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Taking a Lesson in Federal Compliance from the Chemical Industry

Honeywell's Jon Harmon says the industry's response to CFATS provides a model for compliance with stringent federal security requirements

By Jon Harmon, Honeywell Process Solutions

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While CFATS is aimed specifically at facilities that use, transport, store or produce certain chemicals and other potentially hazardous materials, there are several requirements in the legislation that could be modeled for other industries. These include screening tools developed by DHS (TOP Screens), SVAs, SSPs and implementation of solutions.

Using Today's Technology for Compliance

Technology can play a key role in easing the burden of complying with federal regulations. In the case of the chemical industry and CFATS compliance, some facilities have elected to take an integrated approach to securing their facilities. This differs greatly from the traditional model where plant operations and security personnel operated independently of one another without much transparency.

For instance, integrating video surveillance and access control systems to a plant's process control system allows operators to visually validate incidents in the command and control room. This is beneficial because the operator can be quickly alerted if an intruder has breached a critical area of the plant. The operator can then take appropriate action, such as dispatching authorities, locking down further access or shutting down a potentially hazardous process in the affected area of the plant and alerting field personnel to move to a safe location. Conversely, this approach also is beneficial to plant security personnel. If a process involving volatile and hazardous materials spirals out of control, security personnel can better coordinate with first responders.

In a manufacturing setting, integrating security with process control and business systems offers a best-in-class solution that provides the most comprehensive protection. In addition to keeping track of assets, an ideal solution, when implemented effectively, will be able to:

Identify and control who enters and exits the plant
Track movement of facility occupants
Control access to restricted areas
Track and locate equipment, products and other resources
Track location of onsite personnel in the event of an incident
Protect process automation networks and systems from cyber threats
Respond proactively to alarms and events
Share data to generate costs savings

This integrated approach has long been considered as an effective means for securing critical infrastructure. The rise of regulations such as CFATS, however, has broadened its acceptance in the chemical industry. This is due in part to DHS language that specifically points out that merging an active security system with life-safety technology may facilitate a common set of operational procedures and prove a more cost-effective approach to overall facility security and security management.

This represents another area of CFATS that could potentially be broadly adopted across various vertical industries—bringing together security and operations technology on the same platform can lead to synergies that ultimately create a stronger security shield and greater collaboration between once-disparate departments.