NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS | Security Systems Visualization

Power plants and other industrial plants are - next to technical facilities in the communications and transport sectors - key pillars of critical infrastructure. There is no room for compromise when it comes to safety and operational reliability. A rationally designed and then well-configured by professionals integration platform often becomes a key link in the effective management of security systems at this type of facilities.

Redundancy of the server environment, support for multiple client workstations, support for vector graphics, freedom in configuring alarm procedures - there are many integration platforms available on the market and for an increasing number of them this type of functionality is becoming a standard. What should distinguish implementations in critical infrastructure, including nuclear power plants, are proven solutions and techniques, many years of experience of integrators and a wide range of developed integrations dedicated to a given industry - because it cannot be purchased or organized even in a few months.

CAD FILES AUTOMATIC POINTS IMPORT

The number of signals reaches several thousand, countless design modifications at the investment stage, fragmentation of data provided by each telecommunications industry. How to control this and at the same time be sure that ultimately this huge amount of data will be implemented without errors in the integrating system? Sometimes combining the efforts of hundreds of engineers from a whole range of industries.

More and more often, people are looking for tools that automate the process of visualizing data points - and a good example here is the CAD plan import module, which additionally guarantees full compliance between the design documentation and the data presented by the visualization system.

When carrying out this kind of mapping, we do not have to manually add points to the site plans - they will be automatically read from the design CAD file and placed in the appropriate places on the maps of the integrating environment. What's more, we are sure that our graphics will include exactly the points that were planned by the designer - at the same time, we eliminate any possible mistakes while working on the visualization (double point, missing point on the map, etc.) and we create as-built documentation for the entire facility. Let us add that this as-built documentation is verified - because as part of the import mechanism, the user receives, among other things, statistics on correctly and incorrectly read points.

It is worth noting that developing visualizations is in fact the last stage in the entire task of launching security systems in the facility - and as you can easily guess, it is often a stage burdened with short implementation deadlines due to the investment acceptance activities lurking just around the corner. Automatic import of points from CAD files has often improved commissioning tests and tests of the integrating environment at facilities in the field of power engineering.

DEDICATED FUNCTIONS | MANAGEMENT PRACTICE

Developing and integrating environment means not only "checking off" activities strictly related to visualization, but - and this is what professional projects should stand out for, especially in the critical infrastructure sector - also the implementation of solutions and techniques that really facilitate the management of security systems in a specific category of facility. A good practice in power plants is, for example, to design buttons implementing ready-made sequences such as:

• blocking/disconnecting selected control procedures and automation of specific types of devices (for example, deactivation of the automatic emergency stop of air handling units for the duration of inspection of fire cut-off dampers);
• remote sending of control commands to the fire control panel (e.g. silencing the buzzer, acknowledging a 1st stage alarm, fire reset);
• controlling a selected group of devices, for example activating the blockade of all access-controlled passages on the ground floor (preventing intruders from leaving the facility).

The integrating system installed in the facilities in question must also have a number of built-in mechanisms that will help administrators in recording incidents related to access control, for example:

• double verification functionality (implementation of selected activities from the level of the integrating environment after entering an individual operator password with an authorization level defined by the administrator);
• logging states such as incorrect PIN, authorization attempt during a blocked time window and entry attempt using a card with an unknown number;
• triggering an alarm based on a report from the access control system (anti-passback).

OPERATORS WORK SUPPORT

Professional integration environments are intended not only to relieve staff from routine activities (work in the background) and automatically document events, but also to provide proposals for actions to be taken, including possible countermeasures appropriate to a given type of threat. This should be complemented by equipping the said environment with the widest possible range of documentation and technical instructions (e.g. in PDF format), so that both operators and technical staff of the industrial plant can use any workstation either during an alarm event or during as part of service work, among others:

• facility-oriented instructions on how to proceed in the event of a fire;
• fire scenario;
• installation block diagrams;
• operating instructions for devices (fire alarm control panels, fire protection device control panels, automatic extinguishing control panels and others).

READY FOR ANY INTEGRATION

Implementation and service practice indicates that the scope of visualization of safety systems at power plants should include - among others - monitoring of radioactive waste storage areas. Continuous control of the radiation level of personnel and monitoring of the radiation background (also in the context of preventing unsanctioned movement of radioactive materials) are truly key factors affecting the safety of the facility. For example, in this respect, the integrating platform should offer:

• displaying the current radiation dose at all measurement points at operator stations;
• activating acoustic signaling when selected gamma radiation thresholds are exceeded;
• full monitoring of devices constituting the measuring equipment (power monitoring, monitoring of environmental conditions, monitoring of the operation of displays showing measurement results).

If you want to learn more, write to us or visit us here:

https://www.g-u.com/en/PL/products/gemos-advanced-psim/gemos.html

https://gemos.pl/export

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