Security firm trains guards to take temps during pandemic
WYOMISSING, Pa. March 28 2020– The impact of the coronavirus is being felt inside Wyomissing-based Security Guards Inc., but not in the way you may have expected.
“Call-offs have actually gone down, not up, which is kinda phenomenal,” said Guido Pichini, the firm’s owner.
Clients like Reading Hospital and the Berks County Services Center are relying even more on the guards, who are often the first people seen when entering the heavily trafficked buildings.
“We fall into the same category as police, fire, first responders, ambulance people, health care professionals,” Pichini said.
Employees of Security Guards Inc. have been using technology, like security cameras, to do their job, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re using thermometers to test people’s temperatures.
“Job responsibilities have expanded dramatically in helping to screen employees coming into the building and visitors coming into the building to make sure they’re safe,” Pichini said.
They are adapting their security measures for those who still must venture out to the buildings they protect, while also trying to protect their employees.
“We have to look at our own employees and look at what their background is, how old they are, what their health issues are,” Pichini said.
The firm said it is looking to hire more than two dozen new staff members to handle the demand brought on by the virus.
“Somebody who is unemployed, who has a clean background, who’s willing to learn, can certainly pick up any of these ancillary positions,” Pichini said.
