Security Industry Association

Distinguish from the Securities Industry Association, which represented the securities industry (securities (in the financial sense): stocks, bonds and their derivatives) until merging into the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association in 2006

Security Industry Association
Abbreviation	SIA
Legal status	Association
Purpose/focus	Trade
Headquarters	Silver Spring, Maryland
Location	Silver Spring, Maryland
Region served	United States
Official languages	English
Chief Executive Officer	Don Erickson
Main organ	Board of Directors
Website	www.securityindustry.org

The Security Industry Association (SIA), based in Silver Spring, Maryland, is an American trade association, founded in 1969, representing electronic and physical security solutions providers.^[1]

According to the association, SIA’s vision is “to be the primary resource for the global security industry.” SIA defines its mission “to be a catalyst for growth within the global security industry through information, insight and influence.”^[2]

SIA protects and advances the interests of its member companies by advocating pro-industry policies and legislation at the federal and state levels; creating open industry standards that enable integration; advancing industry professionalism through education and training; opening global market opportunities; and fostering collaboration with other like-minded organizations.^[3]

In support of those goals, SIA sponsors the International Security Conference and Expo (ISC) trade shows—ISC West and ISC East—in partnership with ISC Events.^[4][5]

Since 2010, SIA has presented Securing New Ground® (SNG^TM), an annual two-day conference for executives in the security industry.

In November 2011, Don Erickson became the latest CEO of SIA.^[6] Previously, Erickson served as SIA director of government relations.

SIA’s industry activities generally fall under one of three divisions of the association: SIA Education, SIA Government Relations and SIA Standards.^[7]

SIA Education

SIA Education orchestrates and presents training classes at various trade shows and conferences, including ISC West, ISC East and the ASIS International Annual Seminar and Exhibits, among others. At ISC and ISC East, SIA Education hosts professional development and industry training through SIA Education@ISC. These educational opportunities include presentations, lectures and demonstrations by industry leaders, public officials and other key actors in the security industry.^[8]

In 2012, SIA Education delivered 52 sessions to 620 people, an increase of roughly 11 percent compared to 2011, at ISC West in Las Vegas, Nev.

SIA Education also offers the Certified Security Project Manager® (CSPM) program, the only project manager classroom training that addresses the requirements of security projects.^[9] SIA Education presents the weeklong training course to prepare for CSPM certification four or five times a year in various locations around the United States. It also offers CSPM courses in partnership with the Canadian Security Association (CANASA).^[10]

CSPM prepared project managers dedicated to security projects specifically to develop a comprehensive project plan that includes realistic scope, schedules, budgets, reporting and processes. The course goes beyond basic principles and offers new and seasoned program managers a clear perspective on the importance of their role to stakeholders, and identifying risks that could hinder project success.^[11]

SIA Government Relations

SIA Government Relations lobbies federal and state governments on measures that would affect the security industry while tracking and reporting on the progress of various legislative initiatives. SIA Government Relations organizes the participation of SIA Members in government affairs through five subcommittees and working groups, as well as an ad hoc planning committee and its Government Representatives Group.^[12] The five subcommittees and working groups are the Biometrics and Identity Working Group, Critical Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee, GSA Policy Working Group, PIV Working Group and State and Local Policy Subcommittee.

Through its government relations initiatives, SIA has accomplished some key legislative and administrative advances on behalf of the security industry. SIA successfully implemented the enactment of legislation creating the GSA Schedule 84 Cooperative Purchasing Program. The Local Preparedness Acquisition Act (Public Law 110-248), signed June 26, 2008, authorizes state and local governments to purchase from GSA alarm and signal systems, facility management systems, firefighting and rescue equipment, law enforcement and security equipment, marine craft and related equipment, special purpose clothing and related services, according to GSA.^[13]

SIA also supported legislation (Public Law 111-360), signed by President Barack Obama in January 2011, that exempts external power supplies for security and life safety products from federal energy efficiency standards that apply to devices in no-load mode. A SIA-led coalition that included both industry and environmental groups argued that, since security and life safety equipment must always be in active mode, an efficiency standard for no-load mode would make no sense.^[14]

The annual SIA Government Summit, a two-day event organized by SIA Government Relations, connects the security industry with officials from Congress and the White House. In 2013, the SIA Government Summit featured keynote addresses from Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, as well as insights from officials at the Department of Homeland Security, National Institute of Standards and Technology, General Services Administration and others.^[15]

SIA Government Relations publishes the State Policy Digest (SPD), a quarterly publication reporting on the progress of state legislation affecting the security industry, and the Fiscal Year Informer (FYI), a quarterly insert to Security Systems News examining federal funding and procurement issues.^[16]

SIA Standards

SIA Standards produces, maintains and advocates for technical standards that enable interoperability between security devices. SIA Standards is a standards-developing organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).^[17]

SIA Standards developed and maintains the ANSI/SIA CP-01–False Alarm Reduction Standard. The standard generally specifies the design for controls of security alarm systems at the control panel. The specification focuses chiefly on the arming and disarming process, which is responsible for generating many false alarms. The standard is chiefly used by manufacturers and security system installers. SIA last revised the standard in 2010 to add some clarifications.^[18]

In 2012, SIA Standards released version 2.1.5 of the Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) specification, allowing card readers, control panels and other security management systems to work together.^[19]

In September 2013, SIA Standards kicked off its latest effort to define standards for management information bases (MIB) for networked security devices to communicate over Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).^[20]

International presence

For much of its existence, SIA has operated only in the United States. But around 2010, SIA established a branch in Brazil, introducing it as SIA Brasil.^[21] SIA Brasil presents the annual ISC Brazil conference in São Paulo, Brazil, in partnership with ISC Events.^[22]

SIA is not associated with distinct international security associations that may have similar names, such as the British Security Industry Association, the Irish Security Industry Association or the Australian Security Industry Association.

References

External links

• securityindustry.org, the association's official website
• siabrasil.org, SIA Brasil's website
• securingnewground.com, the website of the Securing New Ground® executive conference
• isceast.com, the website of the ISC East convention
• iscwest.com, the website of the ISC West convention