Phillip F. Smith has dedicated his life to helping others prepare for things most of us would rather not contemplate. He is passionate about families and individuals learning to protect themselves while in the workplace. In 1992, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) declared workplace violence a serious public health problem. In 1997, California joined a list of states in which assault and violence represents the leading cause of death in the workplace.

A safe and secure workplace will maximize productivity, which impacts the corporate bottom line. A physical security survey, or risk assessment, can provide management a look at the workplace through a security professional's glasses. What corporate management sees is not what a security professional sees. (While a corporate lawyer may look at a "reserve" budget as funds waiting for a lawsuit, a security professional may look at these funds as a method to develop a process to hire better employees.) Security professionals see funds spent on honesty testing and better background checks as an alternative that saves the company money, negating the need of reserve funds for future employee-related lawsuits.

It has been my experience that corporate security problems are like trees hidden in the forest. My job is to locate the problem trees and help cut them out before the whole forest is set on fire. As a security consultant, my favorite saying is this: "If I make a big deal about the little things, then when these things grow bigger they will be no big deal!"

Follow the links to learn more about how you, too, can be prepared for emergencies promptly responding in ways that could save your life and the lives of others.