Utilities: Are You In Control of Who is On Site?
07/06/2022
Being in control is very rarely a bad thing. Whether you’re behind the wheel of a car, about to order a takeaway, or sat in front of the TV, having control of what you are doing puts you on the right path to achieve your goals – even if it’s just a case of filling your stomach or making sure your favourite programme is on the screen.
For energy and utility companies, being in control is less about getting from A to B or ordering a curry in time for the opening credits, and more about knowing exactly who is coming and going from your site.
Today, we pick up the pace with our Utilities Pain Points Series by focusing on how major businesses within the sector can utilise an ultra-smart solution to control on-site access, and some of the safety factors that make it such an important tool to implement.
A remote-control system
We’ll get straight into the solution that will help you control who is coming and going from your site on a daily basis.
It’s something known as Telemetry – which lets you control gates, lights, sound or other technical installations remotely via a digital two-way radio device.
Gate access in this example is particularly important, especially for nuclear power plants and water companies. Environments like these can be highly hazardous and dangerous. Plus, the space they operate in make them susceptible to criminal damage, theft and public protests.
So, the need to ensure only authorised staff and visitors are gaining entry to your premises has to be high priority (especially from a safety point of view).
How does Telemetry work?
A Real-Time Control Unit (RTCU) is synced up to a digital two-way in order for both devices to communicate with each other. Once the devices are seamlessly connected together, your workers can simply press a key or button on the radio to command the RTCU to open or close the gate.
It removes the need for any kind of manual intervention, and staff can remotely know when to react quickly to a situation via a smart Call-Out system – where high-priority messages can be transmitted between the RTCU and the digital two-way radio.
The system can be so smart that it has a self-monitoring ‘heart beat’ where the RTCU will flag up any maintenance requirements or communication failures. And with a high IP rating, introducing Telemetry into your operation will keep your workers safe and everything else efficient.
The sensitivity of the sector
As we’ve already touched upon, the energy and utilities sector can be susceptible to different types of external pressure. More noticeably, that pressure has come in the form of protests.
More than 200 anti-nuclear protestors famously blocked at access to Hinkley Point power station back in 2011. Fast forward to 2022 and protests continue to take place at facilities to produce energy and fuel.
Back in April of this year, environmental protestors blocked access to 10 oil terminals across the UK, putting production and the safety of people at risk.
Whilst Telemetry can’t stop protestors voicing their beliefs, it can help reduce the risk of unauthorised users gaining access to key areas of the site where the safety of everyone can be put in jeopardy.
Access denied
It’s not just the possibility of protestors wanting to gain access to your site that you have to contend with. Due to the nature of energy plants or water reservoirs, criminals or personnel may try gain access in order to steal vital equipment or in extreme circumstances harm the facility with land or waterborne explosives.
Physical barriers – that are controlled remotely via Telemetry – help to create a preventive measure for ensuring it’s authorised access-only on your plant or site.
Integrated security cannot be a ‘nice to have’ for businesses like water treatment plants. Over 66 million people rely on these plants to provide clean drinking water, so security issues that arise because of unwanted access have to be eradicated today and not tomorrow.
This article goes into the basics of how Telemetry works and how it helps businesses in the energy and utilities sector. If you’d like to know more about how it works in more detail, then please speak to one of our trained experts today.
Book a FREE demonstration of TRBOCALL
To understand more about Telemetry and the other solutions we provide, then book a FREE demonstration of our award-winning TRBOCALL platform by completing our contact us form.
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