What other job would give you a starring role in "Zulu"? asks John Hughes, as he puts ISO 9000 in the bin
John Hughes is a partner Control Systems, a two-man company in Beckenham, Kent. He'll never be rich, but installing has taken him around the world

SI: How did you become an installer?

JH:My accidental entry into the security industry in 1973 was due to financial gain. At the time I was in 'the print' as an apprentice on the princely salary of £13 a week. I hated being cooped up in a noisy print shop. A friend called Barry Murphy at the time was employed as an installer for a Soho-based alarm company. After several probing questions into Barry's financial status I found that he earned £10/week more. One interview later I was an alarm engineer trainee extraordinaire.

Have things got better or worse since then?

Technically, the security industry has been dragged into the digital age. Some older engineers hate it, some soak it up like sunshine. Twenty years ago our grounding for a good engineer was how long it took to lace wire a ceiling, or how neat were your tube and wire frames (treble pole, in case one pole went down as you smashed galvanised staples into it). But there was more camaraderie and team effort then.

What is the best thing about installing?

The people, meeting all walks of life, working in a three-bed semi in Croydon, then the next day the Sultan of Oman's mansion. Installing security systems has taken me to Africa and the US.

What would you change about the industry?

The amount of red tape being launched at the poor old installer in ever-increasing bundles. The need for alarm companies to operate ISO 9000 is ridiculous, it makes a joke of the whole point of standards. You spend more time in the field sticking stupid labels on 50p contacts and create little storage areas in your van for the faulty bits, the good bits, the not-so-good bits. In the end I just chuck them all in the bin. That's where IS9000 should go!

Now, according to speculation and the Brand Report, if the inspectorates came under one umbrella and were reformed into a new body, then with the European standards coming to fruition as well, if you want to see red tape, just watch! You would be buried under so much you might as well go to Outer Siberia. Just as NACOSS, the SSAIB and other bodies are providing a satisfactory solution for all forms of installer, they want to move the goalposts again.

What is the biggest threat?

The Stateside invasion offering £295 installations and promises of unrivalled service in return for the maintenance contract. To make matters worse, we have the public utility companies jumping on the gravy train offering the same old patter. What about the hard working family businesses that have spent years building a living and service to the community? ADT march around your customer base trying to poach them.

How has the ACPO policy affected you?

It can be seen as just more red tape, or as a necessary move in the right direction. I think the latter, it has improved false alarm rates and pulled the sloppy installers into line. Mind you, West Midlands Police would beg to differ.

How do you rate inspectorate?

Very good. Some implementations get silly, but there must be regulation to provide a good quality product to the public and keep the standards high.

What is your most memorable installation?

Our 1980 excursion to Enugu in Nigeria to supply and fit a CCTV system to a Renault dealership. After four days of sweltering heat and many problems with the Nigerian Electric Power Authority we finally presented our simple but well installed system to the client. He walked around the site and seemed very pleased.

The next day a panting messenger boy came running into our compound in great distress speaking in Ebu language to come back quickly to the dealership 20 miles away. We thought it had blown up or something horrific like that. When we arrived we were taken to the monitor in the showroom where the manager exclaimed: "We must do something with that!"

He explained that certain members of the staff thought that by seeing themselves on a screen they were being captured in the box and could not escape, or their souls were trapped. Our answer was to pull the fuse out of the monitor and run on VCR recording only. Problem solved.

The need for alarm companies to operate ISO 9000 is ridiculous. It makes a joke of the whole point of standards

John Hughes

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at work?

About 25 years ago, as budding apprentices, a colleague and I were given the task of rewiring the security vaults of Garrards the jewellers in London. Each morning we were escorted to the vaults, which were two levels below ground, and locked in until lunch. Because it was so hot down there we used to undress to our underpants and put on boiler suits. One morning we were very bored, so we decided to re-enact "Zulu". Both dressed only in pants and boots, Richard became Michael Caine and set himself up behind the fur coats and silverware armed to the teeth with boxes of conduit fittings. He then threw these with amazing accuracy, twice wounding me as I circled his camp trying to spear him to death with lengths of conduit. As the game got more intense I started making Zulu war cries, sounding like a demented turkey. Just as I was about to execute him the internal telephone rang. I bounded over to the phone in my Y-fronts, spear in hand.

"What the hell are you playing at?" boomed the voice. "Zulu," I replied. It was my boss, and he and his staff in the showroom had watched the whole thing on the sales area monitors. We had not realised there were any cameras in the vaults.

What achievement gave you most pleasure?

Gaining inclusion into the NSCIA as it was known in 1987, with just my partner and myself. It needed a lot of hard work and dedication.

How do you see your business developing and adapting in the next ten years?

Due to a buoyant building sector at present, we have expanded by 50 per cent per annum for the past two years. But to rely on figures like that is not the true picture. We have been diversifying into other sectors, because to rely on the house installation market alone is not a viable option.

What types of installations will be growth areas for you?

We have found by specialising in aspects such as perimeter protection the size of installation is larger, so too are the financial returns.

What type of equipment is generally the most reliable?

The quality of most kit these days cannot be equalled. You can expect reliability of 99 per cent on the upmarket control panels.

Do manufacturers take enough notice of your opinions?

On the whole no. The problem is getting your grievance over to the right ears. With time restrictions you tend to let problems ride, so the installer should take time to put his point across.

Do you see DIY alarms as a threat?

Yes. Some 35 to 40 per cent of intruder systems fitted these days must be DIY in some shape or form. It makes you think: "Why have I spent 25 years perfecting a skill when Joe Soap down the road says 'Oh I fitted one of those alarms last week – easy, aren't they?'" Blame the industry for letting Joe Soap get his hands on one in the first place. Regulation should have restricted this stuff in the marketplace. What next – B&Q atom bomb kits?

How has being an installer affected your private life?

Drastically. My ambition has taken me around the world, but that affects your family. To me, alarm installing is a vocation. The run-of-the-mill installer working for a national will never be a rich man, neither will I.

If you had your life again, would you become an installer?