ACC ChemSecure Conference Provides Valuable Insights on Chemical Security

June 3, 2011
I recently presented at the ACC ChemSecure Conference in New Orleans. It was held May 9 - 11 and is put together for security professionals in the chemical industry.

I recently presented at the ACC ChemSecure Conference in New Orleans. It was held May 9 - 11 and is put together for security professionals in the chemical industry. The American Chemistry Council recognizes that with CFATS and MTSA being such important issues for the chemical industry that it is imperative to help educated and update everyone about the mandates and the progress that is being made.

The keynote address was given by Dan Borne, president of the Louisiana Chemical Association and the Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance. He gave us a little background on the local industry and the progress that it has made to secure plants in Louisiana. His group represents 66 chemical manufacturing companies that operate at over 90 locations in the state of Louisiana. We also heard from the other usual suspects including DHS, TSA and chemical company reps.

The panel that I presented on was "Security Best Practices and Emerging Technology." One of the other panelists was Bob Kroper of Shell NORCO and Bill Erny, senior director of security for ACC was our facilitator. We talked about improving overall site security and risk mitigation. Some of the technologies include the use of crash barriers, smart video and canines.

My presentation is archived and available on the Chemical Processing site. In that presentation and the one at ACC I discussed the following:

• Key strategies for a security layout as it relates to the CFATS Site Security Plan (SSP)
• High level protection strategies - facilities protection strategies as opposed to asset protection strategies
• Challenges of onetime costs vs. operational costs
• The importance of value engineering
• Common project surprises
• A real world demo of how to save dollars while implementing a quality security program

I believe these types of conferences and programs are essential as we move forward with CFATS and MTSA. It is a chance for all of the security professionals and other stakeholders to meet and share ideas and opinions. This exchange is instructive for all of us and helps us to do an even better job of protecting the critical infrastructure in the chemical sector. If you are interested in this topic, keep an eye out for these types of events and I will try to mention some of them in this blog.

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