A targeted critical infrastructure security design review integrated risk-based security controls into the design of a critical power infrastructure building within a major hospital expansion.
THE CHALLENGE
A major public hospital expansion included a new building housing high voltage infrastructure, a critical part of the hospital’s power distribution system. The design and construction team needed a focused security assessment of this building to make sure its protection was consistent with the security threat and risk assessment already prepared for the wider project. The review had to be completed from drawings and documentation alone, without site visits. It needed to identify threats specific to the building and produce practical security controls that could be integrated into the existing engineering and architectural plans rather than added after construction.
OUR APPROACH
Agilient delivered a remote security review as a variation to its work on the wider project. It began with a stakeholder engagement session with key project personnel to clarify objectives, confirm design parameters and establish the operational context of the building. Agilient then completed a criticality assessment, consistent with AS ISO 31000:2018, to evaluate the operational impact of a security incident affecting the building. This informed a review of threats relevant to critical infrastructure, including sabotage, unauthorised access and environmental factors that could affect the building’s operation. Working from the architectural and engineering documentation, Agilient developed tailored recommendations covering electronic access control, CCTV coverage, perimeter fencing, security lighting and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles. Each recommendation was framed with practical implementation in mind, so that it suited the building’s technical requirements and the construction timeline. Recommendations were marked up in collaboration with the project’s electrical engineer so they sat within the design itself.
THE OUTCOME
The project team received a risk-informed security strategy for the hospital’s critical power infrastructure, aligned with the wider project’s security framework.
- A criticality assessment and threat review specific to the high voltage infrastructure building
- Security control recommendations for access control, CCTV, fencing, lighting and CPTED
- Design mark-ups prepared with the project’s electrical engineer, reducing the risk of retrofitting controls later
Related services: security risk assessment consultants, physical security consultant, critical infrastructure security consultant. Sector experience: healthcare security consultants and utilities security consultants. To discuss a similar project, contact Agilient.