By Petra Nash, Executive Assistant

Most companies will use social media to benefit their business and engage with employees. Social media can be used for business purposes, as well as personal use. At A.S.P, we have expectations not only for Corporate Office staff, but all employees to lead by example and to be cautious when it comes to posting business-related information on social media.
Below is a list of some basic advice we as a company adhere to in order to avoid common social media mistakes.

  1. Understand the social network: Different social media platforms have different purposes. For example, it’s common to see more personal status updates on Facebook than LinkedIn. Before posting become familiar with the network by reading FAQs and quickly researching what is and is not acceptable.
  2. Correct your own mistakes: When you make a factual error in a post (or an error in general), create an update and correct it. Deleting or editing the original post should come at your own discretion, depending on the situation.
  3. Beware of potential security threats: Hackers can use social networks to distribute spam and malware. They can also launch phishing attempts. You should report suspicious activity, including questionable comments and friend requests.
  4. Be careful when sharing information about yourself or others: Hackers can also use personal information to their advantage.
  5. Don’t escalate the issues: Responding to other social media users, especially concerning a contentious subject, can result in a heated argument. To avoid such arguments, it may be best to avoid commenting if you feel you may spark conflict.
  6. Think before posting: This is the golden social media rule. Not only should you check grammar and spelling but ensure there won’t be any negative effects of posting a status update. These include creating arguments and divulging sensitive information.
    Be cautious when posting anything related to the business on your personal social media accounts. As the social media landscape is constantly evolving, we encourage employees to think about new ways to use company accounts. If you have any ideas, please email them to Petra Nash (pnash@security-asp.com).

19 August, 2019

ICTS Europe has been re-awarded United Airlines’ pan-European contract for provision of enhanced aviation security services at twenty-two locations across ten countries.

“We are pleased to have selected ICTS Europe as our security provider in Europe and to continue our long-term business relationship. ICTS has played a key role in UA’s success in Europe and we appreciate the loyalty, quality of service, innovation and proactive approach ICTS Europe has shown over the years. We look forward to continuing our partnership with ICTS” said Andrea Peralta, Managing Director Atlantic, United Airlines.

“The ICTS Europe Group first started working for United Airlines over twenty five years ago. It is with immense pride and satisfaction that we are still today the Airlines’ trusted partner of choice. It is the spirit of ICTS that sets our Company apart and has allowed us to win this prestigious contract. It is our people who together enable the delivery of a quality and innovative service and who are committed to going the extra mile to make a difference.” said Ronen Remetz, EVP Airline Operations, ICTS Europe.

This spring will see ICTS Spain and ICTS Czech extend their services with United Airlines at Barcelona Airport and Prague Airport respectively as well as ICTS Italy that will secure United’s new route from Naples to Newark Airport.

Last year the ICTS Europe Group was responsible for the enhanced security of United flights departing from twenty European Airports.


By Mary Christidis, Manager, Operational Support Representatives

On August 1st we launched our new Employee Recognition Program called CATCH A STAR. I am thrilled to announce our first winners. Congratulations to all our top 5 STARS.


By Mary Christidis, Manager, Operational Support Representatives

The OSR uniforms have finally arrived and we are now dressed for success!! It was such a pleasure and a lot of fun to finally issue these out to the team. Lots of smiles and thumbs up!


By Garinder Grewal, Service Delivery Manager - Aviation. From GTAA Health and Safety Summer Newsletter.

In last year’s Safety Climate Survey, you told us that you wanted to know more about what happens once a safety concern has been submitted. Will you receive any follow-up? Who reviews these reports? Who determines appropriate mitigations?


By Elizabeth Warwick, Acting Operations Manager - Calgary

The Calgary team held a town hall for all ASP employees on the evening of September 11th, 2019 in the Silver Dart Room at YYC Calgary International Airport. Activities included introductions to the new Calgary Management Team, an airport trivia game with prizes awarded to the winning teams, as well as a presentation about ASP from Angus Wilson, Director of Aviation Services.

The town hall was a great opportunity for the team to get together and spend time with our colleagues outside of our regular job duties. We received some great feedback from those in attendance and heard some insightful ideas to help improve our operation. We appreciate the time that everyone took out of their busy schedules to join us and look forward to seeing everyone again next time!


By David Ramlagan, Training Coordinator, Aviation Security

On Friday September 12th, 2019, two security breaches occurred at Munich and Hamburg airports in Germany within the span of half a day.

The Munich Airport incident: An unauthorized individual at Munich International Airport’s Terminal 1 went through an alarm-secured door on Friday morning, causing police to temporarily close off parts of the airport, and many departing flights to be delayed.

Flight delays and cancellations due to
a security breach

The Hamburg Airport incident: Authorities were forced to close security check-points at Hamburg International Airport on Friday evening, after a man was able to board a flight without a boarding pass. Five arriving flights were diverted to nearby airports, and eleven flights were cancelled (ICTS Bulletin 03.2019).

Toronto Pearson Airport had a similar incident in 2006. When an intruder cannot be found, planes must remain on the ground until the airport is deemed safe. This can result in a large number of delayed and cancelled flights, which can translate into millions of dollars in lost revenue.

Guarding an access control point requires the same attention as driving – avoid distractions! Car accidents occur when you least expect it. The same goes for security breaches. You could be attentive for majority of your shift but the breach may occur in the time that you were distracted. Remember these incidents the next time you are tempted with distractions on the job and remember to always stay alert!


By Josh Holowatenko, Recruiter, Residential/Commercial Division

As a member of the National Dodgeball Team, I know how important teamwork is. Even the smartest and most talented person could fall short without teamwork. With that said, teamwork is pivotal in the workplace.

Over the last month, the ASP Residential/Commercial team demonstrated proper teamwork, communication, and unity. With the team dealing with several challenges after starting one of ASP’s largest contracts and losing an important member of the team for this contract, the RES/CIC team stepped up. This group had sacrificed and were dealing with multiple consecutive weekends, 12 hour days, an overwhelming amount of phone calls, and the rolling out of a new phone application, along with much more.

Through this stressful time, instead of breaking down or crumbling, the ASP Residential/Commercial team stepped into each other’s roles. Everyone helped everyone, from Managers helping Administrators to Operations helping with Recruitment. This team stayed “in the trenches”, as our Regional Manager would like to say. The team worked through adversity and never gave up.

I have never been so proud to go to work, and I have never had a team that is willing to sacrifice so much to ensure success. From on the court to off, ASP is one of the greatest teams I have had the privilege to be a part of. The sky is the ceiling for ASP and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this company and this team.


By John Gangasingh, Manager Operations, Residential/Commercial Division

As we enter into the Fall, I’d like to reflect back on our Summer within RES/CIC.

Our RES/CIC Team has grown significantly, due to the growth of the division’s business. As much as we focus on new business, we remember what got us here.

We’ve maintained strong partnerships with our clients throughout our growth to sustain our professional working relationships and to build the confidence and trust amongst all partners. One example was when Brookfield Properties and ASP enjoyed some summer fun with the team this year, by trying out “bubble soccer” and some friendly billiards competitions. We all had a lot of fun and now know the best pool player amongst the teams!

ASP and Brookfield Properties employees play bubble soccer.

Now that summer is coming to an end, it’s time to buckle down and prepare for the rushes of Fall. ASP’s RES/CIC Division has prepared for the busy season, through increasing our management and administrative team to ensure there are no shortfalls in services over the upcoming months. With any growth, there will be some challenges but we come together as a strong organization and face these challenges head-on.

I am very proud of the work done by our management team, admin staff, and our operational frontline teams. Everyone has worked tremendously hard, put in many hours to support the operation, and rose to demand needed to get the job done. All these extra efforts have shown and paid off. I am excited and look forward to continuing this upward progression of growth and building strong relationships by ‘focusing on our most important resource, people’.

Let’s keep up the great work team!


By Cliff Sampogna, Regional Manager

Over the past few months, the Residential/Commercial division has been working diligently towards the start-up of our new contract.

This new contract is with the City of Toronto and we are proud to be chosen as one of two companies that supply the school crossing guard services throughout the City of Toronto.

This new contract encompasses about 310 crosswalks through the city within two zones. It includes a state-of-the-art technology, as well as a unique app that is proprietary to ASP

We have officially rolled out this new contract and I am very proud of all the work the team put into this service to minimize the issues and bumps as we started up on September 3, 2019.

This new service allows ASP to continue to show the market why we are an industry leader and allows us to continue building niche verticals that provide a customized service to our clients.

This contract brings with it about 350 new employees. This contract was awarded to us due to our reputation and hard work that our field staff have done over the last several years at our sites. This is a testament of how important it is to always maintain a professional image and attitude.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone that was a part of this contract, as it was a full team effort to make sure this was a success. I wanted to send a special thanks to Sean Gallagher for all of his efforts and support from the corporate office. Sean was a big part of the transition and he went above and beyond to make sure we had support when it was needed.

I wanted to send a special thanks to my whole RES/CIC team. Majority of the time, the Senior Manager of a division gets all the credit when a contract like this rolls out, but I personally know that this project was a success because of the hard work, dedication and passion you all had to make sure this was done well. You are all a special team and you know how to make sure stressful times are still enjoyable times. Because of each one of you, we have grown quickly and successfully. Each of you should take a long hard look in the mirror and truly be proud of what you have all done within this team, because without each of you we are not as strong as we are.

Thank you to every team member on my team; you have all built a concrete foundation for our team to stand on. The future is bright, let’s continue embracing it.