The Supreme Authority for Industrial Security (SAIS), formerly known as HCIS, is the national regulatory authority responsible for establishing the policies, plans, and procedures required to protect petroleum, industrial, and critical facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Its mandate covers industrial security, safety, fire protection, and chemical materials management. These responsibilities form part of a wider national framework designed to safeguard national security, the national economy, the environment, and the continuity of operations and production in critical facilities under different conditions.
This is the proper starting point for understanding SAIS.
SAIS is not simply an authority that reviews drawings, issues approvals, or grants operational certificates. These activities are part of its work, but they do not define the full purpose of its existence.
The role of SAIS is to create and maintain a structured industrial security framework for facilities whose failure, disruption, misuse, or inadequate protection may have consequences beyond the facility itself.
Its responsibilities include:
Regulatory policies and requirements;
Supervision of regulated facilities;
Licensing of security, safety, and fire protection activities;
Coordination between facilities and government entities;
Approvals related to relevant personnel;
Governance, compliance, inspection, and investigation.
Seen together, these responsibilities show that SAIS is not built around a single approval process.
It is built around governance.
The purpose is to ensure that critical facilities are protected through a unified framework that connects regulation, compliance, operational readiness, inspection, accountability, and national coordination.
This is why SAIS has a central role in the protection of sensitive and strategic facilities. Its work supports the security and operational efficiency of regulated facilities, reinforces compliance with applicable national and international standards, and contributes to a safer and more stable investment environment in the Kingdom.
The importance of this role has also increased with Saudi Arabia’s strategic transformation under Vision 2030. Industrial security is no longer limited to guarding facilities or installing security systems. It is part of national resilience, infrastructure protection, business continuity, and sustainable economic development.
Understanding SAIS, therefore, requires looking beyond the name of the authority.
It requires understanding the national interests behind its mandate.
SAIS exists because some facilities are too important to be treated as ordinary assets. Their protection is connected to national security, economic continuity, environmental protection, and the stability of essential operations.
This is the foundation upon which the rest of the SAIS framework is built.
At Saudi Ansary Security Consultancy LLC (SASECON), we maintain a valid SAIS Security Consulting Qualification and support industrial and critical infrastructure projects through a qualified team of consultants and engineers experienced in security studies, security engineering, SAIS / HCIS regulatory compliance, project qualification, and operational readiness requirements.
In Part 2 of this series, we will examine why SAIS regulates certain projects while others remain outside its regulatory jurisdiction.
