Standards Setter: Doug McCormick conferred NZSA Life Membership

Security industry and access control luminary Doug McCormick joins an exclusive club as the New Zealand Security Association’s newest life member.

On 8th December 2021, the NZSA announced that the motion put forward by the its Board nominating Doug McCormick as a Life Member was unanimously supported and approved by attendees at the Association’s 2021 Annual General meeting.

“Doug was appointed to the NZSA Board in 2012, representing his employer Gallagher,” stated the announcement.

From an Engineering Technician at the NZ Broadcasting Corporation from 1965 to 1972, Doug went on to work for Gallagher for 27 years, including as an Engineering Manager (in New Zealand and in the UK), Product Manager, and Engineering Compliance Manager.

“In 2015 he was elected Chairperson for the NZSA and was instrumental in working with newly appointed CEO, Gary Morrison, in implementing a wide ranging strategic plan focused on lifting performance across the organisation and addressing governance and operational concerns. Initiatives implemented included improved member communications, introducing additional member benefit programmes, the divestment of the NZSA Training Division and downsizing of the corporate office and staff resources.”

“When Doug stood down from the Chairperson role in 2018, the Association had recorded three years of substantial growth in membership and was in a position of financial stability.”

During his career, Doug has also been instrumental in the development and implementation of a number of Australia and New Zealand Standards covering electronic security related services.

This included as a member of the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) Access Control Working Group (TC79, WG11) and New Zealand delegate to the IEC Technical Committee 79 (Electronic Access Control Systems), and as a member of the Australia/New Zealand EL-031 joint committee.

Doug has since continued to volunteer his time representing the NZSA on both the Australia New Zealand Standard for Monitoring Centres and the Fire Protection Association Guideline for Integrated Building Services.

“As one of a small group of subject matter experts, Doug has always sought to ensure the Standards are reflective of industry best practice whilst balancing the need to be representative of the New Zealand industry needs and requirements,” stated the NZSA.

“The work on Standards is a critical but undervalued requirement for a well-functioning security industry. It requires an exceptionally high degree of technical knowledge and incredible patience and resilience to ensure that the standards are correct from both a technical and operational perspective.”

In addition to his standards work, Doug has also been a strong communicator and advocate for the adoption of international standards. He has penned several articles on the subject, including an article titled, “It’s time New Zealand caught up with the world: Why we need standards for electronic security”, in the June-July 2018 issue of NZSM.

In that article, Doug wrote, “Did you know that there are currently no recognised standards for access control in New Zealand or Australia? But there is a dated series of standards for intruder alarms. It’s time we caught up with the world and set some relevant standards for our markets.” 18 months later, Australian Standards and New Zealand Standards adopted the IEC 60839 standard for access control as AS/NZS IEC 60839.11.1:2019 and AS/NZS IEC 60839.11.2:2019. Doug had been a key figure in the subcommittee that produced the standard.

“International standards bodies are recognised by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and are required to ensure that standards documents do not create trade barriers or anticompetitive activities,” Doug wrote in an April 2020 NZSM article. “By adopting an international standard such as IEC 60839, we are aligning our access control standards with many other countries who have also adopted these standards.”

Sharing the NZSA lifetime membership accolade on LinkedIn, Evan Morgans, Chief Marketing Officer at Gallagher, wrote: “While I know you don’t seek the recognition please take it as a thanks from the many people you’ve worked alongside for the betterment of our industry and related standards - always driving to make the world a safer place.”

Gallagher’s Software Team Leader and Enterprise Testing Practice Manager Sherilyn Tasker wrote, “Well deserved Doug, it has always been a pleasure to work with you. Your contribution to the quality of our products and to the security industry as a whole has been huge.” “Thank you NZSA members for my nomination and support for life membership of the association,” Doug commented in response. “It has been an honour to be part of the professional security industry in New Zealand.”

And it was obvious from the comment thread that Doug’s impact on the security industry has been felt not only in New Zealand but in the United Kingdom as well.

Jason Boyce, Business Development Manager at Abloy UK, commented that “the UK Security Industry is still benefiting from your brilliant work and input during your time here with us.”

According to George Mckechnie, sales Manager at Tormax United Kingdom Limited, Doug “has always been a leader in bringing new ideas and setting high standards within the security industry, he is an example to everyone in the manner in which he conducts himself in front of clients and colleagues. Doug takes the time to listen and manage his clients expectations. Add to this a touch of humility and you have a wonderful human being.”