SAMI Accredidation?…Check before you believe… April 30, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, Laws and Leglslation, Piracy & Maritime Security.Tags: Accredidation, Chris Mark, Maritime Security, membership, Piracy Europe, SAMI
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I am recently back from speaking an an anti-piracy event in Hamburg, Germany. Overall, it was a good conference but I was struck by one particular company that was strongly advertising that they were SAMI Accredited. I thought this claim merited some investigation and it would allow me to understand what, exactly, it means to be SAMI Accredited. First…here is the list of accredited PSMCs through SAMI. The Security Administration for the Maritime Industry or SAMI is a: “a global organisation representing companies working in maritime security and related industries. SAMI has introduced a level of compliance and scrutiny to ensure that the maritime industry can easily identify reputable private maritime security companies. SAMI provides reassurance, guidance, and minimum quality and standards in the delivery of maritime security where none has existed before. The SAMI Standard has been established as the international benchmark for standards within the industry. The Association is an international non -governmental organisation (NGO), which exists to facilitate clear dialogue and a common standards framework in the delivery of maritime security products to the shipping community.” As a membership organization anyone that is a signatory on the ICOC can join SAMI as a ‘member’. This does not mean you are accredited. After joining SAMI a company may then volunteer to participate in the 3 step SAMI Accreditation Programme. According to the SAMI website: (more…)
“Lipstick and Eyeshadow on a Pig” + “Nail Polish” April 21, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News.Tags: Chris Mark, competitive intelligence, cybersecurity, hanson wade, Maritime Security, mark consulting group, piracy, Piracy Europe, Scout/Sniper
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Since I am heading to the Piracy event in Hamburg, Germany this week and (here is a plug…will be speaking on Cybersecurity), I thought it appropriate to re-post this particular post with some added commentary. You can read the previous posts on vetting armed security here. I have added four techniques used by companies to project a skewed image. I call them: “Sitting With Cool Kids” ; “Wining and Dining”; “Bravado Impresario”; and “Rambo-ing a Client”.
This is a bit off topic but I think it is interesting. In a previous life I used to manage number of competitive intelligence projects for clients. It is field I find fascinating and very interesting and I put quite a bit of time into learning about CI and it’s application. Today I was reminded of a CI signal and thought I would pass on. When I was a younger man I liked to race my motorcycle around the streets and highways of Texas. I remember my friend told me once: “Never race a car or bike that has a primer paint job.” I asked why and he said: “Because they don’t care about looks and they put all their money into motor.” It makes perfect sense in street racing and in business. One of the trends that I look for is companies suddenly “painting their car” or announcing that they are about to “paint their car” for no real reason. While companies should always be focused on improving their marketability, often a radical change like a total re-branding or a shiny new website suggests something more sinister. Often these changes are calculated to occur at an opportune time like right before a major industry event. (more…)
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