Matthew Stanley is the Senior Account Manager at Astra Security in Bristol. Areas of expertise for the business are CCTV, access control, remote monitoring and retail tagging systems plus specialist capabilities in sport view; ANPR; POS transaction event monitoring; heat mapping and construction time lapse cameras. The company’s accreditations include NSI Gold, Safe Contractor, Cyber Essentials and Constructionline Gold.
What would be a typical project for you?
For Astra, there is no such thing as a typical project, our engineers have to be adaptable as they move from working a large RDC installation one day, to maintaining a small retail unit the next, to carrying out a reactive call at a commercial property the next. Every day and task is different, Astra invest heavily in ensuring that our engineers are kept up to date on the latest product updates in order to provide our customers with the high levels of service that they expect from us.
Is third party accreditation beneficial?
Absolutely. Having third party accreditation is essential and beneficial to us. It provides a level of reassurance to our clients, partners, and customers that they are working with a company who deliver to the highest standards across a range of competencies. Having certain accreditations also facilitates additional openings for various work with Government and other key bodies. The team at NSI provide us with an invaluable source of support across many areas.
What is the best thing about working in security?
The daily challenge. Every job, no matter how big or small, has its unique properties. I work with a team of project managers and we can bounce ideas off each other, drawing on each other’s experiences to develop bespoke solutions to each unique requirement. Recently we have been working with a software company based in Germany for a bespoke PoS solution for one of our large retail customers. Being involved in the development of this unique solution and seeing how this will enable the stores to monitor, detect and deter theft at self- checkout trolley areas has been enjoyable.
Do you have any ‘go to’ technology?
We are independent of manufacturers, and over the years have developed extraordinarily strong relationships with a range of suppliers. This allows us to provide the right product at a competitive price for our customers. Our distribution network provides products on a ‘next day’ delivery service, which is a key requirement for many of our customers.
Read the full interview in the January 2021 edition of PSI magazine
