Andy Walls is chief executive officer at TIS Group with regional offices in Nottingham, Birmingham, Leeds & Uxbridge
What’s your company all about and what makes it stand out?
TIS makes life safety and security simpler, smarter and more dependable for organisations that can’t afford ambiguity. We’re an independent life safety, security and communications systems integrator – designing, installing and maintaining solutions that protect people, places and spaces in some of the UK’s most demanding and regulated environments.
What makes us stand out is the way we join things up. In a world of siloed systems, we focus on convergence – helping customers move from ‘lots of separate boxes’ to an integrated, resilient ecosystem that’s easier to manage, easier to evidence, and easier to evolve. That means we don’t just turn up at installation stage; we work from consultation and requirements through to design, delivery, compliance and ongoing service – because protection isn’t a moment in time, it’s something you have to sustain every day.
We’re also entering a new chapter. With my appointment as CEO, we’re building on a strong foundation and an excellent team, with a clear focus on strategic growth, operational excellence and customer value – while keeping people, customers and compliance at the centre of how we operate.
What kind of projects do you most enjoy working on?
The projects we enjoy most are those where the brief is genuinely high-stakes and the customer wants a partner, not a supplier. Typically, that’s complex estates with multiple stakeholders, evolving risk, tight operational constraints and a need for systems that just work – whether that’s retirement living, education, transport, public space protection or defence environments.
There’s real satisfaction in solving problems that aren’t just technical. For example: integrating fire and security with communications, ensuring the right information reaches the right people quickly, and making day-to-day control simple for busy teams. We like projects where we can modernise legacy infrastructure, improve resilience, reduce false alarms, strengthen compliance evidence, and leave customers feeling confidently in control – not overwhelmed by complexity.
How does NSI certification make a difference to your business?
NSI certification matters because it’s a clear, independent marker of trust in an industry where customers are often making risk-based decisions with long-term consequences. It demonstrates that quality, process and accountability are embedded – not improvised.
For customers, it provides confidence that what we design, install and maintain is aligned to recognised standards and subject to ongoing scrutiny. For our teams, it creates a strong operating discipline: consistent delivery, consistent documentation, and a culture where compliance is built into how we work every day – not bolted on at the end. That’s especially important in regulated environments where evidencing what you’ve done can be just as critical as doing it.
It also supports our broader aim: making complex protection simpler. Strong standards reduce ambiguity, and ambiguity is the enemy of dependable safety and security. We hold both NSI Gold and NSI Fire Gold among our accreditations.
What’s the project or client you’re especially proud of?
I’m new to TIS but I’m proud of the breadth of organisations that trust TIS in high-accountability environments – from defence and transport to higher education and local authorities. We protect people, places and spaces for organisations including the Ministry of Defence, the University of Leeds, Audley Villages, Elysian, Nottinghamshire County Council, dnata and the West Midlands Combined Authority.
What I’m most proud of isn’t any single site – it’s the pattern: delivering integrated systems that are easier to manage, robust under real operational pressure, and backed by service that customers can rely on. When customers tell us they feel more in control, or that we’ve simplified an estate that used to be fragmented and difficult to run, that’s when we know we’ve made a genuine difference.
What’s one business decision that really paid off?
A decision that consistently pays off is investing in how we deliver, not just what we deliver. I’ve seen and implemented this in every executive role I’ve held.
For TIS that includes building strong capability in design and consultancy up front and backing it with disciplined compliance and a premium service mindset – because customer experience is created in the everyday moments: responsiveness, clarity, documentation quality, and how issues are handled.
It’s the difference between being an installer and being a long-term partner and aligns with our wider ‘Difference Makers’ focus: demonstrating tangible value beyond price in a competitive market.
We’re also committed to developing the next generation of talent and improving the industry from within – because sustainable performance depends on skills, culture and leadership, not just tools.
Read the interview in the February 2026 edition of PSi magazine
