OPERATIONS  SUPPORT  SERVICES  INTERNATIONAL

THE PROBLEM

PERSONNEL AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR SPECIALIZED INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

With companies now operating in dangerous regions worldwide, providing operational support services has proven increasingly problematic.

During the Cold War, most countries were aligned with one of the superpowers. Large corporations could always look to the powerful governments to ensure the security of their investments. Since the end of the Cold War, the remaining great powers no longer divert huge sums into propping up failing regimes.

Many of these nations, previously in the tug of East and West, are without a stable government and have problems of immense proportions. Small wars spill across regions and borders, as fledgling governments try to overcome years of instability and corruption.

Many of the new governments, in need of hard currencies to bankroll their rejuvenation, are turning to international corporations for their needs. In exchange for natural resource concessions, foreign companies are given access to areas, which may still be under armed conflict or in very remote areas not previously settled. Local populations may not have the skills needed to develop the resources, so skilled personnel may have to be recruited on short-term contracts to fill the requirement. Long-term training of local personnel may be a critical factor to ensure positive community support and acceptance as well. There are significant risks associated with exploring and operating in these struggling nations. Rural populations, ethnic and religious divisions, and disaffected former combatants all combine to create corporate ventures filled with risk and uncertainty.

A new approach is needed for securing access to these resources, for the combined benefit of the host government and foreign business. This new approach cannot rely on support from the army of a major superpower, but rather, must utilize the craft, experience and skill of people who can provide both the services and associated security on a very direct level.

Operations Support Services International has the people and network structure to provide such fully integrated services.

THE ANSWER - SECURITY and LOGISTICS SPECIALISTS

Operations Support Services International was formed in response to a growing requirement in the international community; that being the need to provide the personnel to enterprises pursuing building projects in high-risk areas.

High risk can be defined as:

• Unstable ethnic, religious or military conflicts which endanger foreigners
• Climatic extremes which effect the health and safety of non-resident workers
• Topographical extremes which effect secure logistics and transport of people and equipment

Operations Support Services International is a Management Consultancy with discreet security and logistic operations. The company specializes in the Exploration, Mining and Energy sector, with skills and experiences in:

Risk Management Security Logistics

Specialized Training Health and Safety

Planning and Manpower Solutions Specialized manpower

With the strength of contacts and multi-lingual personnel from many countries, the company can provide clients with a single point of reference for the provision of all security and logistic services. Our clients, who operate in remote, hostile environments, recognize the effectiveness of dealing with one company who can address all these special needs and appreciate this full service capability.

Operations Support Services International has undertaken Consultancy and Project work in risk areas such as West Africa (Security, Logistics, and Medical). We have assisted clients in Central and South America (Security, Training and Kidnap Response) and have sent Close Protection security teams to Asia. Our personnel have also worked in conflict situations in certain parts of Europe and North America.

We are an international company, headquartered in Canada, with an associate company in the United Kingdom, (Global Risk Management U.K. Ltd). We are available to clients internationally as the needs arise.

With a global network, we have the ability to find and assign carefully chosen specialists for projects and assignments in all countries of the world. In many cases, the associates and advisors we send on assignments are people who live in the region or hemisphere, thereby making "response time" very short.

THE SERVICES

Operations Support Services International can provide a wide range of services and personnel including, but not limited to:

• Project Management and Administration
• Fire Assessment and Response Management
• Paramedical Support and Training
• Safety Factors
  • military and security forces capabilities
  • external threats to government stability
  • internal threats to government stability, major factions and crime groups
  • organized crime groups and effect on foreign businesses
  • known terrorist organizations, profiles on, and threat potential
  • domestic crime situations
  • medical facilities
• Skilled Trades personnel: carpenters; plumbers; construction workers; mechanics; electronic technicians
• Risk and Logistics Feasibility Consultancy and Solutions Management
• Security Training and Policy Development
• Security Program Development and Implementation
• Recruitment Training and Supervision of Regional Security Personnel
• Survey of Existing Security Programs
• Installation Security Audits
• Airfields and Landing Strips
• Contingency Planning
  • crisis management
  • medical and evacuation planning and management
  • situational advice and crisis intervention
  • emergency response and disaster recovery programs
• Regional and Country Risk Assessments
• Communications Personnel
  • community liaison
  • media relations

Operations Support Services International has direct working relations with other organizations that provide specialized large or small-scale services world wide including:

• air ambulance
• aircraft charter
• logistics management
• construction management
• civil engineering
• electrical engineering
• mechanical engineering

Operational Support - International

Effective management and administration support for international operations is difficult to find. A host of challenges confront the international operator. Getting there with the right logistics team and supporting an ongoing operation is extremely difficult. Adverse local reaction is a relatively simple problem. Civil wars and terrorism are much more complex.

Whether the business is petroleum exploration and production, mining, large-scale farming, forestry or military bases, the challenges are similar even if the facilities and the operating skills are different. Logistics questions focus around the 'make' or 'buy' decision. Companies and organizations like to maintain "control" over all of their operations, so they tend to make or provide their own solutions. But often "buying" the solution by using specialized and experienced capability may prove more reliable, less uncertain and ultimately spread the liability.

The same is true of personnel selection. Using contract personnel who have specialized in particular foreign applications may not give the owner/manager the greatest sense of corporate identification, but contract personnel provide a greater degree of flexibility, reduced liability and enhanced relevant experiences in many instances. This applies to construction, engineering, communications and security personnel as part of the general management team. Industry specific specialized personnel can be recruited in the context of competitive need. Qualified, experienced personnel are often the difference between success and failure, especially in remote locations.

Skilled Personnel - International

Working and operating in remote areas poses special challenges to the recruitment of skilled personnel. Political uncertainty, unstable societies, terrorism, unusual diseases, adverse weather and supply chain challenges, compromise the ability to attract needed skilled personnel with a commitment to stay.

While directly employed personnel often have the commitment of a career behind them, they may not have had multiple experiences in remote locations which provide the personal seasoning often necessary to stay the course in a new and difficult challenge. Contracted specialized personnel, perhaps lacking a sense of permanent identity with the organization, have often created a strong affinity for the way of life and a commitment to "getting the tough job done".

The critical element is often in choosing the right mix of skilled personnel in terms of training, experience, temperament and cultural background, which works for the project, for the work team and for the location/community in which the project is situated. Skilled personnel who are not willing to recognize the interests and needs of local inhabitants will be a liability to a project in the long run. Using skilled personnel for projects in remote locations provides a basis for the effective rotation of people skills and greater flexibility in the development of immediately relevant teams.

The selection of skilled personnel in today's uncertain world may also involve political considerations, in addition to professional qualifications. It may not be appropriate to mix certain cultures, either on the work team or within the project area. Many successful international companies are ensuring that their project teams are multicultural in makeup and are not unduly relying on any one area of the world as their recruitment base.

Even the United Nations, as well as other international agencies, take the multicultural approach not only to be politically correct, but to be practical and successful.

Supply Chain Management - International

Supply chain management to remote operating sites, especially those situated in hostile areas, pose special challenges. Extremely cold or extremely hot weather not only requires specialized vehicles but operators who are skilled in that environment. Arctic areas and deserts are littered with the remains of vehicles which, in themselves, were either unreliable or their operators inexperienced or unreliable.

Unstable weather patterns, particularly along seashores and mountainous areas, add another level of complexity to supply chain management. Unanticipated storms can disrupt ship loading and unloading. Adverse weather can make air traffic uncertain and in some cases impossible. Unstable wind over mountainous areas can bring weather changes which force days, and in some cases weeks of delay. Unless personnel are well chosen, well equipped, well protected and well trained, adverse circumstances can put them at severe risk.

Social agitation, civil war and terrorism add to the complexity and challenges of international supply chain management, especially for isolated projects. Many resource development projects may be served by a single road, waterway, railway or landing strip. Interdiction of the prime supply routes or means can isolate personnel, disrupt production and impede supplies. 

Equipment maintenance by skilled workers is as critical as is the original selection of initial equipment. Inventory of critical spare parts is a necessary complement to having the appropriate trades and skills on site.

Energy supply in remote locations, especially frigid areas, is critical to sustained operations and ultimately survival. Interruption of electricity, if the facility is dependent on an electricity grid, is an easy way to disrupt operations. Depletion or disruption of petroleum energy can stop multimillion dollar operations in its tracks. A proper logistics supply and replacement plan is essential to weathering the adverse impact of Mother Nature or angry neighbours.

Technical Personnel

Electricians, plumbers, pipe fitters, concrete formers, carpenters may be available locally, but their real certification and competence may be untested. Additional internationally qualified and experienced craftspeople may be needed as lead workers. Moreover, well trained technicians and technologists, whether electrical, chemical, civil or structural are often needed to lead, train and mentor locally available personnel. Multilingual capability is a significant asset in a changing and increasing defensive world.

STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS

Strategic thinking is a critical element in achieving desired results. At Operations Support Services International, we recognize that principle and refrain from adopting a textbook approach. Instead, as a collective team, we assess each of our client's needs individually, replying upon years of participating in real-world experiences to formulate workable solutions pertinent to the situation.

Versatile and creative, we will help accomplish your objectives in a timely, cost effective manner. While top-level short-term personnel are expensive compared to low risk long-term situations, they do not have to cost an inordinate amount of money if you have "solution providers" who are effective and experienced.

INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION GATHERING

Accurate and timely information is key when it comes to making wise and informed business decisions. Operations Support Services International works closely with clients to determine their information and intelligence requirements and the most effective ways to present research results. We deploy skilled researchers to evaluate primary and secondary source information, perform rigorous analysis and ensure that the results obtained are reasoned, predictive, and useful.

Our areas of expertise include:

• Country profiles and analysis
• Regional or area specific analysis
• Community reaction analysis
• Security analysis
• Security due-diligence investigations
• Threat, risk, vulnerability assessment
• Project management

TRAINING SERVICES

With our broad base and depth of skills and experience, Operations Support Services International is able to offer appropriate specialized training that has benefited military Special Forces and security forces around the world.  

More specifically, we will develop specialized training programs that address the needs of your organization, whether it is military, law enforcement or civilian. Our highly focused and results-oriented approach is designed to provide safety in the most dangerous of situations.

Operations Support Services International offers existing personnel and new hires instruction in the following areas:

Exploration, Mining and Energy - security and logistics Specialist Manpower Kidnap and Ransom

Hostage Recovery Force Protection Advanced Driving - evasive and defensive techniques

Operations support personnel, hired on either a short-term or long-term contract, add to the capability of your organization without adding to your ongoing overhead.

THE RESPONSE

In responding to security and logistic concerns, there is no substitute for experience or quality. Prominent organizations and high profile individuals have security and logistics requirements that cannot be compromised.

With unequaled depth of experience, Operations Support Services International has no equivalent in North America.

Our experience in the areas of strategic planning and logistics support are unsurpassed. The unique strength of Operations Support Services International is the diverse multi-lingual and cultural make-up of our associates and advisors, many who have international military and police training as well.

Operations Support Services International's goal is to assist those in need of strategic, pro-active, operations requirements. If a need is immediate, we will respond with an efficient, effective solution.

Operations Support Services International is a firm of professionals, which value integrity. We perform each assignment in a confidential manner with the utmost professionalism and discretion.

The strength of our service lies in the quality of our people, worldwide. We recruit primarily from well-trained personnel, most of whom already have international experience. Our security personnel are recruited from elite Special Forces military units and from special police units.

Our selection process picks specialists who have experience applying their skills in a business context and we apply the highest standards to the people who are our associates and advisors. This combination of highly experienced management, world-class operators and first class research and support staff, makes Operations Support Services International the right choice to enhance your corporation's vital investments in any environment.

Operations Support Services International has unique experience in supporting the mining and energy industries from exploration to operations, producing total cost effective solutions in operations, security, safety and logistics.

 

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