Update: How to increase your survival chances in an active shooter scenario

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By David Strickland, Vice President of Kenton Brothers

On October 1st, 2017, a gunman opened fire on a country music festival in Las Vegas from an elevated position. Eleven minutes later, a staggering 58 people are dead and an additional 851 are injured. This opened a larger debate about the why and how of active shootings in the USA. For this blog, we will be concentrating on the “how to increase your chances of survival” aspect of this conversation.

As we discussed in our “5 Critical things you must do in an active shooter situation“, preparing for this type of event is important and critical to your survival if you ever face this situation. Kenton Brothers has an array of solutions to help your business, schools place of worship or public building prevent an active shooter scenario however you may find yourself as a part of one while in a public area or venue. (Download our PDF here.)

RUN HIDE FIGHT,  is the common active shooter plan that’s recommended by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), The FBI and FEMA.  After Las Vegas and the lessons learned from that incident, a few additional clarifications to this policy have been made.

Kenton Brothers: Active Shoot Scenario

FIRST: PREPARE

1.      Prepare yourself through training by taking an online or live active shooter preparation course

Kenton Brothers: Active Shoot Scenario2.      Actively seek out response plans at work and in community gathering places.

If you are spending the day at a major league baseball game don’t be afraid to call ahead and ask security for evacuation routes and what their response will be to an active shooter scenario. If your workplace does not have an active shooter response plan then please have them call Kenton Brothers Systems for Security to help them create a comprehensive security plan. FEMA offers this simple one page active shooter planning sheet to hand out to employees.

3.     Practice situational awareness – always

a.      “Keep your head on a swivel” or “watch your six” are two common slang terms for actively being aware of your surroundings and the people in them at all times. This is a practices skill and over time you will be able to detect things that are out of place or tip off aggression.  In public places being actively aware of noises, aggressive behavior, shouting, the speed at people are moving are indicators of situations around you.  Tuning yourself with these indicators can give you precious seconds to react and seek safety.

b.      Trust your gut! Intuition plays a big role on situational awareness. If something doesn’t feel right, it usually isn’t.

c.      Make yourself aware of all exits, cover and concealment in your current location. Take a few moments to absorb the area around you and log them into your memory of where you will need to go if you find yourself in an active shooter situation.

My family and I recently attended a large Christmas lighting ceremony and I positioned our group in an area directly below the police watch tower. There were three different areas of escape next to a large building that offered cover in case there was any trouble. We also spoke of what to do if there’s trouble, and prepared the family mentally for what to do if something went wrong. In this case, we had an emergency word that meant we all hold hands, dad in front, mom in back, and move together as quickly as possible ,staying low to cover.

DHS and the FBI stress that after Las Vegas, it is important for everyone to adapt tactics to survive and outdoor scenarios.

Run – if you properly identified he exits and evacuation routes –use them now! If you have a responsibility of care – usher your group to one of these points (away from the shooter) as quickly as possible.

Hide – Find Concealment or Find Cover. And yes, there’s a difference between concealment and cover! The people that survived Las Vegas were able to conceal themselves from the shooter or find cover that protected them from the 1,100 bullets that were fired at them.

Concealment:  Protection from observation

This can be any barrier to the line of sight between you and an armed assailant. Examples include Bushes, Trees, Doors, Curtains, Smoke, darkness, Anything that keeps you from being seen or heard – so silence your cell phone!

Good Cover: Protection from hostile weapons, bullets or shrapnel

Kenton Brothers: Active Shooter ScenarioSteel – such as a large gun safe, Concrete, Brick, Water, Large Trees, Thick wood furniture, Packed down earth or sandbags, Fire hydrants, Large boulders, Car engine, Refrigerators, Water heaters, US Post office

Bad Cover:

Bushes, Wood fencing, Glass, Normal residential walls, Car doors

The last update recommendation from DHS was to add the following recommendations for after the scenario. Give or seek out medical attention and help others survive. Then seek out psychological help with coping with the trauma you have experienced.

In summary, it’s important to prepare for these types of situations by utilizing the resources available to you and using active situational awareness when attending public events. Please feel free to reach out to us at KentonBrothers.com if you would like to discuss formulating a security plan for your business, church or public venue.

Additional resource:
http://alerts.si.edu/docs/DHS_ActiveShooterBook.pdf

An In Depth Look at the Kenton Brothers Apprentice Program

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Kenton Brothers Systems for Security: Apprentice ProgramBy Kristen Harper, Controller and HR Manager at Kenton Brothers, talking about the Kenton Brothers Apprentice Program

Kenton Brothers has decided to tackle the recruitment process a little differently by developing an in depth apprenticeship program. We’ve found that it’s more challenging to instill the Kenton Brothers Core Values in an employee than it is to train the technical aspects of the job to a new employee.

The approach we’ve taken is to find individuals that possess the right work ethic, dependability, morals, integrity and ability to communicate and work well in a team environment. And then train them on the technical requirements from there.

The Kenton Brothers Apprentice Program

Kenton Brothers Systems for Security: Apprentice ProgramEach apprentice will start at our Customer Counter. They work on mechanical and locksmithing skills, like creating high security keys and understanding basic lock repair. And they do this for several months while learning the proper way to interact with our customers. Next, an apprentice will learn basic installation and field skills such a pulling wire runs. After a one to two year evaluation period of training and growth, we have multiple avenues an apprentice can choose. These include Field Services Technician, Retail Counter Technician and more.

We want our apprentices to find the right fit for them.

We’re creating a capabilities matrix within our organization. This matrix will let an apprentice know where their current skill set is at. And what is needed to get them to the next level as far as position and salary.

It’s important that every apprentice gets regular time with a supervisor. And we want our apprentices to have a defined career plan as we help them down the road of improving their strengths and minimizing any weaknesses through training. Every person in Kenton Brothers has the opportunity for a career that can lead all the way to an Executive Leadership position if they choose that path (and put in the work to achieve their goal!)

This is how Kenton Brothers is bridging the hiring gap and maintaining the Kenton Brothers Level of Service that our customers deserve and have come to expect from us.

Do you know someone that might be interested in becoming an apprentice with Kenton Brothers? Get started here.

Happy New Year from Kenton Brothers – All Secure 2017!

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers

Kenton Brothers Systems for Security: Happy New Year!As another year winds to a close, we would like to take the opportunity to say thank you.

This year has been another great year for the KB Family. We’ve added more family members.

We’ve installed and serviced some of the largest projects that KB has ever seen. These include Sprint Center, Missouri State University and the Salvation Army.

We have improved the way we interact with our customers, partners, friends and family through a new website, blogging, and social media.

We have expanded into new territories including Columbia, MO and Wichita, KS.

However, what we are most proud of is that we’ve been a part of our customer’s lives. We love fulfilling our mission to protect people, property and assets.

We hope that everyone gets to spend some time reflecting on the past year. And that you get to enjoy some quality time with your families.

Thank you for being an important part of our success this year. All Secure 2017!

Kenton Brothers Systems for Security: Happy New Year! Kenton Brothers Systems for Security: Happy New Year!

Things have changed a lot since 1897. Customers are the key.

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By Gina Stuelke, CEO of Kenton Brothers, talking about the importance of our customers over the years.

Things have changed a lot since 1897

ModernizationIt’s an interesting experience carrying forward a century old organization in today’s technology driven business environment. Think about the speed at which things move and change today compared to even as little as five years ago. Then compare that back to over 120 years ago when KB was founded…really, almost everything has changed since 1897.

  • Our product offerings and mix have changed more in the last five years, than in the fifty years prior. That will continue to be the case as we’ve opted to embrace the convergence movement.
  • The majority of our products now live on the network.
  • The types of associates we need must be more technology savvy than ever before. The level of IT sophistication required is immense.
  • The titles of the decision-makers, their needs and requirements are different.
  • Faster response times are expected, quicker solutions are required and we are expected to do more with less.

The one constant in our ever changing business is our customers. Without our great customers, we would have no business being in business!

Kenton Brothers: Art Wall

Mobile Access for our Field Service Units (FSUs)

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By Will Zurcher, Installation Manager at Kenton Brothers talking about mobile access for our Field Service Units.

Kenton Brothers: Field Service UnitsAs a company that’s been operating for over a century, Kenton Brothers is accustomed to adapting to the times. This is one of the core reasons the company is still growing. Most recently, we decided to implement a new software system that would streamline our processes from proposal to invoicing. There are enough obstacles to overcome with just that goal in mind. But when you take into account that nearly half our employees operate on the go every day, it was important to find a flexible solution.

We decided to implement field service units (FSUs) for our mobile employees. This allows them to remotely access the same system the office personnel use daily. Now all employees and departments at Kenton Brothers communicate fluidly through one system.

There are many benefits to a system like this, but the FSU devices are a critical point of failure. We had to choose devices with a track record of little to no downtime. The Apple iPad Mini was the answer. It’s a small device that’s powerful enough to operate the software. It has a reputation for quality, functionality, and great support. And the cellular versions allow our employees to have a live connection to the system.

We’ve seen great improvements in communication since implementing the Field Service Units.

  • Technicians can clock in and out of jobs. Their time records are more accurate for each job, improving the invoicing process.
  • Technicians can view documents specific to each job on demand. Previously, they had to print them off.
  • Technicians can type notes under their job. This is important to document the work they performed, customer comments or materials needed in the event of a return trip. In the past, this would have been written down on paper and entered by someone back at the office.
  • Technicians can read notes left from previous visits instead of calling other technicians.
  • Technicians can have customers electronically sign off on completion of their work.

The question still remains… Is it worth the expense for companies to try and keep up with the speed of technology?

There are many people that wish there was any easy yes or no answer to that question. Only time will tell. But our experience so far proves that better communication will improve our customer experience and satisfaction.