Note: For security and confidentiality reasons, the name of the client company will not be disclosed.
In an environment where energy infrastructure is constantly exposed to theft, vandalism and sabotage, a large Italian company active in the energy, water and environment sectors faced a crucial challenge: protecting its strategic assets and ensuring business continuity. With more than 10,000 employees and an extensive network of facilities across the territory, physical security was a top priority.
The Problem: Stolen copper, security at risk
In recent years, the company has had to contend with the growing phenomenon of copper theft, which has had severe operational and economic consequences: blackouts, service interruptions, damage to equipment, and increasingly high restoration costs. To complicate the picture, an unoptimized security system was generating numerous false alarms, slowing response to real events and causing wasted resources.
The challenge was clear: we needed a smarter, more effective and sustainable security strategy that could prevent threats and improve operational management efficiency.
The Needs of the Company
The company had identified some key priorities:
- Prevent copper theft to protect service continuity and reduce restoration costs.
- Protect critical infrastructurefromintrusion and sabotage.
- Reduce false alarms, optimizing costs and increasing the effectiveness of responses.
- Improve monitoring and access control by restricting entry to authorized persons only.
- Manage security more efficiently, eliminating operational waste and enhancing responsiveness to critical events.
The SSI Solution: Intelligent Security and Advanced Surveillance
To address these critical issues, the company relied on SSI, which designed and implemented an integrated solution based on:
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Intelligent Video Surveillance.
Installation of high-resolution cameras withadvanced video analytics, thermal and night vision, integrated with artificial intelligence to detect suspicious activities in real time and distinguish real threats from false alarms. -
Advanced Access Control.
System with biometric authentication and RFID badges to allow access only to authorized personnel, monitor site movement, and automate security procedures. -
Active Sensors and Alarm Systems.
Vibration and motionsensorsto detect tampering attempts, automatic audible and visual alarms, and geolocation of critical equipment to prevent theft and facilitate recovery. -
Monitoring and Rapid Intervention.
A 24/7 operations center verifiesalarms in real time, coordinates with law enforcement, and deploys surveillance drones for rapid monitoring of large areas, reducing response time.
Why SSI was the Winning Choice
The company chose SSI because of its ability to offer a comprehensive, scalable and technologically advanced solution, supported by an independent network of supervisory institutions, capable of ensuring economies of scale both economically and operationally.
This has made it possible to optimize the use of resources, improve the timeliness of interventions, and ensure a high level of safety at sustainable costs.
The Results: Improved Safety, Optimized Costs
The adoption of the new system has brought concrete benefits:
- Zero copper theft: no incidents recorded after implementation of the solution.
- Reduction of 90% of false alarms, thanks to artificial intelligence.
- Greater efficiency in security management, with better distributed resources and more targeted interventions.
- Significant cut in operating costs by reducing unnecessary interventions, less damage to be restored, and automation of many activities.
Conclusion
This case demonstrates how, in the energy sector, a proactive approach to security–based on smart technologies, continuous monitoring and centralized management–can make a difference in protecting infrastructure.
Working with SSI has enabled the company to strengthen operational resilience, prevent threats and optimize resources, transforming security from a necessary cost to a strategic lever for efficiency and service continuity.
