New event for consultants and A&Es will honor Boxerbaum

Feb. 3, 2017
The launch of Consult 2017 by SecuritySpecifiers.com celebrates project collaboration

When Ray Coulombe founded SecuritySpecifiers.com in 2010, the goal was to become an authoritative resource for those who seek to identify specifiers of physical security systems for purposes of sharing company information, gaining enhanced visibility, or initiating an engagement. The site provides access on a subscription basis to the most extensive worldwide list of security consultants and engineering firms with a security practice, searchable by geography and market sector. 

But Coulombe admits that the ultimate goal has been to create a collaborative environment where specifiers, engineers, and consultants could share lessons learned and best practices that in turn would help them provide their end-user customers the best possible solutions for protecting their organizations.

To that end, Coulombe has launched and exclusive invitation-only technical security symposium, limited to 100 low voltage security consulting and A&E firms. CONSULT 2017 will be held in San Antonio, Texas on October 21-24. Another aspect of this event that makes it very special is the announcement of the first-ever Elliot A. Boxerbaum Security Design Project of the Year. This award will recognize a consulting or engineering company which designed and specified a completed security design project, accepted by the client in 2016. All entries will be judged on the following criteria:

  • Collaboration with end-user, architect, and integrator
  • Design excellence
  • Project innovation, uniqueness, and creativity

For many of us, the opportunity to honor a dear friend and colleague makes this award even more distinctive. Elliot, who passed away in 2014 from ALS, was the founder and president of Security Risk Management Consultants. In addition, Elliot was an original Advisory Board member for SecuritySpecifiers and past president of the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC).

Elliot was a graduate of the FBI National Academy and had more than 25 years of experience in security management. He held the Certified Protection Professional designation from ASIS International and served on the ASIS Healthcare Security Council.  He was a dedicated security professional and humanitarian and it is a privilege to honor his memory with this award.

Security Technology Executive magazine and SecurityInfoWatch.com are excited to join the event as the exclusive media partners. So to help launch this special symposium, I recently sat down with event founder and SecuritiySpecifiers.com President Ray Coulombe and had him share some thoughts about his organization and upcoming event.

Lasky: Can you tell us a little bit about your new event, CONSULT 2017, how it came about, and what its mission is? 

Coulombe: With several years under our belt with SecuritySpecifiers, I’ve come to realize that there are many critical issues affecting security consultants and design engineers that just don’t get enough air time. Manufacturers have dedicated events, some involving partners, which focus mainly on increasing understanding of their own products. Many more can’t. Regardless, consultants can only allocate so much time to attend non-revenue producing events. We’re offering a multi-manufacturer event that is more issue-focused than product-focused that fills a gap for these consultants and engineers.

Lasky: Can you explain just how critical you feel the role of the consultant plays in the industry?

Coulombe: For large projects, the consultant fills the vital role of determining a client’s real security need, based on threats and vulnerabilities, offering solutions and designs to address those, and, often, ensuring that the final implementation adheres to the design.

Lasky: One of the event highlights is the Security Design Award. What is this about?

Coulombe: Successful projects don’t happen by accident. They start with a good analysis and design and enjoy a dynamic where team members – client, architect, consultant, integrator – work together, resolving disagreements and unforeseen problems in a professional manner.  There are always issues. This award is to recognize a project that turned on in 2016 that met its objectives by having both a great design and a great ongoing process. Consultants’ role in this deserves recognition, and there just aren’t any industry awards that currently provide that recognition.

Lasky: You have named this after the late Elliot A. Boxerbaum, who was a veteran consultant in the security industry. Tell us why and what Elliot meant to the field.

Coulombe: Elliot was an enormous figure in the security consulting ranks. Starting his security career as a policeman at Ohio State University, he founded one of the truly respected security consulting firms, Security Risk Management Consulting. He gave back to the industry in many ways. Among these was his service to the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC) and to our own SecuritySpecifiers as a founding Advisory Board member. Sadly, we lost Elliot 2 years ago to ALS.

Lasky: What are the criteria for the award and what specifics should those submitting a project keep in mind?

Coulombe: Any security consulting firm or other consulting or engineering firm with a security practice is eligible to apply for a project that went operational in 2016. An application can be downloaded from www.SecuritySpecifiers.com. The biggest evaluation factor will be collaboration, with weight also given to scope, project challenges, innovation, results, and benefits to the client. References from the client and integrator will help support the case.

Lasky: Will there be only one award?

Coulombe: Yes, but other notable projects will receive honorable mention and media exposure.

Lasky: Where and when will the award be presented?

Coulombe: CONSULT 2017 will take place October 21-24 in San Antonio. Elliot’s wife, Debbie, will present the award trophy on October 23. She will also receive a donation to the ALS Association – Central & Southern Ohio Chapter – on behalf of the winning entrant and CONSULT 2017.

About the Author: Steve Lasky is a 30-year veteran of the security industry and the Editorial Director of SouthComm Security Media Group, which includes Security Technology Executive magazine and SecurityInfoWatch.com.