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Article originally from American Chemistry magazine.

No one takes security for granted these days, particularly when it comes to elements of the country’s critical infrastructure like shipping ports, nuclear power plants, and chemical facilities. As proof of public anxiety, security at chemical manufacturing facilities has been editorial page fodder and the subject of congressional debates in recent months as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to identify ways to prevent terrorist attacks.

For members of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), security has never been an issue taken lightly, and all member companies are engaged in serious and continuous efforts to enhance security at their sites and to verify their improvements with credible outside organizations. In fact, ACC members have significantly outpaced the federal government in instituting strict security guidelines and verifying compliance through the Responsible Care® Security Code, which became a condition of membership in 2002.

“The Responsible Care Security Code is a management system,” explains Dorothy Kellogg, senior director, security and operations at ACC. “That means while approximately 2,000 member facilities have completed their vulnerability assessments and implemented security enhancements, they continue to make security improvements every day.”

However, each of those 2,000 or so member facilities faces a slightly different challenge when it comes to implementing security enhancements. Here is how one member company is responding to the ongoing challenge.

Beyond guards, gates, and alarms
“The old concept of security at a chemical facility was guards, gates, and alarms,” says Bill Koch, global director of Process Integrity at Air Products and Chemicals Inc. “Even facilities with uniformed guards were still vulnerable. Now we are using electronic technology to secure our sites with layers of protection that is proving extremely effective. At the same time, we are always looking for ways to improve security at our facilities.” Koch, an engineer, proudly posts the numbers to demonstrate this improvement—in three years, Air Products has managed to completely eliminate theft of gas cylinders at its U.S. facilities.

Under the Responsible Care Security Code, prioritizing approximately 650 manufacturing and storage facilities worldwide was the beginning of “building a truly sustainable security culture at our company,” says Koch. Directives from the highest levels of management instructed managers and employees to regard security issues with the same level of importance as safety, helping pave the way for early buy-in.

Koch, along with Larry Piotti, Air Products’ manager of corporate security, was tasked with the responsibility of implementing the Responsible Care Security Code in 2002. The duo assembled a global cross-functional team, which quickly identified four functional areas along the value chain where potential vulnerabilities may exist. These included:

1. People – not just the 20,000 or so employees worldwide, but also contractors, customers, and neighbors living in close proximity to Air Products’ production facilities.
2. Global operations – manufacturing facilities, warehouses, transportation, pipelines, and other operational elements.
3. Product transactions – assuring customers are legitimate and qualified to safely use products; and
4. Information technology – cyber security.

All about people
Air Products learned one of its greatest unmitigated security issues involved risks to its own people. It took several days to account for all employees after the September 11 terrorist attacks. With nearly 20,000 workers taking nearly 12,000 international trips annually to 62 different countries, the need for better tracking of employee whereabouts was clear.

Collaborating with Rosenbluth Travel, and later American Express, Air Products developed a worldwide employee tracking system to locate employees during an elevated terrorist threat or other emergency. The system allows the company to locate and contact employees in order to provide travel advisories or other security instructions for increased personal safety.

Air Products also instituted a global identification card requirement for employees, contractors, and site visitors, while also reducing the number of contract organizations used by the company. Additional security steps included a detailed employee, contractor, and customer identification and qualification system. (The company began conducting background checks on employees in 1999.)

Given employees and contractors manufacture and transport quantities of industrial gases and chemicals that could be diverted for improper use or could be vulnerable to attack, the security team became convinced it needed to expand pre-employment background checks to contractors and transporters. “We implemented a contractor background screening security program for our secondary workforce and saw immediate results,” says Piotti. “At one site, a resident contractor with 85 employees had 11 workers that Air Products denied access because they were unable to meet the pre-established guidelines.”

Both Piotti and Koch agree one of the most valuable security improvements implemented across the company was a global security incident reporting system, accessible to all employees via the company Intranet. In reviewing aggregate data coming from the system, Koch noticed more suspicious activity at Air Products’ facilities than previously realized. The system generated 109 suspicious activity reports in 2004. “We found a lot out from our own employees through the use of this database, which allows us to review issues and take proactive measures,” says Koch. “And now we work directly with the DHS, FBI, and local law enforcement to investigate suspicious activity we might not have been made aware of, or previously might have dismissed.”

Bottom line results
Improvements in personnel security went hand-in-hand with improving operational security at Air Products’ storage and manufacturing sites. “We have always done a great job providing multiple layers of safety protection for our operations,” Koch explains. “Now it is all about providing layers of security protection for people, both inside and out.” He acknowledges there were challenges early on with some managers concerned about the costs associated with additional security measures, like pre-screening contractors. “However, when they begin to see a measurable reduction in theft and vandalism, which has a positive impact on the bottom line, they buy in,” adds Koch. “Our employees have been supportive of this effort. Even when security restricts access to parts of a facility, they seem positive about it. The question we hear most is ‘when are you going to do more?’ ”

To assist with the daily flow of security detail work, Air Products contracts with two organizations. Unlimited Technology of Downingtown, Pa., was selected as the systems integrator for security measure upgrades at all North American sites. Covenant Security Services of Philadelphia, Pa., was selected as the national security guard provider. These two companies provide the backbone for the newly installed Central Security Command Center, where every company facility is electronically monitored. The center is manned around the clock by a staff of 16 trained security professionals proficient in the technology. They communicate directly with first responders to Air Products’ related incidents, who welcome an electronic record of an event. The technology is an integral addition to security objectives, which include:

1. Deterring an attack with visible fences, gates, cameras, lights, etc.;
2. Detecting any penetration immediately with alarms, motion sensing devices, and lighting;
3. Delaying adversaries until authorities arrive with secondary access controls, trips, and alarms; and
4. Responding appropriately and immediately because the systems have been tried and tested with local authorities.

Security upgrades can be costly. However, according to DHS chemical section chief Steven King, CPP, who has visited Air Products to verify the security systems, they are making a difference.   “Air Products has dramatically improved security at its facilities around the world,” he says. “In my opinion, they are creating a model for security that others in the compressed gas industry should look to.”

DHS supports security improvement efforts for companies in the chemical sector by providing grants to local first responders that assist in creating secure buffer zones around facilities. Koch notes that working on security issues with DHS and other first responders has been a plus for everyone involved. “We learn a great deal by working together with federal, state, and local organizations,” he says. “We all do a better job of securing our country when we work cooperatively.”

Security products and qualifying customers
Like other ACC companies assessing potential terrorist tools, Air Products scrutinized its production operations and products. With guidance from the International Chemical Weapons Convention (ICWC), the FBI Weapons of Mass Destruction, and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), in combination with its own hazardous chemicals list, Air Products created a “Chemicals of Concern” (COC) product listing. This listing includes any material that could be used as a weapon of mass effect, as a precursor of a weapon of mass effect, or materials used in the manufacture of illegal drugs.

The company uses this internal guidance list as a screening tool when conducting business as part of the customer qualification process. “We now examine all our transactions with 100,000 customers worldwide,” explains Koch. “And if a customer can’t prove a legal use or provide adequate security for sensitive products, we do not sell to them.” Parallel security teams in Europe and Asia are charged with the secure stewardship of products sold overseas. The COC listing is also integrated into the company’s computer system. If a customer orders an item from the COC list, the computer system places the order in a special queue, and the order receives increased attention and review during the customer qualification process.

The company has also taken steps to safeguard its information systems, noting it is an on going challenge. It is necessary to have systems in place that monitor everything from process controls and safety systems at a plant to intellectual property intrusions and information theft. “Vulnerabilities continue to grow as we rely more on electronic surveillance and reporting,” says Piotti. “And every business investigation has a cyber aspect to it now.” Air Products managers are visibly proud of how its corporate culture has evolved as a result of implementing the Responsible Care Security Code. Koch believes employees are now an active part of the company’s security system and are encouraged to report potential or actual security incidents as they have always done with safety incidents. “We now see employees treating security with the same priority as safety,” he says. “And that is great.” 

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