Security for auto industry giant in Poland

A high level of security is an absolute requirement for Troy, Michigan-based Delphi, one of the world’s largest producers of automotive technology, with over 160,000 employees in 41 countries. Its customers demand complete secrecy because today’s components and production methods will be the foundation of their competitive edge tomorrow.

Delphi’s Technical Center Krakow (TCK) in Poland, one of the company’s 33 such centers worldwide, specializes in design of high-tech electronics, electrical architecture, exhaust systems and suspension. More than 800 engineers work here and the center has been among top technical centers in Europe – also with security to match.

Security from the ground up

Securitas, which secures all 31 Delphi sites in the U.S., and has been working with Delphi in Poland since 1993, began working on security issues at Krakow even before the center was built. The result was a total security concept, combining a mix of know-how, technology and people into one comprehensive solution.

“It was the combination of technical solutions and well-trained guards at a fair price that determined our choice,” says Andrzej Orlowski, currently Administration Director of the Tech Center in Krakow, previously responsible for manager of corporate security in Central and Eastern Europe.

Multi-layered security

As at other sites, the first step was to restrict access by fencing it in and to funnel employees and visitors through a single, guarded entrance. Everyone entering has to be checked and cleared by Securitas security officers stationed at a security services center at the entrance. Visitors are given temporary badges and wait for an escort – they are not allowed to move around the facility without one. To reduce the risk of theft of industrial secrets – parts, pieces of parts or data – everyone leaving is checked once again.

The security officers also x-ray all incoming mail and monitor video screens hooked up to cameras in and around the building.
 
Even the garbage is scrutinized. Grzegorz Burgberger, Regional Director for Securitas southern Poland, explains that this is important for two reasons: “Automobile components or pieces of components that would reveal industrial secrets could be in the garbage. Also, the waste could contain environmentally harmful substances.”

The building itself is divided into high-security and low-security zones. Around the reception, in the cafeteria and in the corridors it’s low-level security. Sensitive activities are protected by locked doors. Opening them requires a personal access card that is checked by an electronic card reader. Every passage is logged and can be examined later.

Special security arrangements

From time to time, special arrangements are also needed to raise security to an even higher level. When a car maker wants to carry out tests of a secret new model, part of the laboratory is screened off from the rest with big, white screens. Only the few technicians who were directly involved have access. The security plan also calls for moving the car between the truck and the laboratory at night to minimize the risk that of it being seen by unauthorized people. The car itself is further protected by layers of black rubber and other materials to make it impossible to identify. All of these steps are planned and carried out together with the Securitas staff.

Cooperation between Securitas and Delphi at Krakow has been successful and Delphi has been extending it to other sites in Central and Eastern Europe. “Today when we arrive at a new site, we don’t have to discuss what needs to be done – only how and when,” Orlowski says. “Our roles are clear. Securitas is the expert in security. Their job is to do whatever is necessary to maintain the high level of vigilance we need for our activities.
“The secrets belong to our customers, like Fiat, BMW and Mercedes. It's their intellectual capital that we must protect. But how to do it best? That's Securitas' business.”

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