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December 2010
LIGHTNING
CONDUCTION – A RISK SOLUTION?
By Joe Van Rensburg,
SATIB Risk Solutions |
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An approaching thunderstorm
can raise a lodge owner’s anxiety
levels, sometimes to fever pitch. The position
of the lodge – on a hillside or mountain
- and the region in which the lodge or hotel
is located are factors that will determine
the seriousness with which owners and managers
will regard the threat of a thunderstorm
to the property.
Direct Lightning Strike
A lodge manager recently described in quite
chilling detail what the experience of a
direct lightning strike on the elevated
timber and thatch structure had meant to
him.
Very Lucky?
The appearance of an electric blue shimmering
light on all the surfaces of the lodge’s
main building, gave him the eerie sensation
of a powerful visiting force. Fortunately,
this experience did not result in a fire,
personal injury or material loss, but it
could very well have, with devastating effect.
Unlucky?
A new lodge in Mpumalanga was not so lucky
and was brought to ruin by a lightening
flash |
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before the arrival of its first guests. The lightning
conduction mast was the only thing standing in
the area. Given the circumstances, one can understand
some managers’/owners’ scepticism
in the effectiveness of a lightning conduction
system.
Different Opinions
It is interesting to note the disparate opinions
and voices raised on a topic so important to our
risk strategies in Southern Africa, as the following
comments demonstrate.
| • |
“The masts just end
up drawing the lightning flashes to our
buildings, whereas if they weren’t
there we’d be safe”; |
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“My lodge is positioned
in a hilly or mountainous area and the lightning
will strike the peaks above so we are safe”; |
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“These lightning conduction
masts are unsightly and for this reason
we are not prepared to erect them”. |
Do
Lightning Conductors Work?
A most pertinent question put to me when
doing fire inspection on site is, “Do
lightning masts actually work - are they
effective in reducing the risk of destruction
through lightning”?
My standard response to this question is;
“Yes they do work, provided some important
installation and maintenance principles
are adhered to”. |
Protection Methods
Some information that I have gathered regarding
the phenomenon of lightning strike and protection
through applied lightning conduction methods.
| • |
Don’t allow trees to be in
contact with structures you are protecting. |
| • |
Thatch covered by wire netting,
although an excellent deterrent to
birds and monkeys, is likely to draw
lightning flashes in a storm. |
| • |
Your lightning protection
system is as good as the quality of
its installation and maintenance. |
| • |
The system needs to
be tested annually for efficiency. |
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Some insurance underwriters regard the
provision of lightning protection systems as a
condition of insurance.
 |
(SANS
62305 – 3:2007 - Comprehensively
encapsulates all the technical details of
a lightning protection system.)
Lightning Protection Systems
By defining a lightning protection system,
the national standard indicated above includes
in its introduction, the following:
An external lightning protection
system (LPS) is intended to:
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Intercept a lightning flash to
the structure (with an air-termination
system); |
| • |
Conduct the lightning current safely
towards earth (using a down-conductor
system); |
| • |
Disperse the lightning
current into the earth (using a earth-termination
system). |
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BASIC PRINCIPLES
Some basic principles of lightning protection
need to be understood:
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The purpose of selecting
a protection level is to reduce, to below
the accepted level, the risk of damage,
as a result of a direct lightning flash
to a structure, or to a space to be protected. |
| • |
An LPS cannot prevent the formation of
lightning. |
| • |
An LPS designed and installed in accordance
with the National Standard cannot guarantee
absolute protection to structures, persons,
or objects; however, application of this
standard will significantly reduce the risk
of damage being caused by lightning. |
| • |
The type and location of an LPS should
be carefully considered at the design stage
of a new structure to enable maximum advantage
to be taken of the electrically conductive
parts of the structure. |
| • |
The design and construction of an integrated
structure can be made easier, the overall
aesthetic aspects can be improved and the
effectiveness of the LPS can be increased
at minimum cost and effort. |
| • |
Access to the ground and proper use of
foundation steelwork for the purpose of
forming an effective earth – termination
system are likely to be impossible once
construction work on a site has started.
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Soil resistivity and the nature of the
earth should be considered at the earliest
possible stage of a project because this
information is fundamental to the design
of an earth-termination system and can influence
the foundation design. |
| • |
For each structure, the risk of damage
can be estimated by taking into account
the expected annual frequency of direct
lightning flashes to the structure, the
probability with which the lightning will
cause damage and the average possible financial
loss as a consequence of the lightning. |
Lightning Conduction – Risk Reduction
Measure
The lightning flash density for a specified area
is determined where possible and included in the
TRM Fire Risk Management Report.
Conclusion
So it can be seen from this that installing
a lightning protection system is an important
risk reducing measure, provided sufficient
care is taken with the quality and timing
of the installation. |
Source: © Joe van Rensburg
| TRM | Tourism Tattler Trade Journal Issue 02
2009
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| For
more information,
contact Joe van
Rensburg on 0861
SATIB 4U (728 4248)
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| Back to Top | ----------------------------------------------------------------------
December 2010
THE UGLY TRUTH
BEHIND GUEST ROOM THEFT
By Andre du
Toit, SATIB Risk Solutions |
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To any general manager or owner of
a property in the hospitality industry,
theft from guest rooms has to be a scourge.
Easy Money
Clothing, laptops, cell phones and
jewellery, do not have the returns
of foreign currency or the speed with
which currency can be exchanged, but
the fact remains that guest room theft
is easy money for the perpetrator
and detection is often difficult.
Guest Room Theft:
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Is often detected
too late to determine the culprit |
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There is often no record of
the perpetrator having entered
the room |
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Is a direct invasion of the
guest’s privacy and downright
embarrassing for the owner or
manager when dealing with a
guest who has reported a theft.
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Most Stolen
Items that are most often stolen from guest’s
rooms include clothing, cameras, jewellery, cellular
phones and laptops, with foreign currency being
the most sought after.
How It’s Done
According to Andrew Forded of Corporate
Confidential Solutions (CCS), the influx
of crime syndicates, which started in the
latter part of the 1980’s and early
1990’s, resulted in a dramatic increase
in theft incidents.
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Intimidation of workers,
through social groups in local communities
and when travelling to and from the
work place, is their modus operandi.
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Generally speaking, syndicates pay
the Rand equivalent of the currency
denomination i.e. USD 100 = R100 or
50 Euros = R50 and so on - a very
simple form of exchange and one that
clearly leaves the syndicate with
a lucrative margin. |
‘Selection’ Strategy
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Another strategy that
crime syndicates use is ‘selection’,
whereby individuals are infiltrated
into labour broker practices who supply
casual staff, such as room attendants,
cleaners or waiters. |
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When a worker is suspected of being
involved in a room theft, he or she
is removed at the request of the hotel.
The labour broker reinstalls them
at another hotel property where they
continue with their activities. |
| • |
In some cases suspects are only
identified after many years and a
fruitful career in theft. |
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Labour Brokers
The fact that labour brokers do not dismiss these
individuals is not through a lack of concern on
their part, but because a client requests the
removal of an individual based on suspicion, which
does not translate into a dismissible offence
in terms of South Africa’s labour law.
Foreign Currency Exchange Bureaus
Mr. Forded confirms that there are cases where
workers do steal foreign currency for themselves,
but this comes at a risk to the thief, who will
have to provide proof of identification and declare
the origin. Security Managers who regularly approach
local foreign currency exchange bureaus with a
list of suspects often identify the culprits.
Theft Prevention
Appropriate prevention comes back to awareness
and internal prevention techniques.
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The first obstacle is for
hotels to have their guests act responsibly
by ensuring that they make use of safes
to secure their possessions would be admitting
that hotel staff steal. |
| • |
One could argue that there are different
ways to convey this message to the guest.
Often this method skirts around the seriousness
of the issue, resulting in the guest not
acting on the advice. |
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Conviction
vs. Actual Theft
The next problem in this process is criminal
prosecution. Room theft statistics are very
vague at best, but one thing is for sure
– the scale of conviction versus actual
theft is much in favour of the perpetrators.
Guests leave and return to their places
of origin and thus any case made very quickly
disappears into a black hole due to the
lack of a complainant.
Police Motivation
But, with timely reporting and determination
to motivate the police (relationship building
between the local detectives and the hotel
manager to make it effective), investigating
while the guest is still resident, the arrest
of the perpetrator and the use of special
courts has seen the conviction of perpetrators
at night courts and even on Saturday afternoons.
Caught on Camera
When perpetrators have been caught on camera,
these images should be shown to all staff,
further reinforcing the point that management
will not tolerate theft or hesitate to prosecute
the responsible individuals. |
Appropriate
prevention comes back to awareness and
internal prevention techniques. |
| Guest Room Theft Prevention
Strategy: |
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Setup a room –
purchase or hire a hidden camera and ‘setup’
a room as if being utilized by a ‘guest’
whilst performing surveillance of the room
to apprehend suspected perpetrators. |
| • |
Control key issue
– a lack of control in this area only
provides assistance to the perpetrator -
this includes both manual key and electronic
key card systems. |
| • |
Frequent discussions
with staff – goes a long
way in deterrence. |
| • |
Disciplinary procedures
– on apprehension of perpetrators
criminal prosecution is an option but correct
disciplinary procedures are a must - too
often it is heard that the perpetrator was
allowed to resign and disappear into the
sun-set, saving management the time and
effort of a disciplinary enquiry. |
| • |
Full time security
– regular patrols of guest room areas
during housekeeping and mini-bar servicing. |
| • |
Spot check
– staff returning from guest room
areas. |
| • |
Check references
– pre-employment checks are critically
important to prevention. Due to the lack
of prosecution, perpetrators can be identified
through reference checks, integrity questioning
techniques or polygraphs. |
| • |
Reimburse the guest –
often the least favoured method of prevention,
but highly effective if applied correctly
– once a guest complains of a room
theft and this has been confirmed, the hotel
immediately reimburses the guest for the
loss that they have suffered. |
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The establishment now becomes the
complainant in the matter and by-passes
delays in the criminal prosecution
process as the establishment has now
suffered the loss. |
| - |
Added to this, employees
effectively can now be sued in civil
courts for the loss by the establishment
based on evidence gleaned from the
internal investigation. |
| - |
This hits the perpetrators where
it hurts, by affecting their credit
/ financial records and placing a
black mark against their employment
history. |
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Conclusion
The above is not an all-inclusive list but
is provided as a reference point to assist
accommodation establishments in reducing
the opportunity for theft. You can beat
guest room theft on the ground with pro-active
measures and providing your staff with a
sense of ownership and responsibility. |
Source: © Andre Du Toit
| TRM | Tourism Tattler Trade Journal Issue 02
2009
|
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| For
more information,
contact Andre
du Toit
on 0861 SATIB 4U
(728 4248)
or email
him here
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