fairly small team but we work well together.

What do you like most about the job?

No day is the same. I’m using different skills all the time – we’re not doing the same thing day after day so I get to hone my skills because of that variety. It’s great being UK-based as well – I used to travel the world with my old job so, for me, it’s really nice to have the balance of still travelling round the country, but I get to go home at the end of the day (or most days, depending on the size of the install!).

I also like the emphasis Zicam puts on health and safety. It’s a real priority for them which shows they’re serious about the health and welfare of their employees and that’s really important, particularly when you’re travelling round and working on different sites.

What’s the biggest overall job you’ve worked on?

The largest install I’ve been involved in so far was at Hams Hall in Birmingham. We were responsible for the installation of a single bi-fold gate, a pair of bi-folds, two new barriers and a height restrictor. We also put in a pedestrian gate and installed perimeter fencing. It was quite involved.

Why do you think perimeter protection is important?

I think it’s all about the sustainability and reliability of the security on a site. When you have the latest and correct equipment for the site, and it’s all been installed properly and tested, then you are fully protected. The advanced technology is there, so it’s just about working with security experts to make sure you have the right integrated technologies. When you have the right gates and barriers that are working as they should with access control, ANPR cameras and CCTV cameras, you have a system that’s pretty much fool proof.

Thanks, Brad!

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