What We Do
Building 109
is the Security operations building and is where security administration
and operations, as well as badging and western region card access systems
is located. Building 109 resembles a fire station because it used to also
house the IBM Fire Brigade before it was moved to its own fire station
at IBM's Almaden Research Center, but still houses Ambulance 1, one of
three ambulances IBM maintains and staffs full time in the San Jose area.
Medical Responses
With
over 10,000 employees, contractors, and visitors, The IBM SSD site is like
a small city. Code-3 ambulance responses are a frequent occurrence. The
rapid response that having ambulances on each of the three IBM San Jose
sites allows is credited with saving several lives over the last few years.
In many cases, we can have a patient in the emergency room before county
emergency medical services would have been on scene. Articles in APS's
monthly newsletter "The Vigilant" describe two incidents, which
happened in September 1997, and
May 1998, back when the contract was held by
APS.
Debriefing
after each medical response gives each EMT the chance to express their
feelings about how a medical response went and is essential to
improvement.
Preflighting
each ambulance at the beginning of each shift ensures that everything is
in it's proper place and in proper working order.
Dispatch Operations
Dispatch
Operations in building 109 is at the center of what we do at IBM. All calls
for service, including 911 calls, and all after hours operator assistance
calls are handled here. The dispatch console also has central control of
the 17 radio communication channels, including the five channels used by
security, via a computerized radio control system. Security and fire alarms
for the three IBM San Jose sites, as well as intrusion alarms and
card access control for all sites west of the Mississippi River are also
handled here.
Card
Access Support, among other tasks, includes issuing temporary badges to
employees who have forgotten or lost their badge. The access the employee
had on his badge is moved to the temporary badge by the dispatcher or CAS
operator assisting the employee.
Traffic Control
In
addition to responding to medical calls, an important part of our job on
the IBM plant site is to help reduce risks that make them necessary. Many
of our medical responses are for traffic collisions on the IBM plant site.
With numerous roadways, crosswalks, one way entrances and exits, stop signs
and even traffic lighted intersections on the plant sight, proactively
enforcing traffic rules and regulations is one of the many ways that we
reduce the risk of injuries and is a requirement of IBM's insurer.
Radar
is one of the tools we use to enforce traffic safety. The Falcon radar
guns we use are the same type used by law enforcement and can be used stand
alone, when we intend to pull over and cite speeders, or in conjunction
with a display sign, as shown, when we are trying to simply remind motorists
that radar is in use.
California
laws governing the use of radar require that the unit be checked for acuracy
each time it is powered up, and every 30 minutes during operation. This
is done with a tuning fork. A number stamped on the tuning fork indicates
the speed at which the tips of the fork vibrate when the fork is struck.
The tuning fork shown here is a 50 MPH tuning fork.
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