The EN Standard 16082:2011- Airport and Aviation Security Services
Standardization is increasingly being used to support the development of the single market for services. The intention behind standardization in private security services is to set clear and common quality criteria for services providers, so that buyers know what to look for when purchasing such services.
EN Standard 16082:2011 specifies requirements for quality in organization, processes, personnel and management of a civil aviation security services provider and/or its independent branches and establishments under commercial law.
The CEN project was initiated by the private security services sector (CoESS and ASSA-i) as an important investment in and promotion of high-quality airport and aviation security services.
This services standard lays down quality criteria for the delivery of civil aviation security services requested by public and private clients or buyers. This European Standard is suitable for the selection, attribution, awarding and reviewing of the most suitable provider of civil aviation security services.
Advantages for the users of the standard:
The standard guarantees that security services providers comply with the highest possible set of rules and standards. Stakeholders who have backed the process of the establishment of the standard are of the opinion that common standards related to quality for the described private security services will contribute to decrease the number of clients not willing to go for the highest quality criteria and selecting a provider on the basis of price solely rather than on an efficient and effective combination of price into relation with quality. The existing competition within the private security services sector encourages some providers to cut their prices to the detriment of the quality of their services, despite the fact that quality, especially in civil aviation, is recognized as an important and necessary element.
The standard is also designed to guide customers through key quality criteria when selecting a services provider. It helps them distinguish between the requirements of different sites and private security tasks and it enables the contracting parties to issue clear and detailed specifications of the requirements imposed on prospective tenderers, thus generating a higher quality response.
The standard, if applied, will strongly enhance the best value principle and will encourage customers to choose quality above low prices. In this respect, ASSA-i recently launched a Best Value Manual. This manual and its assessment tool incorporate, amongst other, the key quality criteria from CEN standard EN16082 and thus provide a concrete aid to draft quality-oriented tenders and assess bids on their quality and not solely on the price criterion.
The CEN Standard EN16082 is also a first step towards a much needed and still non-existent European legal recognition of the quality aspect. CoESS and ASSA-i will highly invest in turning the content of the present voluntary standard into a mandatory standard.
History and present state of play of the standard
The standard was developed and drawn up by the CEN Project Committee 384, which started its work in November 2008. The standard was published in June 2011. It is now maintained and will be revised as and when necessary, by TC 439 “Private Security Services”, which develops and maintains any existing and future standard in the area of private security. For more information about TC 439, please visit the website