Patent ID: 8132225

Claim:
A system for modifying security policy in a factory floor, the system comprising: a processor; a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory having stored therein computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform: associating a factory floor security policy with a plurality of devices on the factory floor, wherein the plurality of devices and the security policy are associated with a hierarchically structured data model of the factory floor; receiving a request to disable an alarm of a first device located on a factory floor for at least one of testing, debugging and maintenance; verifying the request to disable the alarm based on at least one of device location, time, date, and the security policy; determining a security zone related to the request by querying the hierarchically structured data model, wherein the security zone includes a second device located on the factory floor interacting with the first at device during a manufacturing operation based on the hierarchically structured data model; disabling the factory floor security policy to the security zone, including disabling the alarm of the first device and disabling a second alarm associated with the second device, while applying the factory floor security policy to other areas within the factory floor; and reinstituting the factory floor security policy to the security zone upon completion the at least one of testing, debugging and maintenance.