May 31, 2017
Maintenance and Testing of Intrusion Detection and Alarm Systems
The Department of Energy is responsible for some of the Nation’s most complex and technologically advanced programs, including cutting edge work in basic and applied sciences, environmental cleanup, and nuclear weapons stewardship. Department Order 473.3A Protection Program Operations establishes requirements for the physical security of property and personnel at Department sites, including requirements for intrusion detection and alarm systems. These systems are intended to ensure breaches of security barriers or boundaries are detected and responded to appropriately. Maintenance and testing of these systems is vital to ensure continuous operation.
Given the critical importance of physical security at Department sites, we initiated this audit to determine whether the Department effectively and efficiently managed the maintenance and testing of intrusion detection and alarm systems at selected sites.
Nothing came to our attention to indicate that the Department had not managed the maintenance and testing of intrusion detection and alarm systems effectively and efficiently at the three sites reviewed. Generally, we found that the sites were in compliance with relevant regulations over maintenance and testing of their intrusion detection and alarm systems. However, during the course of our review, we identified several opportunities for improvement at two of the three sites we visited. Specifically, at the Hanford Site (Hanford) we found opportunities for improvement related to:
• The collection and analyses of false and nuisance alarm rates (FAR/NAR) data;
• Documentation related to corrective actions taken on failures identified during testing of system elements; and
• The certification process of security system testers.
Additionally, we found that the Pantex Plant (Pantex) could improve its maintenance close-out procedures related to security work orders. Our audit identified no reportable issues at the third site, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
We made a suggestion that the Manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office direct Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the contractor responsible for managing Pantex, to develop a formal process to ensure that all Computerized Maintenance Management System security-related work orders are closed when work is completed. Pantex officials agreed a formal process is necessary to ensure that work orders are closed out within the system when work is completed or no longer needed.
Topic: National Security & Safety