Lynden Jones is the Managing Director at TouchStar ATC in Manchester. Areas of expertise for the NSI Gold company include the design, manufacture, installation and support of security solutions (access control, CCTV and intruder) plus the provision of Time and Attendance solutions.
What would be a typical project for you?
At TouchStar we don’t really have a one size fits all approach, our projects are typically large scale and can cover one or many of our disciplines. As such, the projects we work on can range in size, from one door to multi door, multi-site operations, they can also span a wide number of sectors; anything from manufacturing and retail, through to education, healthcare, commercial and warehousing. That said, no matter what the size or scope of the project may be, we always deliver a complete end to end project management service covering consultation, design, installation and most importantly the ongoing support of a project.
Do you have any ‘go to’ technology and manufacturers?
As a designer and manufacturer our goal is to provide a best fit and tailored solution, to this end we have the benefit of owning our own ‘go to’ in-house technology, however we do integrate our technology with a small number of industry leading third party equipment providers. Integrating door systems, car park barriers, gates and turnstiles, our security hardware products include ievo biometric readers as well as hardware products from Abloy, FAAC, Avigilon, Hikvision and IDL. By working with a smaller number of best-in-class technology providers, this has enabled us to raise the bar in relation to the quality and scalability of solution we can provide, but also from a service perspective, the solutions are easier to support and manage.
What is the best thing about working in this industry?
Relationships with customers, manufacturers and partners are a big part of what makes the industry great. When you have delivered a project within budget and on time, relationships stay strong, and it is great when people remain in contact even when they move on in the industry. As a business we have established many long-term relationships with our customers which in turn have become more of a partnership. For me, the ability to scale up, enhance and help support our customers as they grow their operations really is the most satisfying part of being involved in this industry.
Is third party accreditation beneficial?
More than we appreciate sometimes. Certification isn’t about just selling that badge but knowing as an organisation you are not only operating to your own internal standards, but you are also working in the same way as others do and as others measure. Every renewal of every standard we hold brings the next list of improvements we can step up to. Maintaining accreditation with our governing bodies means we are growing with the requirement of the times.
Read the full interview in the October 2022 edition of PSI magazine
