Shaun has been working in the industry since 1992, when he helped to set up Norfolk’s first branch of CSD Professional, a security systems wholesaler and distributor. There Shaun attended training in basic equipment familiarisation and installation. It was this experience that first gave Shaun the bug for the technical side of security systems and he made the decision to go back to school, enrolling in a 2-year course and graduating with distinctions in City and Guilds/NVQ in Electrical Installation and Inspection and Testing.
Shaun has since held the position of Projects Engineering Manager, and in November 2015 he was again promoted to Contracts Director. He works to assist the company to move forward into new and exciting contracts. His role at the company involves discussing customer requirements and seeing the contract through from inception to completion.
John has worked in the security field since 1978, starting out as a Burglary Risk Assessment Surveyor for the Norwich Union Insurance Company. During this first part of his career, John was able to accumulate valuable knowledge about the crime prevention and protection markets.
Over time, John’s knowledge and enthusiasm helped him to progress within the security industry, as he moved over to security installations. Here, his former experience helped John to build strong relationships with both insurers and clients. John has extensive training in the planning and installation of intruder alarms, access control, CCTV/IPTV and fire extinguishing systems. He also has experience of sales surveying and regional management, as he has worked for many renowned companies such as Deacon Security, Group 4 Electronics Division, Britannia Security, ADT and Chubb Integrated Systems.
One of John’s major attributes is his ability to tailor systems to meet client’s requirements and needs, whether they be an individual or a large commercial client. John is firm in his belief that there is no substitute for experience and knowledge as it continually provides him with a strong foundation on which to base his recommendations to clients – to this day John dedicates a lot of his time to researching the latest systems and innovations, allowing him to always be one step ahead of the curve.
In the years that followed Simon was employed by Security Alarm Systems in Norwich, working his way up to become Engineering Manager. Modern Alarms (now ADT) provided even more varied work and a widening of his experience.
The years that followed have been very exciting for Simon and for the company, with the progress of technology including IP CCTV and wireless networking. Training courses with Mobotix, one of the largest developers and manufacturers of IP-based CCTV, have allowed Simon to design wireless CCTV systems for Beccles Town centre and Vision Park at Histon near Cambridge. These projects thus avoided the expense and disruption of digging up roads to lay cables.
Traditional technology has long been at the centre of Dragon Security Systems. Simon has BS7036 training, the standard for safety devices on automatic doors and barriers. This has allowed the company to install and maintain such systems for housing associations and Norfolk Constabulary, as well as other commercial and domestic clients.
Another interesting project undertaken by Dragon Security Systems was to design and produce comprehensive installation manuals required for an intruder and personal attack alarm system which was to be installed in two buildings for an oil-related company in Nigeria. The system had to alert security staff and automatically activate flood lighting around the compound in case of intruders.For this project, Dragon Security Systems also provided all the necessary materials.
More recently and following various training courses, Simon has earned qualifications in fire design, installation/commissioning and maintenance, contributing to Dragon Security Systems’ BAFE Fire Systems Installer accreditation.
I joined a local construction company straight from school and after 4 years moved to Norwich based civil engineers, May Gurney & Co. Ltd. working primarily on sea defence construction, 2 roll on roll off ferry terminals and the construction of Bacton Gas site. Whilst working at Bacton, I changed divisions within May Gurney and became a supervisor in the sealant division. In layman’s terms the work involved weatherproofing multi storey buildings throughout the UK. Within 3 years I was promoted to Contracts Manager, responsible for everything from quotation through to credit control. I was fortunate for being responsible only to the chairman of the group at that time, the late Sidney Utting MBE, a man I greatly admired and often refer to today.
Travelling the length and breadth of the UK, clocking up some 40,000 miles a year took its toll, particularly following a serious road accident which incapacitated me for 6 months, I left May Gurney to assist my father-in-law to develop and refurbish his newly acquired office premises in Wroxham. When this project ended I started a retail jewellery business in a section of that premises as a “fill in” before deciding “what to do next”.
I had come to know Simon Cole, an engineer with Modern Alarms and I suggested that he might like to join me in the formation of the company, I would provide the finance, contracting and business knowledge and Simon would provide the technical expertise required. In July 1989 Dragon Security Systems was born.
Since that time the company has grown from an empty order book to having completed over 3500 installations throughout Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire.
