Building your own path

By: Duván Chaverra A.

It was October 19, 2009. I arrived at the airport in Quito, Ecuador, at about eight o'clock at night after flying very close over some buildings before the always risky landing that the planes must execute there, all due to the proximity between the runway and a residential sector of the city.

I was there for a reason. The integrating company of security systems of that country called Siaproci invited us to learn about some of the most important security projects it has carried out in the South American country and also to speak personally with the partners of a company that was born in 1996, after the union of three experts in the industry who played it to look for a position within the medium.

In a five-day trip we had the opportunity to talk and visit some of the companies that requested the services of Siaproci, recognized locally and which is already looking towards new markets in neighboring countries such as Colombia and especially Peru, where they see great business opportunities.

The engineer Patricio Fustillos, commercial manager, and Gabriela Niama, who also works in the same department of the company, were the people in charge of Ensuring that Security Sales verified with their own eyes the projects they had carried out.

First stop
It was just beginning the morning, when from Quito we left for the city of Esmeraldas, located in the southeast of the country and bordering the Pacific Ocean. A journey by land that takes a little more than four hours. There began our tour, more precisely at the Balao Maritime Terminal, one of the most important oil sites in the country, which is responsible for receiving the precious fuel from the entire nation and exporting it to other countries.

In that place, Siaproci was in charge of installing the safety system, in addition to a tank monitoring system, which is responsible for supervising all the movement made by the valves when they come into operation.

We spoke with those in charge of the project, who told us what it was about and what were the reasons why Siaproci had won the contest to be in charge of the integrations.

We had the opportunity to speak with the superintendent of the plant, Captain Mario Marín; with the O.P.I.P, Captain José Novoa; and with the maintenance technician, Dani Mestanza, the visible heads of the Terminal.

In the first instance, Captain Marin spoke about the primary objectives of the town. A total of 37 cameras protect the different areas of the terminal and also have another function: to supervise the different operations that are carried out there.

"The security system has two objectives, one that is in charge of maritime protection and support, and our duty is to ensure that all the logistical support demanded by the tankers that come to the terminal are safe. The other system is the one that ensures our operations efficiently, our basic operation is to receive crude oil and deliver it for export or to a refinery, and for that we have a CCTV control."

That operating system will be reinforced by six other cameras, which will be installed in the tank area in order to facilitate the controls that are executed in that place.

"It is an integration with our control systems, based on wireless communications, the idea is that the video part becomes a backup to the operation, so that the failure of the equipment in the field is less and you can act much faster. In the tank area we have six cameras and we are going to implement another six, and so we would have all our systems covered. This is planned to start developing in the first half of 2010," explained Dani Mestanza.

In the same way, José Novoa gave a brief explanation of the studies and the decision to select Siaproci as the one in charge of carrying out the installation of the operational and safety equipment: "We did a market research with the available equipment, in the contest the company that offered the best quality with the equipment was selected. We carried out the risk assessment, and Siaproci won, which has operated the equipment for us to comply with the ISPS code."

It is worth mentioning that the ISPS is the international code for the security of ships and port facilities, a requirement that these companies must meet.

Dani Mestanza accompanied us to take a tour, initially through the control room of all the Pelco and Lenel security cameras and in the place where the recording equipment is installed, and then the intention was to know each of the storage tanks, in addition to the lighthouse that monitors the oil tankers from a considerable distance, thanks to a long-range Bosch camera.

Inside the control room you can see each of the follow-ups carried out by the operators during the eight hours of work. They are supported by two 40-inch monitors and a desktop monitor, with which you can control each of the cameras.

At Petroindustrial State Refinery
Petroindustrial is a subsidiary of Petroecuador. Its main work is in the refining and production of crude oil derivatives. Petroindustrial has three main refineries and a corporate building, two of them and the parent building with the Lenel integration system installed by Siaproci. A Refinery in Emerald, which is in a process of analysis on the basic needs of installing a modern security system, because the one currently installed, according to them, is obsolete.

Siaproci is also working and developing a strategic plan for this place, in which it intends to modernize all areas, with security cameras and access controls. Petroindustrial's idea is to integrate all its plants (Libertad Refinery, Shushufinid Industrial Complex and the central building) into a single system, which would be controlled from the corporate building.

Within the facilities in Esmeraldas we spoke with Napoleón Córdoba, Head of Systems of the site, who deepened us a little more about it, and initially spoke about the needs that exist within the facilities.

"We have projects that are going to be complementary. In the case of Refinería Esmeraldas we think of a solution that requires technology. The purpose is to establish the necessary links to have a more global vision that allows it to give the refinery a solution according to the needs, provide all the security and cover the requirements that Petroindustrial has".

On the operating system they have at the moment, Napoleon indicated that "the current solution does not cover all the needs, it is somewhat obsolete, it is not so flexible, it is not easy to integrate it with the other solutions that are in Libertad, Shushufinid and in the parent building, and what we are thinking of is an improved project and with the incorporation of state-of-the-art technology. We are aware that the authorities want to have national control, that is where the project points: to cover the needs of the refinery and give it the necessary tools."

To date, the project was under review with the different companies, including Siaproci, which was in charge of installing its systems in the other two companies mentioned apart from the Esmeraldas State Refinery, and is in the process of analysis.

"The lock in all cases is high security, has five internal cylinders, one of them is to prevent its forced opening with cards or similar cards, another performs the functions of an inserted magnetic contact, so that if the door is not completely closed an audible alarm is activated. Another pistillo is activated internally by the guest to increase their safety inside the room. The two additional ones are the traditional insurance pistillos, which are automatically placed after an opening time has passed," explained Patricio Fustillos.

We also visited the Petroindustrial Corporate Building where we met engineer Nancy Guzman, systems manager, who among her comments highlighted that one of the reasons why they had selected Siaproci was because of the equipment they marketed.

In conclusion, this was an enriching experience, and we hope that for our readers it has also been useful to know a little more about the continuous movement of an integrating company.

BOX
Siaproci, a growing company
Siaproci is an integrating company of security and electrical systems that was born in 1996 thanks to the association of three industry experts: Patricio Fustillos, commercial manager; Diego Ruíz, technical manager, and Santiago León, financial manager, who today manage a company that has around 50 employees.

"We are dedicated to the part of electrical installations and electronic security. We have good alliances with companies such as Lenel and Bosch, and in the hotel sector with Adel locks, which has allowed us to enter strongly into the Ecuadorian security industry, where we are specializing, and we have state-of-the-art technology, which is what distinguishes us from the competition. We are always trying to have new products and offer the customer new technologies," explained Santiago León.

For the next five years, Siaproci aims to enter other international markets, especially in neighboring countries such as Colombia and Peru, where it expects to make a presence and take advantage of the good performance that both nations are registering in the industry.

"Our vision is to reach international markets such as Colombia and Peru and we are preparing to reach those countries, and for now we are working to achieve ISO standards and thus achieve it. This year we have had a profound change and we are implementing many processes in each department to improve in order to project ourselves in the next five years and enter the market, especially in Peru, where we have many possibilities, due to the great demand that these products have there, "said the financial manager of the Ecuadorian company.

The company, which has a tendency to offer IP technology, said that its added value is based on the quality of the human team and the permanent accompaniment to the client: "The added value is the people we have in our team, who are professional, qualified and with whom we try to have a very friendly treatment with the client. Not only do we seek to be a company that will install, do its job and ready, we try to provide technical advice, after-sales services and a complete maintenance service, "concluded Santiago León.