A BSIA member has supplied a time and attendance and integrated security system to major electricity generator EDF. The system comprised smartcard visitor management, time and attendance and access control including automatic door monitoring and fire roll call monitoring. Further physical access control comprising two turnstiles, a sliding gate and five traffic barriers have also been added. The integrated security system now covers the entire site and comprises hundreds of pieces of hardware and the latest security software.
EDF is a major generator of electricity within the UK, using both traditional power stations and wind generation. The two power stations at Cottam and West Burton are both 2000 MW coal-fired power stations with a combined production capacity of up to 10% of the UK market. The total area of the sites extends over 800 acres on the west bank of the River Trent. They are manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Business services manager, Bob Kilford, wanted to install an automatic employee and contractor emergency roll call reporting system. He also wanted the same system to perform employee time recording for the 1000 plus staff. It was essential this system met the requirements of the European Working Time Directive.
He reviewed systems and equipment from three companies and chose a BSIA company because of the flexibility and ease-of-use of the smartcards and software. “The quick set-up allowed an easy and fast way to account for all members of permanent staff, contractors and visitors”, he said.
An Ethernet smartcard based time and attendance and integrated security system was installed in Cottam power station. This comprised smartcard visitor management, time and attendance and access control including automatic door monitoring and fire roll call monitoring. Further physical access control comprising two turnstiles, a sliding gate and five traffic barriers were added. The integrated security system now covers the entire site and comprises hundreds of pieces of hardware and the latest security software. At West Burton a similar system was installed. This site is now incorporated within the same integrated security system that covers Cottam.
Six staff were originally trained in the use of the integrated security system. “Training was excellent covering installation and all aspects and software,” explained Keith Cuckson, new Business Services Manager. “We use the system to its full capability, linking cardholders’ personnel records from the personnel system so that those wanting to gain access to the site have relevant health and safety and training courses recorded and subsequently checked to ensure they are still in date.”
What Cuckson likes most about the system is the ease-of-use to set up new employee profiles, working patterns and configuring the system to his site structure. EDF also uses the BSIA supplier’s personnel software. “The good thing about the system is the report generator as it allows us to generate our own customised reports,” he said. EDF described the BSIA member’s helpdesk as, “very good, staff are knowledgeable and have resolved the issues quickly” and the operations and maintenance department was described as “very professional”. They said they would continue to expand the system with additional clocks and smart card readers controlling access to areas around their sites.
Cuckson appreciated “The ease of seeing who is on site and where they are” and he said he “would readily recommend the BSIA company to other businesses”. In conclusion Keith said, “The system has been working well, the hardware and software stands up really well. The BSIA company who installed the system offer good quality with a reliable service. We have very few problems with the system.”
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