Magal reports 2012 financials, downed 12.3 %

Editor / Provider: Magal | Updated: 3/25/2013 | Article type: Security 50

Magal S3 announced its financial results for the three and twelve month period ended December 31, 2012.

Fourth Quarter 2012 Results Summary
Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $22.2 million, a decrease of 34.1% compared with revenues of $33.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. During 2011, the Company received an exceptionally large project in Africa requiring an accelerated delivery schedule, causing a significant jump in revenues and margins in the second half of that year. On a sequential basis, revenues in the fourth quarter of 2012 decreased by 5.4% compared with $23.5 million in the third quarter of 2012.

Gross profit in the fourth quarter was $10.1 million, or 45.7% of revenues, a decrease of 34.3% compared to gross profit of $15.4 million, or 45.8% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2011. The higher gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2011 was due to the above-mentioned project in Africa. Gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 increased 4.7% on a sequential basis compared to gross profit of $9.7 million, or 41.3% of revenues in the third quarter of 2012. The variance in the gross margin between quarters reflects changes between products and projects in the revenue mix.

Operating profit in the fourth quarter was $3.2 million, or 14.5% of revenues, compared to operating profit of $5.0 million, or 14.8% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2011 and operating profit of $1.7 million, or 7.3% of revenues, in the third quarter of 2012.

Net income in the fourth quarter was $1.3 million compared with net income of $4.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and net income of $1.8 million in the third quarter of 2012. Earn

ings per share in the fourth quarter was $0.08, compared with earnings per share of $0.27 in the fourth quarter of 2011 and earnings per share of $0.11 in the third quarter of 2012.

Full Year 2012 Results
Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2012 were $77.7 million, a 12.3% decrease compared with $88.6 million in 2011, which benefitted from the large project in Africa that accounted for 34.8% of revenues in 2011.

Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $33.5 million, representing 43.2% of revenues, compared with $39.5 million, representing 44.6% of revenues in 2011.

Operating profit for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $5.6 million, representing 7.2% of revenues, compared with an operating income of $9.8 million in 2011.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $4.1 million, compared with a net income of $9.8 million in 2011.

Earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $0.26, compared with earnings per share of $0.78 in 2011.

Cash and short term deposits, net of current bank debt, as of December 31, 2012, increased to $41 million, or $2.55 per share, compared with cash and short term deposits, net of current bank debt, of $32.5 million, or $2.06 per share, as of December 31, 2011.

Management Comment
Commenting on the results, Eitan Livneh, President and CEO of Magal said, “We are very pleased with our performance in the fourth quarter and in 2012. Apart from 2011, in which we benefitted from the exceptionally large and short-term Africa Cup of Nations project that was delivered at the end of 2011, 2012 showed great performance for Magal and its shareholders. Our results demonstrate that Magal is in a stable longer-term growth trend in revenues and profit. Magal's business platform is much improved over previous years, demonstrating profitable growth from a diverse mix of revenues, high cash generation and improving margins, despite weakness in both the US and European economies in 2012. We are very proud of these achievements and in the solid turnaround of our business over the past 3-4 years. I congratulate all of Magal's employees for their hard work.”

Continued Livneh, “At the end of 2012, we began offering an integrated suite of products, combining protection in both the physical and cyber worlds. To further our penetration of the increasingly important cyber space, in January, we purchased WebSilicon, offering unique monitoring solutions for networks. We believe our move into this adjacent and synergistic market will allow us to accelerate our efforts to become a leader in the convergence of physical and cyber security. Magal, with over $41 million in cash, with growing revenues and improving margins, is in the strongest position it has ever been, and we look forward to continuing to unleash our potential in 2013. ”

Magal acquires WebSilicon to expand into cyber security

Editor / Provider: Magal Security Systems | Updated: 1/24/2013 | Article type: Security 50

Magal Security Systems announced that it is expanding its business proposition with integrated physical-cyber protection solutions.

As part of this strategy Magal acquires Websilicon - an Israeli-based company in the rapidly growing network management and monitoring markets.

Magal's new cyber security solutions will monitor, detect and protect against abnormal network activity, both landline and wireless, within and close to protected sites. Cyber and physical events will be managed by the same platform - the Fortis4G, which is already installed in hundreds of sites.

The cyber security market
Since digital electronic technology has permeated every aspect of the business, critical sites are now exposed to new threats. The core production technology within sites, utilities, the information systems and even the security system itself - everything is now connected to the cyber world, and thus exposed to cyber threats due the bad and old motivations – terror, crime, hooliganism, espionage, etc. Therefore critical sites can no longer suffice in physical security and IT firewalls; essentially everything has to be protected.

Magal's cyber solution
The core solution will be based on advanced communication monitoring – wire-line, mobile wireless and satellite – which will intercept and alert for attacks, worms and other threats. The "sensors" will report into a unified Security Operation Center (SOC) into Fortis4G – a top notch centralized threat command and control platform. The unified SOC will eliminate the current silo approach which artificially disconnect the network security from the physical security and thus save resources and strengthen the overall security.

Since every site is different Magal will use its homegrown products as well as 3rd party products and tailor a turnkey solution for each site, supported by the full span of services: cyber risk and threat analysis, site survey, holistic cyber security Solution design, integration and post sales cyber monitoring, reviews and upgrades.

"The traditional physical threats to sensitive sites are now exacerbated by cyber threats, which have the potential to jeopardize the mission of our customers. Unlike the physical space, deterrence barely exists in cyberspace, and therefore in this cyber decade, seaports, airports, power utilities, cities and in fact, any business cannot be left protected with only physical security." said Eitan Livneh, President and CEO of Magal S3.

"Magal chose WebSilicon due its strong executive and development team, as well as its successful product sales to intelligence and other cyber protection players. Together, we are now positioned to lead the convergence of the physical-cyber security for critical sites."  Livneh said.

2012 Africa Cup of Nations Security Project

Editor / Provider: Magal Security Systems | Updated: 7/10/2012 | Article type: Security 50

The Africa Cup of Nations is the main International Football Association competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been held every two years.

The 2012 Games will be held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

It was announced on May 31st 2011 that Magal S3 has signed a $35.5 Million Dollar contract for a turnkey project, to provide the fully integrated security system, covering multiple sites, for these games. Magal has been chosen as the main contractor to implement the security and safety solution for this prestigious and globally recognized event.

Magal S3 is a leading international provider of security, safety and site management solutions and products. Over the past forty years, Magal S3 has designed and installed thousands of customized installations for satisfied customers in over eighty countries around the world, including those situated in the most threatening environments. Magal S3 has leveraged its experience in the defense industry in Israel and abroad to develop a unique set of cutting-edge security and safety products.

Sporting Event Safety and Security Planning Considerations

Terrorism
Sporting events, particularly those with global appeal, are an obvious target for terrorists, as such attacks will attract the attention of the world to the particular terrorist cause.

The darkest day in sporting history was the at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich where terrorists took the Israeli national team hostage, eventually slaughtering eleven athletes and coaches and one German police officer after a 16-hour standoff.

Other major terrorist attacks at sporting events were the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan Cricket team in Pakistan, the bomb explosions in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park in lieu of the 1996 Olympics, the

2002 car bomb that donated adjacent to the Bernabau Stadium in Barcelona, a terrorist bomb that severely damaged the Olympic stadium in Stockholm In 1997, and the murder of Colombian player Andrés Escobar, during the 1994 World Cup.

More recently and closer to home was the deadly terrorist attack during the 2010 African Cup of Nations. The Togolese National Football team was ambushed by terrorists as they travelled by bus from Congo-Brazzaville, where they had been training, to the neighboring Angolan province of Cabinda. Three people—the team's assistant coach, their spokesman and their Angolan driver—were killed. Another nine members of Togo's party were wounded including Togo's reserve goalkeeper.

Crowd Control
Crowd control and related issues have long been a topic of concern for sport facility managers as crowd related tragedies have plagued the industry over the years. The design and implementation of sound crowd control policies, limiting access to the sporting venues, crowd monitoring and gate control can help prevent these crowd related accidents.

Two main catastrophes that come to mind are the the Hillsborough disaster, a human crush that occurred on April 15th 1989 at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, England in a FA Cup semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 96 people and 766 being injured, and The Heysel Stadium disaster which occurred on the 29th of May 1985 when escaping fans were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, as a result of rioting before the start of the 1985 European Cup. Thirty-nine fans died and 600 were injured.

Other major European Tragedies were the 1971 Ibrox Stadium disaster in Scotland when 66 people were killed and 140 are injured when barriers collapsed near the end of a match between Celtic and Rangers and the 1982 Luzhniki disaster that took place at Lenin stadium in Moscow were a deadly human crush took the lives of at least 67 fans.

Definitely not limited to the UK, or Europe, there have been many major crowd control related disasters in sporting events: Abidjan, Ivory Coast (30/3 2009) at a World Cup qualifying match between Ivory Coast and Malawi leaving 22 dead and 132 wounded, Ghana, West Africa (9/5/2001) as a stampede at a packed soccer match between two of Ghana's leading teams killed at least 100 people, Harare, Zimbabwe (8/7/2000) twelve people died after a stampede at a World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Zimbabwe, Buenos Aires, Argentina (23/6/1968) 74 people are killed and over 150 injured following a first-division game between River Plate and Boca Juniors when fans trying to leave the stadium mistakenly head toward a closed exit and are crushed against the doors by other fans unaware of the closed passageway and the Ellis Park Stadium disaster (11/4/2001), the worst sporting accident in South African history as 43 people were crushed to death by a crowd stampede.

Hooliganism and Violence
Football hooliganism is unruly and destructive behavior—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation— by club fans, sometimes alcohol induced. Football hooliganism can range from shouts and small-scale fistfights and disturbances to huge riots where rival fans attack each other with deadly weapons. In some cases, stadium brawls have caused fans to flee in panic; some being injured when fences or walls collapsed. In the most extreme cases, hooligans, police, and bystanders have been killed, and riot police have intervened with tear gas, armored vehicles and water cannons.

Two tragedies associated with sport hooliganism are the 1967 Kayseri Ataturk Stadium disaster, resulting in 40 deaths and at least 300 injuries during the football match held on September 17, 1967 between the clubs of Kayserispor and Sivasspor at the Atatürk Stadium of Kayse i in Turkey. It was the worst sports-related violence to occur in Turkey. The other is the The 1964 Lima football riot of May 24, 1964, to-date, the worst riot in association football history. Violence erupted at a qualifying match for the Tokyo Olympics, leaving 318 fans dead and many more injured.

Not limited to soccer Hooliganism and violence is regularly reported at other sporting events like baseball, golf, cricket, Australian rules, Basketball, Football, Rugby and others.

Criminal Activity
Some of the most serious impacts of hosting sporting events arise from an increase in crime and adverse behavior. Studies have shown that during sporting events there is a rise in (1) opportunistic crimes of theft from visitors and from their vehicles, crime of sexual nature, common assault, robbery, traffic infringements, drunkenness and disorderly behavior and (2) organized criminal activities to target visitors.

Authorities must take great lengths to make sure such sporting events are safe, that crowds remain in check, and that any threat of criminal activity is thwarted. Video surveillance is an invaluable tool in helping to ensure the safety of the fans, players, employees, and the facilities themselves.

Limited Duration of Event
Unlike other critical infrastructure sites (like airports, power stations, oil and gas sites etc), mega sporting events are very duration limited. Once the Gold medal is given to the winning team, all the athletes and visitors travel back to their home countries and the event venues (Olympic parks, training grounds, stadiums) remain deserted in many instances.

The diligent designer of sporting event security must come up with creative ideas so as to exploit the investment of security and safety systems for the days and years after the event.

Magal Receives $3.4 Million to Secure Oil Facilities in LatAm

Editor / Provider: Magal Security Systems | Updated: 6/26/2012 | Article type: Security 50

Magal Security Systems announced that it has received two orders totaling $3.4 million to supply PIDS (Perimeter Intrusion Detection System) products for a large oil company based in Latin America. Delivery is expected during the third quarter of this year.

Volumetric buried cable systems will be delivered to protect 125 oil wells and fiber sensors will protect another 20 sites of oil related critical infrastructure. Integration into a third party control system will be performed by a local integrator.

"While we have seen significant success in delivering full turnkey projects during the past two years, this order demonstrates the strength of the product facet of our business. These very large orders for products exclusively, demonstrate the value of our flexibility to partner with system integrators and propose the best solutions to their customers" commented Mr. Eitan Livneh, President and CEO of Magal S3. "At the same time, this order continues the trend of our business growth in Latin America."

Magal Security Systems Reports Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Financial Results

Editor / Provider: Magal Security Systems | Updated: 4/6/2012 | Article type: Security 50

Magal S3 announced its financial results for the three and twelve month period ended December 31, 2011.

FOURTH QUARTER 2011 RESULTS SUMMARY
Revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011 increased year-over-year by 122.9 percent to a record $33.7 million, compared with $15.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Gross profit in the quarter was $15.4 million, or 45.8 percent of revenues, an increase of 174.8 percent compared to gross profit of $5.6 million, or 37.1 percent of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Operating profit in the quarter was $5.0 million, or 14.8 percent of revenues, compared to an operating loss of $0.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Financial expenses in the quarter amounted to $73,000 compared to financial expenses of $405,000 in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Tax expenses in the quarter were $668,000, compared with $556,000 in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Net income in the quarter was $4.3 million, compared with a net loss of $1.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $0.27, compared with a net loss per share of $0.14 in the same period last year.

FULL YEAR 2011 RESULTS
Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011 were $88.6 million, a 78.3 percent increase compared $49.7 million in 2010.

Gross Proifit for the year was $39.5 million, representing 44.6 percent of revenues, compared with $18.3 million, representing 36.8 percent of revenues in 2010.

Operating profit for 2011 was $9.8 million, representing 11.1 percent of revenues, compared with an operating loss of $4.7 million in 2010.

Financial income in 2011 amounted to $756,000 compared to financial expenses of $967,000 in 2010.

Tax expenses in 2011 were $723,000 compared with $602,000 in 2010.

Net income for 2011 was $9.8 million, compared with a net loss of $6.2 million in 2010.

Earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $0.78, compared with a net loss per share of $0.60 in 2010.

Cash and short term deposits net of current bank debt, as of December 31, 2011, were $32.5 million, or $2.06 per share, compared with net cash and equivalents of $9.5 million, or $0.91 per share, on December 31, 2010.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company's backlog was $50.1 million, compared with $50.2 million on December 31, 2010.

Power Plants Consider Management Platforms

Editor / Provider: By the Editorial Team | Updated: 3/18/2010 | Article type: Infrastructure

With outdated systems come difficulties replacing, expanding and integrating. Putting all subsystems together under one management platform requires SDKs and direct manufacturer support. The migration to IP-based systems requires security managers at power plants to understand IP's benefits.


As plant buildings become increasingly complex and differ in many ways — use, size, operating hours or changing occupancy requirements, and environmental conditions — building automation systems become useful to integrate open protocol devices into a single system, said experts from Siemens Building Technologies in a prepared statement.


Migration can occur in phases. In the first phase, security managers might request certificates and proof-of-quality documentation before purchasing digital storage equipment, said Aluisio Figueiredo, COO of Intelligent Security Systems. For surveillance systems, analog storage equipment is replaced with DVRs. The next phase will see additions of network cameras for increased coverage.


"For the most part, traditional security is housed on independent networks, and power plants are slow to pick up building management systems," said Darryl Polowaniuk, Manager of Security and Fire Safety Solutions at Johnson Controls. Generally, potential changes to the system require a project charter. Input has to be collected from all stakeholders and business units to ensure the changes will not negatively impact any units or facilities, Polowaniuk said.


As such, replacing or upgrading equipment rarely happens. Expansion and integration occur more, said Anantharam Varayur, Director of Webcom Information Technology.


Access control, intrusion detection and video surveillance systems are limited in current integration. "With these subsystems, we register the alarm, show the event on the map, and display footage from cameras positioned around the perimeter," Figueiredo said. For older systems, many of the sophisticated features of access control and intrusion alarms are not part of the VMS, which means that information analysis and processing stay in separate systems.


Information Management
As most power plants have been operating for years, change is not considered lightly. In a typical control room, each subsystem has its own GUI, and the step towards building management solutions or sophisticated CMS and PSIM has not been made yet, said Richard Lack, Sales and Marketing Director at ASL Safety and Security.


However, changes are happening. "Before, multiple control rooms were used for every power plant with one or two operators," said Guy Van Wijmeersch, Market Director Utilities of Barco. "Companies are now centralizing and consolidating different control rooms into a larger one, fitting six or up to 20 operators to oversee plant safety and security."


After Sept. 11, the US North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) established an Information Sharing and Analysis Center for the electricity sector. Specific to power plants, distur- bances or unusual occurrences must be reported to the appropriate systems, governmental agencies and regulatory bodies. Current systems are unable to effectively coordinate responses with all necessary parties.


One solution is PSIM software. A central platform can access disparate security devices via SDKs and APIs, and correlate the data from these various assets to create an intelligent and unified solution without major surgery on existing security infrastructure, said David Fowler, Senior VP of Marketing and Product Development, VidSys.


The energy sector is dominated by traditional engineers who are used to last-generation SCADA systems. "We're trying to move away from SCADA systems, which have very basic mapping and information management capabilities," Lack said. "PSIM can maintain legacy interface support and cover buildings and zones, and all subsystems within, via a 3-D environment."


Visual displays in the command and control room are critical. Grouped displays like video walls and PSIM software make more information easily accessible to operators during an emergency, Van Wijmeersch said. Nuclear power plants require video walls to be approved for seismic events such as earthquakes.


Information Sharing
The NERC requires critical information to be shared with government agencies and regulatory bodies. In reality, however, communication to external law enforcement parties is achieved manually through e-mail distribution lists and hotlines. "The market for communication and sharing of information is traditional and adopts new technologies slowly. Integration of software is also expensive," said Hagai Katz, Senior VP of Marketing at Magal S3. "Even SOP procedures are outdated; there is very little connection between the local police and power plant. Most simply do not have the standard of software and the channels of communication."


If suspicious activity occurs, such as a helicopter flying over a rural substation, the information is normally sent to an e-mail distribution list. This is a common information-sharing method among power plants today.


"There is no real-time sharing and the data is not shared online. However, information can be shared over a dedicated LAN," Varayur said.


It is important to note that most power plants are privately owned. Law enforcement agencies do not have permission to enter the plant, or access information, if help is not asked for, said Javier Prieto, Security Leader for Spain and Portugal, Honeywell Building Solutions. A balance must be struck between protecting plant data and sharing information with the necessary governmental bodies.


Training
With outdated systems comes an aging workforce. IP providers must train security operators who have worked with traditional systems for years to tackle new systems, IT infrastructure and workstations.


"If you have a sophisticated system, but operators are not able to respond to alerts or detection, you've got a huge problem," Prieto said. "Depending on how much background operators have in IT and computers, we give a full day's training on average."


In some countries, trained operators are transferred every few years, as a security precaution. "Government employees in India cannot remain in one position for more than a handful of years, which means that training new operators is an ongoing process," Varayur said.


Future Systems
Power plants, though conservative, are positioned to build new technologies into existing systems and eventually phase out obsolete equipment. New regulations will demand more integration, as well as efficient information management and sharing procedures. "In the future, a typical site will become more of a sensor fusion platform. We're seeing more requirements for video analytics, audio analytics and fiber-based sensors for perimeters," Lack said. "Because of the long perimeters involved, conventional video surveillance with heavy reliance on high-lux levels for lighting will be superseded by thermal imaging cameras."


Sophisticated management solutions that converge all relevant subsystems — not limited to security — into a cohesive 3-D and GIS-based platform are becoming a reality. "These systems will pull together an entire picture of what is happening and communicate it outbound," Katz said.

Layered Protection at Power Plants

Editor / Provider: The Editorial Team | Updated: 3/9/2010 | Article type: Commercial Markets

Security at power plants visibly deters and detects. With various technologies on-site and guards constantly patrolling, power plants are heavily protected against unauthorized entry. A&S explores critical areas and the systems deployed.


Power plant security can be divided into several levels. Depending on the facility, critical exterior areas include vehicular entrances, perimeter fence lines, pump houses and switch yards, said Darryl Polowaniuk, Manager of Security and Fire Safety Solutions at Johnson Controls. Perimeters can be protected using microwave sensors, direct burial detection, fence line detection, video surveillance with thermal imaging and guard patrols.


Entrance areas are generally protected through checkpoints, serpentines or vehicle gates integrated with access control and video surveillance for verification, Polowaniuk said.


Internal are as critical to operations include the main and subsidiary control centers, IT data rooms, telecom rooms, stores and warehouses where critical spares may be located, and computer rooms controlling plant process control systems, said Dale Zahn, VP of Business Development at Intellibind Technologies. These areas are often protected by access control, video surveillance and intrusion alarms.


IP Adoption
Most power plants were built well before IP development, which means that changes and upgrades require budgeting, Zahn said.


Analog systems are based on standardized and accepted measures. With emerging technologies, many IP-based systems have yet to reach their full potential, Polowaniuk said.


Advances in reliability, fault tolerance and redundant solutions are pushing old systems to evolve to IP, said Javier Prieto, Security Leader for Spain and Portugal, Honeywell Building Solutions. Some Spanish nuclear plants have already evolved to using IP-based systems.


Network technologies are used for remote surveillance and expansion. A power plant requiring more coverage around water areas may install cameras across a small body of water. Analog cameras would need extensive cabling to accomplish this. "The cost is much lower to install network cameras over long distances," said Aluisio Figueiredo, COO of Intelligent Security Systems.


Open platform software supports various types of encoders, so the video system is less vendor-specific. "Most systems today are hybrid, with analog cameras and digital transmission and storage," said Anantharam Varayur, Director of Webcom Information Technology. "Customers can purchase any camera to replace broken ones and still use the same encoder."


An impediment to IP is the prevalence of legacy equipment. "Building systems like lifts or escalators, and plant and manufacturing equipment, are still based on serial or analog interfaces," said Richard Lack, Sales and Marketing Director at ASL Safety and Security. For full integration, management platforms must support both IP and analog systems.


"It is not a question of why users won't move to IP, it's that they are not always presented with viable options," Lack said. "The systems in use are still working and were approved years ago."


Transmission
Fiber optics and wireless are common at power plants. "Remote locations use more fiber backbone, whereas closed environments tend to use reserved wireless frequencies," Figueiredo said.


In most plants, two LANs run separately. Surveillance footage is generally transmitted to a LAN not connected to the campus-wide network, Varayur said.


From cameras to encoders, analog transmission is preferred because power plants use specially armored coaxial cables. "UTP or STP cables, connecting megapixel network cameras, do not have this special protection, and in such electrically-charged environment, these cables are subjected to more interference," Varayur said.


Protecting Perimeters
Perimeters are protected by up to three lines of defense. "Critical functionality includes the flexibility to be able to set the alarm locally, while allowing for central monitoring, simple identification of the origin of an alarm and reliable verification," said experts from Siemens Building Technologies in a prepared statement.


Typical perimeter defenses include sensor cables on meshed fences, microwave barriers between the fence and protected building, and video surveillance to confirm and verify, said Fabrizio Leonardi, Marketing Director of CIAS.


Electronic sensors on fences can comprise an electronic card with specialized components that detect movement or vibration, said Martin Kowen, Export Director, GM Advanced Fencing and Security Technologies. "Each sensor has an ID and actively communicates with the system processing card, to know the exact location of the intrusion attempt."


Industry-acceptable false alarm rates are usually less than five false alarms per kilometer in a month, Kowen said. False alarms can be lowered by sensors interpreting anomalies. "If there is wind on the protected site, then data readings from each sensor will all change proportionally. This unified change in data reading will not cause a false alarm to sound," Kowen said.


Products based on fuzzy logic analysis measure and compare typical stored signals with the size, shape and rate of change of new signals, Leonardi said. Events that generate an alarm are date- and time-stamped, stored in memory and can be analyzed in real time.


Buried cables are often used between fences for detection. "We encountered major issues because buried cable sensors are easily affected from the electrically-charged grounds characteristic of many plants," said Hagai Katz, Senior VP of Marketing at Magal S3.


For outdoor perimeter equipment, power plants require lightning protection. If lightning strikes near the system, capacitors can charge and take the load, Katz said. It is important that outdoor systems are linked to uninterruptable power supplies.


Post-mounted radars integrated with cameras for verification can detect and track people or vehicles moving into detection zones, said Jason Burger, Sales and Marketing Manager at Navtech Radar. The control room can display information on an aerial map with corresponding video images.


Radar paired with video surveillance can better protect perimeters via wide-area tracking, Katz said.


Authorizing Access
Access control systems oversee exits and gates, including vehicle entrances, pipes, tunnels, employee gates, maintenance points, control rooms and so on, Katz said. Each gate has a different protection — car entrances may have a physical gate with cameras, LPR and guards. Conveyer belts could be protected by thermal cameras to watch for intruders climbing onto the belt and entering the plant.


Access control systems can be active and run up to 100,000 badges a day, said Kevin Pearman, Account Manager, Integrated Security and Building Management Systems, Bytes Systems Integration. Proximity or smart cards allow staff to access to buildings, and biometric technologies are used at critical areas to protect against identity theft. At major access control points, physical barriers are used, including turnstiles and heavy doors, coupled with X-ray baggage checks and radiation scanners at nuclear plants.


Access control is probably the oldest installed equipment at power plants, making upgrades a challenge. "Security managers have no desire to replace old equipment with new IP-based systems, but they would like the benefits of being able to open the door remotely and mapping out its status on a map," Figueiredo said. Protocol analyzers, essentially sensors deployed on doors, are substitutes when SDKs are not available. They can be used to integrate systems running on serial or RS-232 communication.


Adding biometrics is easier than linking existing systems. "If you're dealing with old technology, you run the risk of looking for manufacturers who aren't even in business anymore," Figueiredo said. "Integrating sophisticated technology like fingerprint or facial recognition biometrics gives you a huge advantage: direct support from the manufacturer."


Video Verification and Monitoring
A large mix of mostly analog cameras is installed at power plants. Fixed, PTZ, day and night, infrared, thermal, and higher resolution cameras monitor perimeter and indoor areas.


Real-time surveillance is mandatory. As systems are used to verify events at perimeter and access points, video footage must be transmitted at 30 fps, Figueiredo said.


Users are replacing broken cameras with higher resolution ones. "520 TVL is a minimum, and we are seeing more requests for megapixel cameras," Figueiredo said. For the most part, however, security managers are still learning about the benefits of megapixel and HD cameras.


Storage is vital — footage needs to be kept at least a month. The emphasis is on backup and redundancy.


Evacuation and Safety
Apart from security, safety is a primary concern. Power plants must have reliable voice alarm and evacuation systems to notify employees about airborne contaminants and other critical events.


Nuclear facilities often use voice alarm systems with confidence tones — a series of tone-generated blips broadcasted every 15 seconds indicate that the building evacuation system is operational. "If staff don't hear that confidence tone, immediate evacuation is necessary," Lack said.


In Europe, new legislation allows manufacturers to use field-proven IP-based routing rather than analog. "Voice alarm systems can now sit on the same physical network as the other subsystems," Lack said.

Power Plants Prepare for Change

Editor / Provider: The Editorial Team | Updated: 3/9/2010 | Article type: Commercial Markets

Power plants deliver usable energy to the world and are among the top-rated, high-risk facilities. Conservative and regimented in tried and proven SOPs, these energy generators operate on strict day-to-day practices that ensure the security and safety of people and assets.


As the threat of terrorist attacks become more real, governments, energy and electric organizations, and plant owners must review and increase security measures. Depending on the plant and its location, threats can include syndicated theft and extreme environmental activities. "You must understand your adversary, to define, design and plan your security system," said Javier Prieto, Security Leader for Spain and Portugal, Honeywell Building Solutions.


Most power plants today follow regulations and best practices for critical infrastructure. However, system guidelines are broad, leaving actual equipment specifications to be agreed upon by plant owners, integrators and the operations team.


Planning and installation must be carefully considered at the onset, to avoid using equipment unfit for the environment. The type of plant and its location makes every solution unique.


Current systems installed at power plants are analog and becoming obsolete. Introducing digital systems gradually brings more hybrid systems to the fore. However, integration is challenged by a lack of support from existing equipment manufacturers, some of whom are no longer in business.


Information management and sharing is still at a basic level and often done manually. As most power plants are privately-owned, external information is shared through e-mail distribution lists and hotlines. Within the plant, information is distributed from the command and control center. SCADA systems dominate, but have rudimentary mapping capabilities, which is crucial for response during an emergency. Fully integrated platforms, such as sophisticated CMS or PSIM, have yet to reach power plants.


When existing systems break down, outdated parts are becoming more difficult to find. Users are gradually moving towards IP-based systems, which offer more flexibility, scalability and cohesive information management. The time is ripe for change.


Regulations and Standards
Excluding nuclear plants, no regulations govern power plant security, so best practices and recommendations are followed. However, government organizations such as the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the US Department of Homeland Security have been actively involved in standardizing requirements for the energy sector.


"The U.S. pioneered nuclear power stations, and many countries around the world, such as Japan, Mexico and Canada, follow American standards," said Hagai Katz, Senior VP of Marketing at Magal S3.


NERC requires power plants to look outside service territories and establish security principles based on the electric grid's reliability, which requires visibility at a higher level. "This means that security technologies applied should be designed with a 'protection-indepth' philosophy — to deter, detect, assess and respond to an incident," said Dale Zahn, VP of Business Development at Intellibind Technologies.


The corporation holds quarterly Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee meetings with representatives from the federal government, as well as industry representatives from the eight NERC operating regions. "Representatives have IT, operations or physical security backgrounds, and come from the investor-owned municipal and cooperatives," Zahn said.


System guidelines are broad, leaving users flexibility to specify their equipment wants and needs, said Darryl Polowaniuk, Manager of Security and Fire Safety Solutions at Johnson Controls.


Market
The market is large and relatively untapped.


Power companies will need to spend US$1.4 trillion over the next 22 years to meet power demands and modernize the transmission and distribution grid, according to the "Improving Power Plant Performance Through Technology Upgrade" white paper by Honeywell Process Solutions. Most power plants have been using the same security systems installed 10 or 20 years ago, making refurbishment or replacement a priority.


"In Europe, power plants are increasingly implementing security systems with 12 to 15 percent growth," Prieto said. Global growth is slightly lower, averaging 6 to 8 percent.


In India, there are one or more plant projects underway in each state. Some are old plants, with little surveillance. "There is a big opportunity to install video surveillance systems in these plants," said Anantharam Varayur, Director of Webcom Information Technology.


In South Africa, security makes up at least a quarter of the project's budget. "If security systems are found noncompliant, plants can be fined," said Kevin Pearman, AccountManager, Integrated Security and Building Management Systems, Bytes Systems Integration.


Designing and Planning
Most project tenders are indiscreet — there can be separate tenders for video surveillance, access control and intrusion detection systems. "At this time, orders can be awarded to multiple vendors, which creates a challenge in integrating the systems," Varayur said. "Customers must take the initiative of putting requirements together at the project onset for a comprehensive tender."


Driven by the need to meet local requirements, planning and design is usually standards-driven, Zahn said. Involved parties include representatives from plant operations, engineering, safety, the supply chain, IT, security and plant maintenance. Once needs are determined, an experienced system integrator will be hired to ensure consistency across a fleet of generating stations, involving equipment selection, operation, maintenance and repair of applied technologies.


As power plants are often located at remote sites, maintenance for faulty equipment requires long waits for repair technicians. "Sometimes customers actually buy spare parts, including cameras, network switches, encoders, additional servers, monitors and power supplies, to lessen the downtime of a system breakdown," Varayur said.


Security managers and their corporate security departments have a vested interest in the final design, as they will likely be stewards of the system upon completion, Polowaniuk said. IT managers also play a crucial role in supplying the network, involved in considerations for bandwidth requirements and redundancy.


Site-Specific Requirements
The type of power plant and its environment impacts security requirements. In general, hydroelectric, coal and fossil fuel, solar and wind plants follow best practices.


Security systems at nuclear power plants are doubled or tripled compared to other plants, as they should comply with legislation, Prieto said. For example, all systems at nuclear plants must be redundant, including networks, fences, control rooms and servers. In comparison, a solar plant might have a single perimeter solution equipped with cameras and fences, but nuclear plants can have up to three layers of perimeter protection.


Coal and other fossil burning plants in the environmental spotlight must follow procedural detection measures to protect against activists, Polowaniuk said.


Hydroelectric plants typically border large bodies of water, exposing them to more complex risks. "If a terrorist was to strike via a boat coming into the dam, it would be disastrous," said Aluisio Figueiredo, COO of Intelligent Security Systems. Armed military personnel usually patrol seaside or water borders at all times.


Cameras equipped with video analytics are necessary to track boats coming into secure areas. "This unique requirement is very common for water dams," Figueiredo said.


For seaside plants, noncorrosive solutions need to be implemented.
The salty and moist environment of ten results in equipment replacement after just one or two years. "Even standards such as IP66 or IP67 are sometimes not enough to protect against corrosion, so special anti-corrosive standards and practices must be used," Katz said.


Power plants located in rural areas with limited natural barriers become simpler to protect, Polowaniuk said. Thermal cameras and radars can be used to survey areas beyond the plant's perimeter. This is not so in urban environments.


In urban environments, plants must be careful not to disturb neighboring residences or commercial buildings. For example, strobe lighting and audible alarms could be disruptive, Polowaniuk said.


The high foot traffic in cities presents unique challenges. "Security incidents related to conventional delinquency, such as theft, increase for plants located in urban areas," Prieto said. "You cannot use long-range perimeter devices to survey areas beyond your perimeter, which means that other perimeter protection systems need to be considered."


Paired with a preference for aesthetics, perimeter security in urban areas can opt for noninvasive systems such as buried cables or decorative fences, Katz said.


Outdated Systems
Most power plants are dated facilities, with traditional analog systems in place. Systems and parts become obsolete, which make integration with management platforms difficult. In security, the shift toward convergence is an appealing solution to all high-risk critical facilities, but power plants are adopting slowly.


"The maturity of the market is an issue, and often security managers at power plants, who have been trained and are familiar with traditional systems, are reluctant to switch out existing systems," Prieto said.


Aging systems are the most pressing issue, and at some point, when the system is no longer scalable or does not provide adequate protection, it should be replaced, Polowaniuk said.


Most security systems in power plants are stand-alone and manually controlled. For example, if an alarm from the perimeter sounds, a security operator will maneuver a joystick to pan a camera toward the detection zone. "This is the common practice," Katz said. A balance must be struck between manpower and technology — as technology develops and becomes more automated, power plants can save on manpower.


Experts agreed that the energy sector, once at the forefront of security technology, is now lagging. "Most of these systems are coming to the end of their useful lives, and next generation power plants will be free to go straight into IP-based systems," said Richard Lack, Sales and Marketing Director at ASL Safety and Security.

Back to Basics with Video Verification

Editor / Provider: a&s International | Updated: 9/21/2009 | Article type: Hot Topics

With the recession still looming, the industry turns to basic solutions with proven results. Video verification integrates alarms with cameras, fusing their strengths for clear security.


Using multiple sensors is not new, but recent products reflect a true marriage between alarm and video. Adding surveillance to sensors verifies alerts at the edge, determining whether first responders are needed.


The global crisis is forcing monitoring stations to break with technological conservatism, and video verification is a game-changing technology. "Despite the relatively flat market for intrusion detection systems, we are seeing a 50 percent annual growth," said Francois Lafferriere, Director of Business Development, RSI Video Technologies.


Customers realize the strength of fusing sensors and algorithms into a single, coherent solution, said Hagai Katz, GM and VP of Marketing of Magal S3. It is not only for accuracy, as intrusion detection battles false alarms, but also decreases response time.


"This will improve client satisfaction and decrease the operating cost of the monitoring station," Lafferriere said. Moreover, privacy features can record only when the alarm system is activated, eliminating the concern of constant surveillance, said Uri Engelsman, VP of Sales and Marketing, Pima Electronic Systems.


Faster Response
There are two complementary approaches to decrease response time: minimizing the time for the operator to receive and process an alarm, or decreasing the time for patrol to reach the site. "With standard systems, response teams lose valuable time and money by investigating false alarms, which occur about 99 percent of the time," Lafferriere said.


When an alarm is triggered, this tool can achieve both means. Alarm and video can be simultaneously received through GPRS, Lafferriere said. The video-verified alarm then becomes much easier to work with than blind alarms — there is no need to call the site to confirm the intrusion or complicate the work of the operator by accessing a local video on-site. A video of the alarm event would suffice for users to determine if further action is necessary. The CMS can also automatically forward the video to the user's e-mail or cellular phone, Lafferriere said.


Other vendors may choose to breakdown the process. When an alarm is triggered, response time can be decreased by sending an immediate SMS t the user because it is the quickest. Right after the SMS, the system sends MMS and e-mail to the user to verify if the alarm is legitimate. In addition, user can make a phone call to the system to further verify the alarm by engaging in a two way audio conversation and the user can immediately go to his or her browser to connect live with the unit, said Magnus Stenberg, MD of Xumo.


Joining Technologies
The alarm and video verification market splits into two basic solutions: single and separate devices. With single devices, alarm and video are joined into one unit and are typically used indoors, for commercial and residential use. However, single devices are stationed outdoors as well, at construction sites, communication towers and so on. Where alarm and video are separate units but fused together into one system, outdoor perimeter protection is among its popular applications. Popular sensors are microwave, buried cable, IR and laser. Commonly deployed cameras feature CMOS image sensors, 1.3 megapixel resolution and MPEG-4 compression.


Single-Unit Sentries
An all-in-one unit will typically consist of an alarm, sensor (usually PIR) and camera connected to wireless sensors. "Putting the camera and sensor into one housing saves costs and guarantees that both the camera and sensor are in line with the viewing angle to achieve the best detection and image capturing result," Stenberg said.


Moreover, single units are less obtrusive, requiring less installation and configuration and are generally more aesthetically appealing, said Michael Reimer, Product Manager of Intrusion, Bosch Security Systems.


To adjust for low-ight conditions, built-in LEDs are deployed, as well as color cameras with 3.4 lux lighting. Relays can control external lighting with color cameras, Reimer said.


All devices should be wireless for ease of installation and ensuring power cut immunity. "Our system, including the panel, is autonomously battery-operated for up to four years on standard usage conditions," Lafferriere said. Additionally, the radio signal is bidirectional and secured through a 128-bit encryption key, which operates over several hundreds of meters for outdoor purposes. For outdoor applications, devices should be rated IP 65 to withstand trying environmental conditions.


Full Systems
For large outdoor installations, video-alarm systems cannot verify an intrusion alone. They must also locate and calculate the intrusion's dimensions, or its size and distance from the sensor. "This information can be shown on a virtual map, which gives the operator the precise location of an intruder over a distance of 200 meters," said Nicolas Jdanoff, Sales Director for IPVision (a Hymatom company).


PTZ cameras attached to the PIR sensor-embedded detection wall can be fed with four or five mirrors located in the wall, all of which reproduce the same image from different perspectives. Algorithms then analyze the different reflections and calculate the exact position of the intruder, Jdanoff said. Each sensor, individually triggered upon alarm, has a 60-degree angle composed of 15.4-degree beams. With six sensors spiralled on a pole, 360-degree coverage of the zone is achieved, allowing the camera to locate intruders.


An alternative to PIR sensors is the ranging buried cable sensor, which has pinpoint accuracy within a meter of the intrusion. If an intruder crosses a large site, the alarm is sent to the control center, while a camera simultaneously pans to where the intrusion was detected, Katz said.


IR illuminators for video surveillance or infrared cameras are used outdoors for low-light conditions, and many alarm vendors offer their own cameras. However, almost no alarm manufacturers make cameras; they add their own accessories, algorithms and packaging for the cameras, Katz said.


With separate alarm and video components, storage may be expensive. New video alarm verification devices can support up to 16 analog cameras with one alarm system, Engelsman said. "In some similar systems, wireless or internet cameras are a must, which are more expensive with fewer bites. With newer devices, any analog or digital camera can be used, even those from existing video surveillance installations."


Finally, to future-proof sites for expansion, chosen units or systems must be easy to integrate. Some companies, such as RSI Video Technologies, allow registration of additional devices to the main control panel without cables or power.


Market Penetration
"Every alarm needs some sort of verification. Users will not blindly trust the alarm, and immediate video verification is the best approach," Stenberg said. Combining both alarm and cameras for video verification is a growing trend.


While how much growth is yet unknown, video verification is valuable and recognized for reducing false alarms and providing evidentiary material for monitoring companies as well as building occupants, Reimer said. The technology is now mature and more affordable, with costs almost comparable to a blind alarm system. The future, therefore, for video verification devices is vast and unlimited, with potential to penetrate both alarm and video surveillance applications.


Video verification is not to identify intruders with high-resolution video, but to confirm intrusions as quickly as possible to minimize response time, Lafferriere said. Controlling and archiving video footage from many sites can become cumbersome, while video verification captures only the critical information — the first seconds of an intrusion — to facilitate an immediate reaction.


Ultimately, these devices and systems bring the industry back to basics, as the viability and efficiency of an integrated security system is based on its level of qualified alarm events, Jdanoff said.