Security Sales & Integration February 2022 - 27

inspect the list of industry dealer programs to
identify your potentially ideal partner - one
that will have your back and catch your business
should it fall.
In what substantial ways the pandemic
continues to affect your company?
Jim Cooper: It's really been interesting finding
balance making sure company needs are met,
customer needs are met and all the different regulations
are met. Because we have a national footprint
every state we work in is a little different. It's
really been a bit of a challenge, especially on the
operation side for field staff. We have had to make
sure everybody's compliant with the customers'
needs, not only in terms of their business but also
if they fall under other government regulations we
have to be compliant as a sub under that.
Tyler Blake: Maybe the most obvious impact
at present is the supply chain. Not only just
lead time on parts, which seems to change by
the day and week, but for us and in talking to
other integrators as well, certain projects, especially
multiyear, are experiencing a lot of margin
compression. With contracted multiyear
projects, some big product categories have seen
four or five price increases the past year, plus
surcharges and everything else. For an integrator
taking the risk on such a project they might
lose their entire margin. Your product markup
has now been lost to the supply chain issues.
Secondly, the other challenge remains labor.
The past year was tough on not just people at
work, out of work with COVID, but also the
mental tax for employees, and especially now adding
the supply chain on top of it. Project managers
and field technicians are getting a bit mentally
fried with so much change happening constantly.
Jim Lonie: One of the biggest things on the
personnel is whether we can send someone to
a site or not, whether you can have vaccinated
or unvaccinated people on the site. Because if
we have to send someone to a service call who's
not vaccinated, now you've got to pull someone
off another team to send them there. It really
disrupts your day-to-day flow and kills morale
as it puts people at odds with each other over
who's vaccinated or unvaccinated. They can feel
punished for being sent to a job when the other
person can't go. We're battling whether we have
to keep people at home because we can't send
them anywhere in certain states.
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Ronald Haught: Something we've done that
has really helped the situation is having custom-built
COVID trailers made. We built
basically portable offices with heat and filtration
systems that we stock with PPE and all
the stuff they would need, and shipped these
trailers to specific jobsites, be it a remote site
or a corporate office. These trailers minimized
exposure for our staff and customers alike. That
has helped as our staff weren't confined to their
work vehicles and it gave them a space to decompress,
do their work and not feel like they
were under the thumb.
We've considered employees' wishes; although
we encouraged being vaccinated, if they
don't want to that's OK too and we just have to
work around it. Specifically in the healthcare
side, we're in a lot of nursing homes and hospitals
and so we must be very cautious and take
that super seriously. Our guys get tested regularly,
twice a week I believe. In some locations,
they're tested every time they go.
What are you anticipating overall for
your business in 2022 and why?
Haught: In conversations we're having with
many of our customers, they're like everybody
THE PANELISTS
▶ Tyler Blake is COO of Tampa, Fla.-based Midwest Alarm and BCI
Integrated Solutions. In business more than 50 years, the company
operates its own central monitoring station and serves customers with
a full complement of security solutions, primarily in the Midwest and
Southeast.
▶ Jim Cooper is vice president of technology for Millstone, N.J.headquartered
Integrated Security & Communications. Founded in
2007, the company runs four other locations in Northeast, South and
West, offering a wide range of engineered commercial security solutions.
▶ Ronald Haught is CEO of Quincy, Ill.-based Alarm Systems Inc. and
Associated Technical Services in Milwaukee. Those interests include
offering a variety of security systems and services, a fire extinguisher
business, specializing in Michigan's healthcare market. Local and
national accounts span nearly 20 states.
▶ Jim Lonie is a 30-year industry veteran who presently serves as COO of
Millstone, N.J. -headquartered Integrated Security & Communications.
Founded in 2007, the company runs four other locations in Northeast,
South and West, offering a wide range of engineered commercial
security solutions.
FEBRUARY 2022 Security Sales & Integration 27
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Security Sales & Integration February 2022

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