Allied Universal Uses Artificial Intelligence to Rapidly Fill Vital Security Roles During Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian touched down in Southwest Florida six months ago. It would become the third costliest weather disaster in the nation’s history and Florida’s deadliest hurricane since 1935. 

More than 160 lives were lost, 13 remain missing and the 162-mph winds caused nearly $113 billion in damage according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Per the Department of Defense, when hurricanes strike, uniformed services respond and it’s an “all-hands-on-deck” effort. 

With Hurricane Ian approaching the coast, Allied Universal’s operations team in Florida needed to quickly recruit a large number of security professionals for “on deck” hurricane deployment duty. 

Allied Universal used its proprietary Live Interactive Support Artificial Intelligence (LISA) tool to complete the mission critical recruitment. 

On September 25, LISA was used to text Allied Universal’s more than 14,000 security professionals across Florida. LISA provided details about the roles that needed to be filled, the required commitment and the earning opportunity. In less than 24 hours, more than 1,700 people responded to LISA’s text for help.

By verifying contact information of all respondents, LISA eliminated days of phone calls and information gathering during the critical disaster event.

Ultimately, Allied Universal had more than 500 security professionals working as Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) members dedicated to Hurricane Ian recovery efforts. Security professionals performed a wide range of duties including protecting personnel and property for Allied Universal customers in the critical infrastructure, energy, financial, government, healthcare, hospitality, insurance and retail sectors.

“We’re really proud of how our security professionals, our operators and LISA worked together to help Florida handle the hurricane and recovery efforts,” said Mark Mullison, Allied Universal’s chief information officer. “This is a great example of how Allied Universal uses Artificial Intelligence to leverage our scope and scale to deliver fantastic results.” 

When clients need essential services immediately in the most hazardous of conditions, Allied Universal delivered with a one-of-a-kind solution using AI. LISA continues to roll out across Allied Universal operations to reduce workloads and create efficiencies to serve customers and communities.