Wilson James delivers security and logistics expertise at London’s Broadgate

Since construction began in 1985, Broadgate has grown to become a thriving community wherein cutting-edge commercial and office retail space mixes with a diverse collection of shops, bars and restaurants to create what is undoubtedly one of London’s most dynamic neighbourhoods.

Broadgate bridges the City of London’s financial hub and the creative communities of Shoreditch and Old Street. It’s home to some of the capital’s most iconic structures.

The 129,000 m² (ie 32 acres) campus plays host to many of the world's leading financial, legal, technology and media companies, alongside some of London’s best food, drink, retail and entertainment establishments. Four public squares provide a large area of outside space, duly affording the 30,000 people who work there – and the estimated 19 million who visit annually – with attractive places in which to relax and be entertained.

Now owned by British Land and GIC, the two organisations are investing £1.5 billion to transform the area over the next decade. Their masterplan will deliver 4.9 million square feet of new and redefined workplaces, retail outlets and restaurants, all of which will have net zero carbon emissions. With sustainability now seen as a key differentiator, Broadgate’s ability to deliver buildings that help occupiers in reducing their own carbon footprints is a major focus of their activities.

Safety first

Maintaining the safety of all those individuals who use the location is taken incredibly seriously, with Broadgate insisting on the highest security standards across the estate. At the beginning of 2019, Wilson James was awarded the contract to deliver its specialist security services. The latter now uses its expertise to enhance the overall experience for workers and visitors alike.

“We pride ourselves on delivering a premium quality welcome and exceptional services,” explained Neil Carter, estate director at Broadgate. “A unique neighbourhood like ours requires an innovative approach to safety and security that puts the customer experience at the heart of the operation, while at the same time mitigating a wide range of risks and threats. Wilson James consistently meets this challenge by proactively delivering the bespoke security solutions required for what is an innovative space.”

Broadgate has to be kept secure at all times of the day. The Wilson James team operating there consists of 282 officers who perform a variety of tasks within buildings and across the many public spaces throughout the estate such as the areas between buildings, car parks, access routes and service roads. These individuals take on Front of House and Back of House roles and ‘meet and greet’ duties. They assist the public with wayfinding. 32 patrolling officers in the public spaces are supported by a dedicated Control Room team based on the estate and managed by Wilson James.

Tarquin Halse is the account director for Broadgate at Wilson James and has been instrumental in addressing the logistical challenge preented by keeping Broadgate secure. “Our security officers are all highly trained and exhibit excellent interpersonal skills,” observed Halse, “so we know that our people on the ground are able to carry out their duties to the highest standards. Interacting with members of the public is a vital part of the job, but that never comes before the core function of immediately detecting, deterring, denying, delaying and responding to any threat that may arise.”

On schedule

In order to ensure the requisite level of security coverage is provided on a 24/7 shift basis, Halse and his account management team draw on their vast experience of scheduling, which is combined with providing officers with ongoing training and skills development programmes. This allows those working at Broadgate to be able to perform a variety of diverse roles across the site and also ensures that the full range of security needs is always met.

This level of agility and flexibility was proven to be particularly important during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic, which saw significant levels of disruption to the normal operation of Broadgate. Halse commented: “Throughout the pandemic itself and the periods of lockdown, Wilson James was constantly on-site and we were dedicated to keeping premises secure and functional. During this time, there were periods when we had up to 70 people off work with COVID-related issues.”

That scenario obviously created significant logistical, scheduling and personnel allocation challenges, but Wilson James worked closely with Neil Carter and the Broadgate team to devise a mutually beneficial solution. Halse stated: “We were able to stand down and scale back personnel as appropriate. Broadgate was happy for these people to either work elsewhere on the site or stay at home on standby. However, the safety of those reporting for duty was always paramount. We based our strategy around the ‘hands, face, space’ campaign that advised people to continue to wash their hands, cover their faces and make space to control infection rates. We also increased the use of technology as part of a comprehensive security solution and stepped up training and support.”

The technology implemented included TrackTik’s cutting-edge security workforce management software system that improves both processes and quality of service, but also the safety and well-being of personnel. It allows Wilson James to follow the progression of security officers, allocate resources, streamline incident reporting and enhance communication between teams. Advanced data analytics offer real-time insights.

Knowledge is power

Even prior to the pandemic, Wilson James recognised the importance of encouraging good levels of communication between senior management and colleagues across all areas of the company. As such, when the pandemic hit, a unique proprietary portal was already in place that could help all parties communicate effectively and contribute to a resilience plan designed to ensure that service levels were maintained.

Just as importantly, the company introduced its ‘Keeping Well’ initiative for colleagues – a series of well-being resources configured in association with Mind, the mental health charity. It covers subjects such as working from home, how to keep active and stay healthy, the importance of eating well, avoiding fake news and conspiracy theories and managing stress and anxiety.

As a business, Wilson James also provides online training and delivers webinars and podcasts on subjects such as using PPE and implementing Government guidance.

Building and refurbishment

Wilson James’ activities at Broadgate go beyond the supply of its specialist security services alone. There is a constant programme of building and refurbishment activity going on across the estate, so the company’s construction logistics division is also on hand to optimise this aspect of the overall operation.

Frank Webster, construction logistics director at Wilson James, observed: “As the industry’s foremost provider of construction logistics services, we take enormous pride in the standards we’ve adhered to for over three decades. Fully aware of the logistical challenges associated with ‘business as usual’ and construction, we are focused on collaborative working and in creating excellent relationships that generate cost savings and enhance quality by combining our services and putting in a team effort. At the heart of our ability to do this is Fulcrum, our delivery and inventory management system.”

Fulcrum is a cloud-based software platform that can meet the specific requirements of any project, process or task. It’s used to plan, control and co-ordinate a supply chain, with all deliveries to Broadgate linked and cross-referenced to ensure the system runs smoothly by allocating delivery slots.

Wilson James acts as the sole point of contact to mitigate any confusion. By using its London Construction Consolidation Centre to consolidate deliveries to site, it’s able to not only provide materials as part of a ‘just in time’ service, but also track vehicles on their way to site, in doing so providing an extra layer of foresight throughout the process.

In addition, Fulcrum is used to manage all other traffic into and out of Broadgate, 24 hours a day, and provides data on all suppliers to the location.  This includes Corporate Social Responsibility, emissions, peak flow frequency, tonnage, shipment type, opportunities to consolidate suppliers and logistic patterns, all of which can be used to drive more efficiencies.

Both TrackTik and Fulcrum were deployed by Wilson James as truly client-centric solutions. Biju Chudasama (chief technology officer at Wilson James) said: “Both of these technologies enable Wilson James’ employees to perform their roles to the very best of their abilities while, at the same time, providing our clients with vital information and insights into effective, efficient and simplified ways of working.”

Green for go

Broadgate is committed to improving sustainability throughout all aspects of their operations. Wilson James is using Fulcrum at Broadgate to help achieve this objective and is currently working on a proposal that will lower the volume of construction and business as usual traffic coming on to the site.

Asked how Wilson James is tackling this challenge, Frank Webster replied: “It quickly became apparent that the sheer volume of traffic coming into Broadgate was far greater than it needed to be and often involved the delivery of very small loads, or even just single packages. We are therefore using Fulcrum’s reporting capabilities to configure data-driven decisions that will help us use the London Construction Consolidation Centre to consolidate goods to be delivered and make fewer trips into what is already a very congested part of London.”

Webster added: “Fulcrum is also used to track internal packages to make sure they access the right departments as efficiently as possible. It’s a great example of how we can act as a true solutions provider by combining our logistics capabilities with a security angle. Our ability to solve these kinds of challenges allows us to add value to our partnership with British Land and GIC, while at the same time ensuring the highest level of quality control.”

Managing traffic flow is not the only way in which Fulcrum is helping to make Broadgate more sustainable. It’s also being used to report where waste originates from, identify ways to eliminate it and, where it does exist, work with WasteAway to recycle hundreds of bin’s worth of material every day.

By combining their expertise, WasteAway and Wilson James are able to reduce waste and reuse materials as much as possible to promote resource efficiency and move towards a circular economy. This helps Broadgate to minimise the damage caused to the environment by managing waste safely and carefully.

Moving on up

“The numerous challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic were unprecedented and they required quick thinking as well as fast responses,” explained Broadgate’s Neil Carter. “This was only achievable by working closely with our partners and Wilson James provided an exemplary level of service throughout this most testing of times. I feel that our working relationship is now stronger having gone through this experience together.”

Further, Carter said: “Wilson James offers us flexibility and scalability and can respond quickly to our changing needs and requirements. The business is committed to helping maintain Broadgate’s position as a world-class destination and has initiated a variety of processes such as six-weekly technology refresh reviews and a dedicated trainer to help building managers and occupants drive sustainable practice.”