Everything under control: how digital station guards operate
The stability and efficiency of any economy is ensured by the proper functioning of strategic industries. These include the energy sector, which consists of networks and energy sources that are classified as highly protected industrial facilities. In the modern world, this task has become particularly relevant. However, the means for its implementation are now much more than a guard at the entrance or the VOKHR, which became history at the beginning of this century. Today, the digitalization allows these tasks to be accomplished more efficiently.
The tasks of developing its own security and facility protection system in accordance with modern requirements and standards are also being addressed by Almaty Electric Stations JSC, Kazakhstan’s largest energy holding company. The Almaty energy production complex comprises eight production facilities. These include three large thermal power plants, the Kapshagai HPP named after Sh.Chokin, the Cascade HPP, the Zapadnaya Thermal Complex, and the Fuel Reception and Unloading Centre. They all need to be safeguarded, both along the outer perimeter and in terms of internal production processes.
“As part of the state program for digitalization and improving industrial safety, based on the instructions of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the introduction of systems using artificial intelligence, AlES is implementing innovative solutions,” says Rymgali Donenbayev, Head of the Security Department at AlES JSC. “We are collaborating with TechMart, one of Kazakhstan’s leading companies in the field of security at various facilities. The company provides not only comprehensive security system equipment that allows for professional protection of energy facilities, but also enables rapid monitoring of compliance with occupational health and safety requirements, which in turn allows for rapid, even instantaneous, response to potential threats and prevention of industrial injuries and possible accidents. Video surveillance allows real-time monitoring of AlES employees’ compliance with occupational safety standards, prevention of accidents, and monitoring of the condition of work equipment and work processes in production.
When it comes to the hardware and the system itself, after analyzing the market offerings, the choice was made in favor of Trassir software with artificial intelligence functionality. Trassir is professional security system software that supports analogue and IP cameras of any resolution, as well as HDD/SSD of any capacity, allowing for the best image quality and unlimited archive size. This software is capable of recognizing even the smallest details and is compatible with IP video devices from other manufacturers.
– The system was deployed in a very short time, within three months, directly involving Security Department employees and working closely with specialists from the contracting organization. Currently, all AlES JSC facilities, including the Head Office and eight Production Departments located in the city of Almaty and the Almaty region, more than 1,200 Trassir IP video cameras have already been installed, and there are plans to expand the system by another 400 cameras, explains Rustam Galiyev, Chief Manager of the Security Department at AlES JSC. We pay special attention to complex and remote facilities. For example, the system is successfully operating at facilities located more than 100 km apart, in mountainous areas stretching over 25 km, and in conditions of complex infrastructure. It is well known that the terrain of our production facilities is diverse: there are few plains, but there are mountain slopes and water landscapes. For example, the SIGUR access control system with artificial intelligence, including turnstiles, breathalyzers and automatic employee face recognition terminals, has been integrated into the Kapshagai HPP named after Sh.Chokin in pilot mode to enhance internal security.
Experts explain that SIGUR allows you to instantaneously detect cases of alcoholic intoxication, block unauthorized access, track the location of personnel, and keep track of incoming/outgoing employees and contractors. Thanks to a central video surveillance point and a convenient graphical interface, information from SIGUR is displayed in real time, ensuring transparency and timely control.
A facial recognition system has also been integrated into the canteen of the CHPP-2 named after A.Zhakutov on a pilot basis, allowing for the automation of free meal records.
In general, the control and security system can monitor such production safety violations as the absence of PPE, such as helmets, among employees; unauthorized presence of workers in hazardous areas; unattended unidentified suspicious objects, as well as signs of possible technological violations, including such dangerous ones as fire, smoke, steam, and others. The system also monitors the location of personnel in high-risk areas.
In the coming years, between 2025 and 2026, AlES intends to develop and integrate unmanned aerial vehicles, alert systems, and operational communication systems that ensure stable communication even in difficult conditions and at hard-to-reach facilities, such as at the minus 12 mark in the boiler room of the CHPP-2 named after A.Zhakutov. In addition, it is planned to install video recorders on the company’s motor vehicles, including specialized equipment.
This decision is the primary proactive tool for preventing accidents, occupational injuries, and improving occupational safety. We have already seen the effectiveness of the system. In a short period of time, thanks to continuous monitoring, more than 100 violations have been identified. These include non-compliance with safety requirements in the workplace, lack of necessary personal protective equipment, violation of work and rest schedules, lack of training and instruction on occupational safety, improper organization of workplaces, and failure to comply with safety instructions and rules, said Karim Sartayev, Head of the Industrial Safety and Occupational Health Department at AlES JSC, summarizing the initial results. I think it is important to understand the overall situation with regard to compliance with safety regulations, not only from the point of view of reprimanding or punishing employees, but also in order to develop and reinforce established habits and, to a greater extent, to improve the safety of the entire production process. We have set ourselves the task of achieving 100% compliance with safety rules and reducing the level of industrial injuries to zero.
In this way, AlES JSC will not only raise the level of its own safety and digitalization of production processes, but also contribute to improving the efficiency of Kazakhstan’s energy facilities.
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