Seek end-to-end solutions in public safety

There’s more to consider than a product’s cost in dollars when designing public safety programs. A supplier’s expertise and training services can help ensure your success.

“The challenges are many, from designing programs that help keep people and assets secure, to anticipating potential crises and planning responses ahead of time.”

The issue of public safety is a complicated one, and there are thousands of players in the infrastructure industry offering solutions to safety problems. For those making the decisions that affect public safety, getting it right is critical, and it requires a careful examination of the products and services that will make up their strategy. Within 3M’s Safety, Security and Protection Services Business, we understand these challenges, as well as their scope. We produce products that help enhance the safety and security of workers, facilities, and systems around the world. This is no small task, but with expertise in categories including Border and Document Security, Fire Protection, and Occupational Health and Environmental Safety, we have the depth and breadth of experience necessary to help meet the industry’s challenges.

These challenges are many, from designing programs that help keep people safe and assets secure, to anticipating potential crises and planning responses ahead of time. Because public safety issues can often have effects on many other aspects of an operation, governments and private organizations should seek out providers who can offer them end-to-end solutions, rather than just offer products. By adopting this strategy, customers can take advantage of the expertise of their service providers and design safety measures that can work more efficiently and effectively.

The divisions of 3M Safety, Security and Protection Services help provide just such complete solutions, helping address public safety at borders, at critical infrastructure, events, and in many other situations with a preventative approach. Our technologies for secured ID systems, fire protection, and worker safety help provide state-of-the-art solutions within the U.S. public safety sector, and we back them with the training and consultancy services necessary to help make them effective.

Helping to Ensure Worker Safety

In the Occupational Health and Environmental Safety Division, 3M provides a variety of personal protective products, training, services, education and assistance to government agencies and businesses that engage in building infrastructure and are responsible for ensuring public safety during hazardous events. Emergency preparedness and response is one of our primary areas of focus, and we recognize that first responder/first receiver personnel need to maintain a high level of readiness, be appropriately trained, and have the right equipment to do their job. Because of this, we supply education and training to help keep workers safer and informed.

For example, we conducted an H1N1 Pandemic Response webinar during the recent outbreak to help educate concerned parties about the nature of the virus and the guidelines issued from governmental agencies regarding the proper use and care of respiratory products in occupational environments. This is one of many examples where we translate regulatory standards information into educational and training resources like webinars, training courses and technical information for our safety customers. We are known as one of the top go-to resources for information about safety standards, regulations and product applications.

Collaborating in Fire Protection

Many firestopping technologies were invented at 3M and the company continues to pioneer in the development of easy-to-use fire protection solutions. We help our customers develop fully integrated systems, and we continue working with them throughout their building’s life – including retrofit and maintenance activities.

In one notable example, we collaborated with the Sarasota Medical Center to locate and mitigate potential fire protection concerns after an inspection found deficiencies at the hospital. 3M began the process with an educational seminar for the facilities staff and primary outside contractors, with instruction on the basics of fire protection, the prevailing codes, firestop product selection and installation procedures. We then built a database with a detailed record of the entire facility, and created a prioritized list of necessary upgrades. The appropriate fire protection system was identified for each area, and contractors worked systematically to properly address the concerns.

To preserve the hospital’s integrity in the future, we then developed an online manual of the 25 most commonly used UL systems for fire protection in the building, which allows contractors to quickly identify and order the appropriate 3M fire protection products. Additionally, we continue to provide a consultancy service to advise contractors on the proper fire protection methods for non-standard situations.

Secure Document Solutions

Our Security Systems Division works with governments and organizations all over the world to help develop successful security initiatives. As security measures continuously change and the complexity of personal identification and border management grows, our end-to-end ID document issuance and authentication hardware/software systems and security material technologies continue to evolve, helping to keep borders, buildings and people protected.

3M border management solutions are deployed at air, land and sea ports of entry to assist Customs and Border Protection officers with the security check on the machine readable zone of travel documents, including the new ePassport Card and Enhanced Driver's License. 3M technology can be integrated with various biometric capture devices to bring biographic and biometric data together to support identity verification.

Another ID document authentication solution we provide is our offering with AssureTec Technologies, Inc. that pairs AssureTec authentication library software with select 3M document readers. This combination of our document reader and a document library of several thousand document types helps provide authorities with a powerful tool for verifying drivers’ licenses, passports, and other secure documents during the entitlement stage of issuing a secure ID credential.

We also work closely with governments and organizations to provide consultancy services and customized, integrated systems for efficient border management solutions. Recently, we helped the Caribbean Community develop a travel card program that enables what we believe to be the first multilateral border crossing system in the world. In situations such as this, our broad range of expertise in the ID management process – from document issuance, security material technologies, card personalization and production, through to document reading and authentication – proves invaluable.

Getting the Most Value

When designing programs for public safety, cost-effectiveness nearly always extends beyond a product’s price in dollars. Decision makers in this realm should critically examine the training and consulting services provided by potential suppliers to determine the true value of a product or service. At 3M, we do more than sell products—we work extensively with customers to help deliver customized solutions, based on a sound understanding of their challenges and the industry.