Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) technology is relatively new on the security scene, but its role in security and safety operations has already begun to evolve. A tool used to collect and integrate information from various security systems and sensors, PSIM is commonly regarded as little more than a physical security integration platform that combines, for example, a video and access control system.
But the real value of PSIM is still being discovered — how organizations can leverage the information it collects to handle events throughout the entire incident spectrum.
In the physical security space, incident management is front and center. Careful consideration is given to improving situational awareness and situation management capabilities to manage incidents faster with fewer errors and resources. In almost every case, successfully managing a situation reduces the risk of damage, but if an incident is not handled, it can quickly escalate up the incident spectrum.
Inside the Incident Spectrum
Consider the following four stages of the incident spectrum:
1. Anomaly management: The most common and least harmful stage of the incident spectrum, it is ideally where incidents are identified, verified and resolved. It involves real-time, proactive infrastructure monitoring to detect and prevent situations. For example, an industrial control system such as a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system monitors industrial and infrastructure processes and equipment and can recognize when a pipe with a pump attached to it is not functioning properly. A PSIM integrated with the SCADA could signal a warning that something is amiss. PSIM does not even begin to replace SCADA, but it is is what links a SCADA alarm to what the rest of the organization should do next, as defined by the organization’s standard operating procedures (SOPs)
2. Failure management: An incident that escalates beyond anomaly management reaches the failure management phase, where response is reactive but still guided by the SOPs. Though the situation has escalated at this stage, it has limited impact on operational performance; however, it has great potential to negatively impact it. Using the previous example, a failed pump would require failure management.
3. Incident management: To continue the example, an organization reaches the incident management phase when the pipe, which could be carrying chlorine, cracks due to high pressure. Now, instead of an alert that something might not be working properly, an organization receives incoming reports of coughing and burning sensations from nearby residents. The incident must be contained and managed immediately through first responders, communication with various agencies, and other best practices so it does not develop into a full-blown crisis.
4. Crisis management: The most serious stage of the incident spectrum, crisis management requires fast exchange of information and collaboration to bring the situation within the realm of SOPs. For instance, if the hypothetical pipe carrying chlorine were to explode and send chemicals into the air in a residential area, the crisis would need to be dealt with. Various agencies would need to get involved to perform critical evacuations and containment. This is also where important questions need to be addressed: What happened? What leaked? How much? Is it still leaking?
Looking at the incident spectrum, it’s easy to see how an undetected minor anomaly can escalate into a crisis. Crisis management solutions can help address these extreme situations. The question is: Are crisis management solutions fundamentally different from incident management solutions, which could be PSIM? Situational awareness and situation management capabilities are still needed, albeit with an extended ecosystem of agencies in a high-stakes game.
It may be helpful to take another approach and determine what caused the incident. Did human error or a physical failure escalate the anomaly to incident status? Would better situational awareness have caught the risk early enough to take steps mitigate or prevent it? SCADA systems only provide one part of the picture.
These questions help frame the incident spectrum as a continuum with a common thread connecting each phase. This thread encompasses everything from detecting that a railway point is about to stick (technically-oriented anomaly monitoring) all the way to the complete shutdown of a major railway line, and potentially even loss of life, due to a collision of a chemical freight train and a passenger train. The objective of PSIM is to improve situational awareness so that a developing incident can be identified and managed as early on the spectrum and as quickly as possible.
The Incident Spectrum in Airport Operations
For U.S. airports with carrier operations, airport self-inspections are a cornerstone to safe operations. FAA Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations Part 139 mandates that airports conduct safety inspections at least once a day. During these assessments, inspectors scrutinize everything from pavement and lighting to signs and safety areas.
Airport Self-Inspection Practices, A Synthesis of Airport Practice, a survey conducted by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies and sponsored by the FAA, discovered that “Most airports conduct inspections visually, with one person in a vehicle and a paper self-inspection checklist.” The completed checklists also serve as a “historical record of findings during each self-inspection.” Given Part 139’s importance and the advancement of technology, it was only a matter of time before a more efficient and effective method of inspection was developed.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has implemented a mobile solution that leverages PSIM to link the various systems required to support Part 139 safety inspections and work order management, improving collaboration and streamlining the process of identifying and resolving safety issues and putting assets back into service. The mobile solution contains an enterprise GIS web application that is accessible via iPad, tablet, or other internet-connected mobile device, and makes it easier for inspectors to conduct their daily examinations.
As an inspector moves around the airport and sees an issue that needs to be addressed, he or she can mark the exact location on the interactive asset map. The interface displays previously-reported anomalies, so inspectors can avoid redundant work orders. The solution also contains a workflow management engine that automates processes as defined in the airport certification manual (ACM). This eliminates reliance on paper-based checklists and ensures inspectors follow SOPs and complete their assigned safety inspection tasks. This new system makes Part 139 adherence more efficient and keeps anomalies from escalating into crises.
PSIM for the Entire Incident Spectrum
As PSIM technologies mature, their potential to manage and control the entire incident spectrum increases. The failing-pump-on-a-pipe scenario shows how a fairly simple maintenance issue can escalate into a crisis if it is not contained in the anomaly management phase. PSIM’s ability to capture and correlate information enables it to mitigate potential risk and damage.
Organizations should look to leverage the vast amounts of information and computing power PSIM technologies contain to better address and manage the entire incident spectrum. PSIM can be instrumental in containing potential incidents in the anomaly management phase.
Take some time to help the organizations and customers you serve to evolve the way they think about PSIM — it should pay off down the road.
Dr. Bob Banerjee is Senior Director of Global Training and Knowledge for NICE Systems' Security Division. Request more info about NICE at www.securityinfowatch.com/10214502.
