As Good as Gold
Electrical utilities combat copper theft with enterprise-wide video analytics
- By Steve Birkmeier
- Jul 01, 2009
Preventative efforts are taken in every aspect of
daily life—from emergency preparedness to
purchasing insurance to installing home security
systems. On a larger scale, physical security
executives use mitigation programs to avoid hazards or
disasters, which could affect the safety of their employees
or disrupt services to their customers.
One mitigation technique for utilities is the supervision
and protection of their facilities and resources. Security
personnel and surveillance systems are often put in place
to monitor restricted property and central facilities.
A typical CCTV surveillance system may record a
theft or break-in, but by the time the video is viewed, the
intruder has probably gotten away. Fortunately, there is a
security product that can deliver the right combination of
real-time detection and verified response required to
address the situation in a proactive manner.
Intelligent video systems use a proprietary algorithm
to identify abnormalities within a digital image, such as
movement within a controlled space. They detect events
based on the size, speed and time of objects within a predefined
zone of interest. This allows the system to count
and recognize objects, people and situations. Intelligent
video uses video analytics technology to provide true
object orientation and recognition, and to alert security
personnel to changes within the space while ignoring
nonessential information.
Raised Awareness
The last few years have witnessed a swell in the cases of
copper theft as global demand for the resource sent the
price for scrap to $4 per pound. Among the hardest hit
victims have been electrical utility substations because
of the large amounts of copper wire they use for electrical
grounding and transmission. Also, the facilities are
often remotely located and theft is difficult to monitor.
In addition to the cost of replacing the copper, the
utilities must contend with the possible loss of power to
customers and damage to transformers, which can cost
millions of dollars to repair or replace. In some cases,
the thieves are brazen enough to steal copper from working
power lines and stations and, in the process, thousands
of customers are left without power.
Many electrical utilities turned to intelligent video
solutions. Motion sensors could detect and alert upon
movement in an area, and standard video security could
record a break-in for potential evidence. However, these
two technologies cannot work together to provide realtime
information to stop thieves in the act. Video could
be deployed with pixel-based motion-detection, but false
alarms quickly become a nuisance, reducing the usefulness
of the CCTV system.
IVS and its analytic technology enable a utility to set
up virtual perimeters around the fence of its substation
facility, as well as within it. Depending on bandwidth,
any number of locations can be monitored without having
to dedicate operator attention to all of the areas
simultaneously.
If a dog wanders past the perimeter, for example, the
system holds steady. If a man approaches, however, the
system detects the size and orientation immediately and
triggers an event. If the threat is deemed credible by
alerted personnel, text messages and digital snapshots
can be distributed with event details, and notification
can be sent via cell phones and other handheld devices.
While many security measures are being used to
reduce the problem of copper theft, intelligent video
delivers the right combination of real-time detection and
verified response required to provide a practical, efficient
resolution to these dangerous thefts. That is why
Arteco saw the need to educate utility executives about
how IVS helps the problem—which is increasing costs
for utility companies and ultimately the consumers—
and lead the campaign to prevent it.
Arteco has worked since late 2006 to build awareness
of the effectiveness of intelligent video in the utility
industry. In 2007, the company launched a utility outreach
program that included presentations at the ASIS
Security Conference, as well as multiple webinars
through various private and public venues to help educate
both integrators and end users to understand how
real-time video detection can be used to reduce copper
theft incidents.
In 2008, Arteco was asked to address the Security
Industry Association’s State and Local Policy Working
Group concerning the alarming increase in copper thefts
nationwide and its impact on the security industry.
Arteco also has worked with various transportation,
electrical and water utilities to install IVS as a proactive
security measure.
Although copper prices have stabilized under the current
economic climate and incidents of copper theft are
down, the issue brought to light the success of using video
analytics as a proactive security measure. What began as
a solution to the specific problem of reducing the effects
of copper theft on the utility industry has transformed into
an organizational-wide security tool that increases the
overall benefits received from video security.
A Multifaceted Solution
Utility companies now see the benefits that a real-time
detection system with video verification can have across
the corporate infrastructure. This realization comes with
the understanding that every camera that is installed
throughout the organization has a purpose. As a result,
utilities that installed IVS technology to combat copper
theft are now realizing many new benefits of intelligent
video throughout their global video security environment.
Substation security is just one piece of the puzzle
when it comes to the global security needs of major electrical
utilities. Equipment depots, vehicle storage facilities,
dam facilities and corporate headquarters are all
locations that can benefit from the same real-time detection
and alert capabilities offered by IVS technology.
Organizations also are finding that video analytics
plays a meaningful role in centralized video management
from both a personnel and network resource perspective.
These customers also are realizing that video analytics can
have a cross-departmental value for internal departments
outside of the security realm.
Managing Resources
On a personnel level, resources must be managed to
ensure that cameras are being sufficiently monitored and
security events are handled effectively in a timely matter.
No other technology increases the effectiveness of security personnel while reducing required
resources like intelligent video. First, it
alerts personnel to incidents with multiple
audible and visual signals when an
event is taking place. This allows security
operators to perform multiple tasks while
monitoring the output of the cameras. In
this way, the technology acts as a force multiplier,
allowing fewer guards to monitor
the output from many more cameras
than could be achieved with standard
video security.
Cameras also can be prioritized
based on how many events take place at
a given location over a specific period
of time. For example, events from all of
the cameras can be exported to a datamining
program for statistical purposes.
Security executives can determine
which locations have the most incidents
and when incidents are most likely to
occur and allocate their personnel
resources accordingly. They also can
use the data to track the efficiency of
their monitoring staff. Time-stamped
data logs also follow which members of
the monitoring staff acknowledged
security events and the time-lapse
between an event taking place and the
time of acknowledgement.
Deploying video analytics systems also
can help management effectively utilize
network resources. The whole concept of
intelligent video is built upon the idea that
the system alerts personnel when events
take place. This fact also is a crucial component
when it comes to reducing the
bandwidth consumption of an enterprise-wide
video security installation. Video is a
network-heavy element. Although innovation
in compression methods continues to
make video more network-efficient, these
advances can be offset because the number
of cameras installed at a location continues
to increase.
Deploying video analytics allows
utilities to reduce bandwidth consumption
by only streaming live video when
potential security events take place.
Security personnel can be signed into
multiple cameras across multiple locations
waiting for security events to
“pop” live video onto their screen to
acknowledge an event. Limiting video to
event-based streaming dramatically
reduces bandwidth consumption when
no events are taking place.
Cross-departmental Functionality
IVS technology also improves cross-departmental
functionality. For example,
field engineers who are not involved with
security but are responsible for managing
the production and output of different
facilities throughout the organization can
now have remote access to the cameras at
specific locations. These managers have
different user rights that do not allow
them to view or acknowledge security
events, but they do have access to live
video at the site to gather operational
data. Having cross-departmental relevance
helps the budgeting process and, in
many cases, can even help share the cost
of procuring video analytics technology
across multiple departments.
Intelligent video solutions are helping
electrical utilities increase overall
security by providing real-time actionable
information when events take place.
Utilities that first looked at the technology
to help fight the problem have realized
the benefits of having video
analytics installed on
an enterprise level.
This article originally appeared in the issue of .