Remotely Secured
The City of Pasadena, Calif., is home to nearly 140,000 people and numerous public facilities where 3,000 residents work each day. Among them is a remote reservoir that, until recently, was being used to dump hazardous materials illegally. Other reports claimed someone was jumping the fence and tampering with the city’s water controls. Each time suspicious activity was reported, the city would dispatch police personnel to investigate — an action that cost the city as much as $15,000 per incident.
David Chau, senior information systems engineer for Pasadena, knew something needed to be done about the reservoir’s trespassers. He also wanted to comply with ISO recommendations for upgrading the security system of Pasadena’s power facilities after Sept. 11. He contacted Stewart and Associates, a Los Angeles-based security dealer, to discuss the city’s options in keeping its public facilities safe and secure.
Richard Chiang, part owner of Stewart and Associates, turned to Honeywell for a solution to the challenging project — one that included managing the reservoir and power plant’s security, as well as a large city office building and yards where the city keeps its fleet vehicles.
“With Honeywell’s help, Stewart and Associates was able to tailor the design of the security systems to meet Pasadena’s requirements, which are different for every facility,” Chiang says. Providing security for the power plant was extremely important to the city because of the type of work that occurs there.
“The power plant employs hundreds of people and spans a large area. With chemicals being delivered each day, there’s always the possibility for something to go wrong,” Chau says. “It was crucial to install a tight security system to ensure the safety of the plant and all of its employees.”
Stewart and Associates installed cameras in and around the facilities, and issued smart cards for the city’s employees. When employees arrive at work, they scan their cards to receive access to the building. The card contains personal information about each employee and allows the city to know who is in each public facility at any given time.
“Smart cards are upgradeable, so Pasadena can choose to add additional features to the cards in the future,” says Troy Riedel, regional sales manager for Honeywell. “Each employee’s card has the potential to go beyond basic credentials and serve as a credit card, a library card and to provide parking garage access. Individual fingerprints can also be added to the cards for more security.”
Equipping each employee with a smart card ultimately means increased safety for Pasadena.
Cameras and smart cards are part of a larger security solution based on the integration of two products: WIN-PAK Pro and RapidEye Multi. WIN-PAK Pro enables all security system components to be integrated in one user interface, making it easier to manage systems with multiple locations like Pasadena. RapidEye Multi is a digital video and transmission system, combining digital recording, multiplexing, remote viewing, alarm detection and pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera control.
“With hundreds of cameras and thousands of smart cards issued, managing all information from one screen using WIN-PAK Pro and RapidEye Multi means increased accuracy and efficiency,” Riedel says.
Soon after the cameras were installed at the reservoir, an intruder’s license plate number was caught on tape and his illegal dumping was history. Chau is pleased with the results of the new installations, and Pasadena awarded Stewart and Associates a renewable one-year contract. Chiang estimates the city will save as much as $24,000 per site in incident investigations each year.
The city plans to install security equipment in 23 additional remote public facilities, including an additional power plant location, water treatment facility, power grid, dispatch center and 12 power substations. Chau is also considering adding logical access — an extra security precaution in which employees place their smart card on a pad next to their computer upon arriving at their desk. The pad grants permission to certain computer features and tracks computer activity.
“Our goal is to be prepared for any situation while keeping our employees safe and our facilities secure,” Chau says.