FUELING INNOVATION

Sep 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By KATE HENRY

Imagine sitting in front of a toasty fire during the winter — because there is no oil to heat your home. Going to work is impossible because there is no gasoline to fuel a car, bus or train. The store has no firewood or food because there was no diesel for the trucks — all for lack of importing, refining, distributing and selling of the black gold that fuels the American way of life.

Try to be thankful for your creature comforts, and thank Robert Moraca, CPP — director of security for Sunoco Inc., Philadelphia, and the 2002 Security Director of the Year — for doing his job exceedingly well. Years before “critical infrastructure protection” became post-Sept. 11 buzzwords, Moraca began working to ensure that the assets, processes and personnel of Sunoco, one of the largest independent oil refiners and marketers in the United States, would remain secure.

AHEAD OF THE CURVE

America's dependence on crude oil is not a new concept. Just ask those who waited for hours in gas lines during the 1970s, or witnessed the first oil war in the Persian Gulf. A year ago this month, the unthinkable transformation of a commercial airliner into a flying bomb motivated many Americans to reconsider the vulnerability of our nation's infrastructure, particularly when it comes to oil.

Securing Sunoco's stake in that infrastructure is the purview of Moraca, who has been with the company for 12 years, first as a security representative (or regional security manager), and for the past three years as director of security with national oversight of the security function. His company is a diverse group of business units in 21 east coast and Midwestern states, including four major oil refineries, numerous petrochemical plants, fuel terminals, tankers, thousands of miles of pipeline, urban high rises and more than 4,000 retail outlets.

Thanks in part to Moraca's strategic security plan, Sept. 11 did not leave Sunoco scrambling for recourse as it did many other companies, says Carolyn Green, Sunoco vice president of health, environment and safety. As she talked with her peers following the terrorist attacks, Green says, “it became more and more apparent how far ahead of the game Sunoco was. Bob has always maintained close ties to local, national and international security resources, and his ability to cut through the rumor mill in those critical first days was invaluable.” More importantly, she adds, “his knowledge of law enforcement, facility security and the intelligence community has allowed us to identify key strategic issues that will be critical to the survival of our company in the event of a future occurrence.” Sunoco security is under the wing of Green's division and part of the shared services division, making it available to the entire company.

Moraca explains that he and his team of 17 key managers began planning for a terrorism-related catastrophe several years ago. “We were early charter members of an FBI program called Infraguard, which looks at cyber-infrastructure where those with ill intent might attack,” he says. “We had begun working with another federal agency, the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC), and we had begun some risk assessment for the American Chemical Council. We already had the contacts in place, and it paid off.”

Regional security representative Diego Castellanos says Moraca has turned up the intensity since the attacks, while keeping the team focused and not losing sight of the big picture. “He maintained open lines of communication with Federal agencies and taught the security group to respond to legitimate threats instead of wasting resources,” Castellanos says. “Individuals who put forth extra effort were recognized with awards, which went a long way toward improving morale at a time when everyone was putting in long hours.”

Commitment to professional education, emphasis on strategy and a knack for acknowledging people in meaningful ways are hallmarks of Moraca's managerial style, and a reflection of lessons learned and pitfalls avoided during 12 years of previous law enforcement in New Jersey, his home state.

“I came of age in the post-Vietnam era when they changed the ‘adult’ age from 21 to 18, figuring if you're old enough to die for your country, you're old enough for other privileges,” Moraca says. While enrolled in an undergraduate criminal justice administration program, he took civil service tests while aspiring to join his local police force. He scored so well on the exams that at 19, he became one of the youngest police officers ever hired in New Jersey.

With a bachelor's degree to his credit, Moraca earned numerous promotions over the course of a decade, and ultimately rose to the rank of acting sergeant. He says he eventually realized the inherent limitations of the “quasi-military” command structure. “If my lieutenant was 32 years old, for instance, and not going anywhere any time soon, there would be no way to rise up,” he says. “There are no ‘lateral transfers’ in that sort of environment.”

The diverse challenges of the private sector beckoned, and Moraca heeded the call. He graduated from the MBA program in criminal justice administration and management at Saint Joseph's University and began his private-sector career at the financial crimes investigations unit of Mellon Bank. He soon joined Sunoco, which Moraca says presented the opportunity to learn all aspects of private security, from the investigative, procedural, legal and technological to personnel management.

A far cry from the rigidity of law enforcement bureaus, there is no such thing as a typical day for Moraca at work. “Something I love about the job is no two days are the same, and I believe my team would say the same — the challenges are constantly changing.”

His team includes regional security representatives whose responsibilities are a microcosmic of Moraca's duties on the national scale. The representatives oversee all business assets in a given region — perhaps including a chemical plant, a refinery, fuel terminals, pipelines and numerous retail stores.

Help comes from a security/emergency response supervisor at each refinery, emergency response brigades and from the central monitoring facility, which is supervised by Frank Farnese. “Bob hires, trains and promotes the right people, but he will also drop everything to attend to issues if need be,” Farnese says. “He doesn't want to be surprised by the good or blindsided by the bad. He wants to hear it from you — not on the 6 o'clock news — and we respect that.”

“When the phone rings, you don't know what's around the corner,” Moraca says, “and we have to continuously provide both our internal and external customers with top-notch service so they can run the business.”

Moraca adds that he missed the customer service orientation in law enforcement classes: “I used to jokingly ask, ‘Where's the customer complaint department?’”

PEARLS OF WISDOM: MORACA-ISMS

Moraca's staff tackles multi-tasking with flexibility and gusto, and with respect for good-natured leadership. Looking out for his team's professional and personal well-being is another unique aspect of Moraca's style. He says his team has nicknamed his pearls of wisdom “Moraca-isms.”

Moraca-ism No. 1: “Don't be a square peg in a round hole.”

Moraca tells his team that if something doesn't fit, that's OK — “onward and upward, the world is your oyster, and have at it. I learned early on that you've got to like what you're doing,” he says. “My first detective sergeant told me if you want to be a successful investigator, no matter who you're talking to, you have to strip yourself of an initial emotional reaction — a child or narcotics abuser, for instance — and realize they are a human being.”

Says Farnese: “Bob is an outstanding people person and goes above and beyond as a supervisor, because he's genuinely concerned about people — he realizes we all have families and problems outside work.” Citing a difficult situation within his own family, Farnese says Moraca went out of his way to inquire about his family's well-being and to lend support. “That means a lot in today's world where a lot of people could care less about what's going on in your life — other than what you can do for them.” Farnese adds that Moraca takes the time to get to know the members of his extended team, often getting staff members promoted or transferred, and saying his proudest moment would be to one day report to someone who once reported to him. “Not many people are big enough to say that,” Farnese says. “But he genuinely takes pride in helping people's careers and growth.”

Farnese says that Moraca's people skills are equally effective when interacting with Sunoco's executive management. “It's clear when we're all in a meeting that they respect him and lend their ear to his authority. It makes me feel secure as an employee and as a member of the team, knowing he will work to ensure we have the tools we need to do our jobs better.”

Above all else, Moraca is candid. He acknowledges the temptation to over-manage is a pitfall he's had to overcome, adding that perhaps his bureaucratic background stayed with him a bit longer than he would have liked. “At the senior level, you'll burn yourself out very quickly if you try to stay hands-on with everything, so you have to give responsibility to others,” he says. “I've learned to let go and trust the people who work for me, which I do emphatically. I have the team write self-evaluations and ask their customers for feedback. It's very interesting to hear what others perceive as their own strengths and weaknesses,” he says. “We all have to be on board with the polices, procedures, discipline and integrity, but we also have to be flexible in order to improve.”

“Bob keeps our field security managers up-to-date on the latest intelligence, but he doesn't tell them how to do their jobs,” Green says. “Bob knows what the issues are, and he makes sure his people are providing quick, thorough assistance — whether it's investigating an incident, coordinating with local or state law enforcement officials, or troubleshooting faulty equipment. Ultimately, they know he and his staff will be there when needed.”

Moraca-ism No. 2: “Think globally, act locally.”

Moraca concedes the statement came from a ubiquitous bumper sticker. “It's a simple concept,” he says, “but that's how the best teamwork is done. Team members around the country know what's best for their areas — they have the local contacts, for instance. Coming up the ranks you learn what to do and what not to do, and I know we're only as strong as our weakest link. I bring certain strengths to the table, so we don't need seven other Bob Moracas. We need people of different ages, cultures and backgrounds to aid a continuous improvement process. You can't overemphasize the value of diversity in today's workplace — I'm proud to say I have a very diverse group, and I think that's across the board at Sunoco.”

Continuous improvement characterizes Moraca's professional and personal ethics, and he approaches both goals with a three to five year approach. “The post-Sept. 11 challenges at Sunoco demand an asset protection program for what I consider to be a new world for security, and that will take time,” he says. “You don't want to be in a reactive mode — you need to think ahead to what could and then what should happen next.”

FUELING INNOVATION

As security director, Moraca's technological innovations have been broad and innovative, Castellanos says. Moraca has ordered updated security audits to be completed at every chemical plant, implemented a new employee ID card access system for the company, upgraded approximately 100 facilities to digital video monitoring and enhanced the company's digital interactive remote intervention system (IRIS) and the central monitoring facility in Philadelphia.

IRIS exists in more than 600 of Sunoco's company-operated convenience stores nationwide, and is available to franchisees as well. It is comprised of a two-way speaker system supported by surveillance cameras, which store employees can activate when intervention is required, and which operators in Philadelphia regularly activate to check in with personnel around the country in real-time. “It takes risk away from the cashier who is alone at 2 a.m., and enables our monitoring personnel to talk directly to suspicious people,” Moraca explains. “We've had great success thwarting criminal activities and providing law enforcement with digital incident documentation.” Moraca adds that the system exists in other key business unit locations.

Green says the system has enhanced Sunoco's reputation in convenience store safety and that store employees frequently praise Moraca and his staff for their expertise and friendly attitude.

“What impresses me is how much hands-on technological savvy Bob has, given everything on his plate,” Farnese says.

Knowledge is, after all, what set Moraca on his chosen path. His credits are many and distinguished: a bachelor's degree in criminal justice administration and an M.B.A. in criminal justice administration and management and a guest lecturer at Saint Joseph's and Villanova Universities. His past work with ASIS includes being a seminar instructor for investigations workshops and chairman of the investigations committee, and as a member of its standing committee on investigations. He is a certified fraud examiner (CFE) and a certified protection professional (CPP) and currently serves on the American Chemical Council's security subcommittee.

When Moraca is not working to secure America's critical infrastructure, he says the time he and his wife spend helping their two teenagers grow is the most joyful use of his leisure time. He is active in parent activities at his childrens' schools and within his church. He admits a little swimming and golf have never hurt him.

And though he acknowledges that it may not sound like fun to some, his security industry work outside of Sunoco is also a great passion. In the future he would like to write some articles or books about his experience, and he says years from now, after retiring from the private industry, it would be interesting to lend a business and customer service approach to a chief of police position.

Luckily for us oil-dependent Americans, Moraca's work at Sunoco is far from done, and the town where he will finally institute that customer complaint department will just have to wait.

FOR THE RECORD

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate Henry is an Annapolis, Md.-based writer and regular contributor to Access Control & Security Systems.

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