Singapore -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/29/2012 -- Singex Venues Pte Ltd is pleased to announce the successful completion of the joint Ground Deployment Exercise (GDX) by Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) at Singapore’s largest purpose-built event venue, Singapore EXPO Convention & Exhibition Centre, last Tuesday, 20 March. The GDX, which was held at EXPO’s new convention wing, MAX Atria, involved SPF and SCDF officers plus 50 observers from the Bedok Police Division Safety & Security Watch Group (SSWG).
Said Mr Aloysius Arlando, Chief Executive Officer of Singex, “Singex is honoured to have been part of SPF and SCDF’s emergency exercise at our new convention wing, MAX Atria. We host six million visitors, including celebrities and foreign dignitaries, at some 600 business and consumer events on average each year at the Singapore EXPO. Hence, we take safety and security measures seriously. As an active SSWG member since 2006, Singex valued the GDX as an excellent opportunity to test and validate its contingency measures and disaster-readiness with the emergency forces should a crisis situation occur at EXPO and MAX Atria.”
Said Mr How Kwang Hwee, Commander, Bedok Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of SPF, “Taking a community approach to safety and security, Singex has, over the years, worked closely with SPF and other SSWG members to develop up-to-date response protocols and security measures. With its security personnel trained as part of Project Guardian and its management team designated to be part of the Corporate First Responder Scheme (CFRS), SPF is certain that Singex will continue to be an integral member of SSWG and play its part in national security.” For more information on the GDX, please refer to the Appendix 1.
A worry-free event experience for all
EXPO measures over 123,000sqm, and given the volume of event and human traffic at EXPO each year, it is crucial for Singex to be prepared for service disruption scenarios to minimise impact on internal and external stakeholders. Recognising the importance of contingency planning, Singex embarked on a certification process for business continuity management (BCM) in 2010. After months of intensive preparation and tests, Singex was awarded both the British and Singapore Standards in 2011, making EXPO the first convention centre in Asia to be managed by a dually certified company.
Mr Arlando elaborated, “With the opening of MAX Atria, it is ever more important for us to test the resilience of our business continuity plan to give confidence and assurance to our clients, partners, visitors, and members of the public. As Singapore continues to be the destination of choice for business and special events, Singex seeks to fortify the event industry value chain by enhancing its critical business processes with its strategic partners as well as public agencies.”
Appendix 1
Brief Scenario of the Ground Deployment Exercise at MAX Atria @ Singapore EXPO on Tuesday, 20 March 2012
1. 200 participants were attending a forum at MAX Atria @ Singapore EXPO. Unknown to them, two terrorists are planning to sabotage the event. A car bomb has been planted at EXPO’s Carpark E and it would be detonated when the forum ended and participants left in their vehicles.
2. An alert security officer at EXPO was patrolling the carpark when he detected the suspicious looking vehicle and immediately reported the finding to the Singex Operations team. Upon seeing this, one of the terrorist detonated the bomb, killing the security officer and injuring a bystander.
3. Immediately, the SSWG alerted the authorities and concurrently provided assistance to the injured while evacuating other participants. The SSWG also informed all fellow members within their cluster about the incident, who then activated their respective Project Guardian elements to secure their areas and provide assistance to the members where required.
4. SPF and SCDF officers who arrived promptly at scene started to affect a cordon, evacuate participants and render medical aid to the injured. At the same time, the bystander who was injured by the car bomb earlier pointed out the two terrorists he had seen behaving suspiciously around the exploded car.
5. When the officers moved in to conduct a check on them, the terrorists suddenly drew out firearms and opened fire at will, before making a run towards the indoor atrium stairwell linking up to the second floor of MAX Atria. Measures were put up by the emergency forces to contain the terrorists within the stairwell while rescue operations continued.
6. The terrorists made a desperate bid to escape but a team of SPF Special Operations Command forces promptly moved in to neutralise the threat.