Before Danfoss introduced its ‘one company, one way’ strategy, decisions around real estate, security and access control were made independently by the company’s many business units. Now, these areas are centralised and take a global approach. Danfoss has established one overarching department for real estate, which takes care of its physical security and access control across the world, and has appointed a global head of physical security. This department now makes decisions for the whole of Danfoss, allowing Danfoss to streamline its physical security globally.
Once Danfoss had a global view on aspects such as security, the desire to have one security system to grant employees easy access to the whole of Danfoss was a natural progression. The company’s existing security solutions couldn’t facilitate this, so it was clear that Danfoss needed a new supplier for a physical security system that could be implemented on a global scale.
Danfoss ran a tender process to select a global partner for physical security and selected Nedap based on three key considerations. A prime attraction was AEOS, Nedap’s software-based security system, which offers access control, intrusion detection, video and locker management all on one platform. Moreover, Nedap’s worldwide partner network and Global Client Programme guarantee a tightly controlled and well-aligned implementation.
The Global Client Programme
Fritz Lorenzen, Senior Security Consultant of Danfoss, says: “The fact that Nedap offers a tested, standardised approach for global implementation of physical security was one of the main reasons we selected it as our partner of security measures across the world. We wanted efficiency in the security operations and effectiveness in preventing or mitigating the risks we face. That is what Nedap’s Global Client Programme brought us.”
Henrik Hansen, Head of Portfolio Management of Danfoss, adds: “We wanted to make huge changes to our internal organisation and increase efficiency significantly. But by standardising security measures globally we found ourselves in a new field, so we were looking for a partner that could consult us throughout the implementation. As Nedap is a global company, they can advise us anywhere in the world and meet our needs around the world. The latter is why Nedap’s business model is really beneficial to us. Wherever we have a project, Nedap can easily assign an installation partner to enrol AEOS. And while Nedap works through installation partners, they still take full responsibility of what’s delivered.”
Having a central support desk |
A unified approach
Nedap’s Global Client Programme was executed for Danfoss by a team of technical and project experts from both companies. It brought together Danfoss’s knowledge of the organisation and its strategy and Nedap’s expertise in security and implementing global projects.
Together, the team transformed Danfoss’s philosophy on security and established a global security policy and tooling. The programme’s central phase set up a governance structure; created a central server and testing environment; drew up clear specifications and security measures; and enrolled sites in different parts in the world.
Proven tooling increases efficiency
Tooling and reporting have been set up to enable Danfoss’s new sites to be enrolled to AEOS efficiently and easily, without extensive knowledge or resources at each site. Nedap’s security planning web tool makes it straightforward for Danfoss to determine the security measures required at each site ensuring standardised, high quality security across the world, with each project closely controlled and documented.
Fritz explains: “We have mapped and stored all relevant information. So when we have a greenfield project or need to change an existing system, we can just pick up this repeatable, sustainable model and know that 80% of the work has already been done. This makes it easy and cost-effective to enrol new projects. We’ll have six to eight new projects each year and, where I used to spend four weeks preparing for these, I may now only spend one week.”
To ensure high quality levels across each site, Nedap’s Global Client Programme provides guidelines for, and advises on, installation company selection and quotation templates. So the central programme team can always observe and assess vendors consistently. Nedap’s installation partners, meanwhile, are clear on the prices, industry standards and lead-times they need to meet.
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| Nedap’s Global Client Programme was executed for Danfoss by a team of technical & project experts |
Always the best support
As part of the first phase of Danfoss’s Global Client Programme, a global server and testing environment has been designed and deployed. Having one single security system allowed Danfoss to set up a central, 24/7 support desk providing first line support on AEOS anywhere in the world. Danfoss’s central security staff have been trained to expert level in AEOS, so they can make changes to the system themselves, as well as supporting all sites globally.
Henrik explains: “Having a central support desk allows us to better utilise manpower and train our people in a better way. Our goal is to expand the central support desk in the future, for example to cover travel security, so Danfoss can achieve even higher levels of efficiency.”
A truly integrated platform
In addition to the Global Client Programme, one of the main reasons Danfoss selected Nedap as a global partner for physical security was because AEOS is software-based. Fritz says: “We need to be proactive in protecting our company, employees and assets from potential risks. So it’s important to us that access control, intrusion detection and video management are combined on one platform.
“There are many different manufacturers offering integrated platforms, but these are, in fact, different systems working together. We found that Nedap’s software-based platform is really unique and offers us total control and quick responses when we need it. Moreover, being a software-based solution, it allows us to implement a global policy while ensuring local compliance is easy. AEOS even allowed us to change our intrusion detection system while maintaining the same hardware, which, from an efficiency point of view, was really valuable to us.”
Opportunities to increase value
Today, seven of Danfoss’s sites have been enrolled to the AEOS platform. This includes a campus site in Chennai, India, where Danfoss’s different business units have been unified, and Monterrey, Mexico, which is a high-security environment. Danfoss plans to migrate the majority of its remaining 80 locations to AEOS within the next five years.
In the beginning of this migration, Danfoss has successfully transformed its ‘one company, one way’ strategy into a value proposition for security by improving processes and using fewer resources. Henrik explains: “We’ve achieved this by implementing AEOS through Nedap’s Global Client Programme, and we expect to expand on this value proposition in the future. We can now look into possibilities for central monitoring centres where we can open doors all around the world from one single location. And we already integrate AEOS with other people-related systems such as cashless payment in restaurants, and logging time and attendance. We now have the basis to explore how we can add even more value to Danfoss in the future. And we know we’ve found a partner in Nedap that will advise us on any new developments that will benefit our organisation.”
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