Rontal Applications, a developer and provider of innovative incident management and business continuity systems, today Thursday that Israel's Airports Authority, Ben-Gurion International Airport Security Division has decided to expand the VDB (Visual Data Base) coverage of Rontal’s SimGuard 3000 planning and simulation system.
Ben-Gurion is one of the world's most secure airports. In 2007, it handled over 10 million international passengers and about half a million domestic passengers.
The new VDB areas covered by SimGuard 3000 include the airport’s main terminal (Terminal 3), Ben-Gurion’s east operational area, the airport’s parking lots (11,300 parking spaces for short- and long-term parking) and Terminal 1 area.
"We began using SimGuard 3000 in 2007 and have had excellent experience with this innovative system, helping us analyze and simulate critical incidents," said Nachum Liss, head of security planning and control at Ben-Gurion Airport’s Security Division. "As a result of our experience we decided to expand SimGuard’s coverage to additional areas of the airport, helping us assess threats and take the necessary measures to thwart them."
In the first phase of SimGuard’s operation at Ben-Gurion, the airport’s professionals also used the system to test several attack scenarios, in which potential attackers attempted to launch MANPAD missiles from various locations. After reviewing the outputs of a number of these simulations Israel's Airports Authority, Ben-Gurion’s Security Department took the necessary precautions in order to provide threat reduction for departure and landing routes.
"Ben-Gurion’s decision to expand the operation of SimGuard is further evidence of the quality, excellence, advantages and effectiveness of our proven system," said Eli Passi, head of Rontal’s product group. "In an era of growing terror threats, the ability to prepare airports for any possible scenario can help in real incidents to save lives, prevent panic, and enable maximum control of the affected area despite the pressure."
SimGuard is a family of incident management systems that fuse and display real time data to support decision-making processes in the areas of safety, security and business continuity. SimGuard systems include SimGuard 1000 executive dashboard, SimGuard 3000 planning and simulation system, SimGuard 4000 local site incident management system, and SimGuard 6000 multi-site incident management system.
SimGuard encompasses the four phases of incident management preparation and handling: planning, training, real-time and debriefing.
In the planning phase, a virtual reality model of the actual facility or campus is built into SimGuard's database, allowing virtual installation of numerous kinds of sensors. Once that has been completed, the site’s expert security staff uses SimGuard to assess vulnerabilities. Security and safety managers may conduct simulations for different potential scenarios for security, safety, facility management, general operations, and operational continuity. The training phase includes a series of simulated incidents using 3D models, allowing users to gain an early understanding of security and safety situations before they occur.
In the real time mode of operation, SimGuard gathers information from all available sensors, fusing and presenting it on one Situational Awareness 3D display of the site. This display enables the operator rapidly to understand the implications of an incident, identify the relevant scenario from the scenario library, and predict the potential impact on normal site operations. The system enables the site’s security managers to make the best possible decisions in real time. The debriefing mode allows safety and security management personnel to learn from real time incidents and other events by providing digital feedback and analysis of the reactions by security teams during their mission.
