The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program, administered by TSA's Chemical Security Inspection Division, requires Tier 1-4 chemical facilities to implement security measures commensurate with their risk tier. For Tier 1 and 2 facilities — those with the highest potential consequences from a terrorist attack — the physical security requirements include documented patrol programs that most facilities meet through contract guard services.
What CFATS Requires for Physical Security
CFATS Site Security Plans must address specific security measures including: perimeter security and access control, patrol and inspection protocols, detection and surveillance capabilities, and response capabilities. The specific measures vary by tier and are negotiated between the facility and TSA through the Site Security Plan (SSP) process. But the common thread is documentation: patrol rounds must be logged, access events must be recorded, and the security program must be auditable.
This documentation requirement is where human guard programs struggle. A guard who walks a route with a clipboard produces paper logs of variable quality and completeness. A guard who skips a section of the route — which happens in every human patrol program — produces a gap in the documentation without flagging it. CFATS auditors review these records, and inconsistencies raise questions.
What Ghost Robotics Vision 60 Provides
The Ghost Robotics Vision 60 produces GPS-tracked, timestamped patrol logs for every mission. The data doesn't depend on a guard's diligence or documentation habits. Every patrol route is logged with precise location data, timestamps, and video evidence of the route completion. This is exactly the kind of audit trail CFATS documentation requires.
Beyond documentation quality, robotic patrol dramatically exceeds what human guard programs can deliver on patrol frequency. Studies cited by Asylon Robotics show 400% more patrols per shift vs. human guard equivalents. For facilities that need to demonstrate continuous perimeter monitoring, robotic patrol provides a documentation record that is substantially stronger than anything a guard program produces.
Implementation for CFATS Sites
CFATS facilities considering robotic security should notify their TSA Chemical Security Inspector before deployment to discuss how the robotic patrol program fits within the approved SSP. In most cases, robotic patrol supplements rather than replaces the human security elements required by the SSP. The patrol documentation then becomes a key part of the SSP compliance record going forward.
Actel Robotics has experience deploying security robotics at regulated industrial facilities in the Gulf Coast corridor. We can provide documentation templates and implementation guidance for CFATS-regulated deployments. Contact us to discuss your facility's specific requirements.