The International Defense and Security Technologies (IDET) Fair is held annually in Brno, Czech Republic. The event is an important exhibition of defence and security technology with strong participation from the Czech defense industry, but it also includes international exhibitors as well.

This is an event with high-ranking political and military representatives of the Czech Republic present, which makes it a high-risk event in terms of providing security. Due to the nature of the event, the challenges are primarily based around the scope of the exhibition:

• Providing security for a high-profile event, such as the IDET, is a challenge.
• Getting the exhibition secured on time was a challenge due to a quick turnaround time.
• The event has a set and non-flexible budget.

G4S has been handling security for the IDET for years, due to its positive history with the exhibition. The company is familiar with these challenges and the goals to accomplish.

THE GOALS

In this case, the goals were simple to define and are simply a matter of eliminating the challenges.

• Provide High-Level Security – While all G4S customers are deserving of the best security solution possible, an event such as the IDET can be even higher risk than usual, due to the presence of political and military figures. This means goal No. 1 for G4S was to ensure the security plan in place takes into account the extra level of risk in this type of event.
• Get Security Set Up in Time – Because the event is held annually at a venue that hosts other exhibitions, the time G4S has is dependent on when the last event ends and the IDET begins. The goal was to get in early to set up security as quickly as possible.
• Stay Within Budget – The safety of all in attendance at IDET is, of course, the most important factor. However, G4S also must stay within the specified budget.

These goals are direct and leave little room for interpretation. To meet them, G4S would need to complete an analysis and risk assessment of the event’s needs to devise a winning solution.

THE SOLUTION

For a live event with a set number of attendees, the logical first step would be manned guarding. G4S would deploy enough guards needed for the number of visitors, which would already be known in advance. To gauge just how much security would be necessary, G4S fell back on its years of experience to get an accurate guard count.

The next piece of the solution is the installation of screening frames so anyone entering the expo would go through a security check. This would provide the first line of protection to prevent threats
from getting in, with guards deployed inside as a second line of defense.

The budget had to be maintained, as well, so G4S would optimise the amount of screening infrastructure and guards needed without being excessive. The key was to analyse how many screening frames and how much security guards were needed for the predefined number of expected visitors.

THE RESULTS

The event came and went without incident. Visitors from all over the world were in attendance and had a positive experience. Furthermore, all in attendance were kept safe, which accomplished the most important goal.

Within a few weeks of the event, G4S had all the planning and preparation complete. Installation of screening frames and deployment of guards then occurred within just one day. This kept the project on time, as required to meet the second goal set forth for the project.

In addition, the necessary security was provided without exceeding the budget. Not only were all in attendance kept safe, but it was also able to stay within the proposed budget. This accomplished all of the goals for the project, making it a major success. Due to the success of the event, G4S expects to receive the security contract for IDET in the future.