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Securing Africa's oil and gas resources

Turnstiles provide threefold access solution at Total Oil & Gas facilities in Cameroon.

Total Oil & Gas Cameroon, one of West Africa’s largest oil and gas producers, required an upgrade of its overall plant security. A secondary goal was to replace the existing time and attendance configuration with a state-of-the-art monitoring system.

Total’s operations are constantly influenced by a number of risks. Firstly, there is always an ever growing risk of terrorism, either by international terrorist organisations or local rebel factions who may wish to destabilise the oil supply and the revenues of the government. Secondly, employee safety is always of prime concern. Thirdly, time and attendance fraud is a cost that any organisation must control and minimise.

Turnstar Systems, established in 1990, is Africa’s largest manufacturer of turnstiles and vehicle barriers. Turnstar’s products are exported worldwide and were the logical choice for Total Oil & Gas when it came to the company’s security upgrade.

Turnstar turnstiles were manufactured and installed at various pedestrian entrances around the Total compound. The Triumph 3 full height double turnstile was chosen for staff entry due to the need for a high level of security and a robust turnstile solution. The turnstile was supplied with a hot dip galvanised finish due to the severe environmental conditions, such as high levels of heat, humidity and moisture. The Triumph 3 is fitted with both the Turnstar ROTALOK rotation locking mechanism and the ROTARUN perpetual base bearing which are guaranteed for a period of five years and are designed to provide maintenance free operation. Industrial plastics are incorporated into the turnstile mechanism due to their self-lubricating characteristics and wearing parts are all case hardened to superior longevity.

The Trident waist-height turnstile was chosen for the reception area of the premises. The turnstile is designed with industrial applications in mind. It is reliable and is not only fitted with the Turnstar ROTALOK rotation locking mechanism, but also with the Turnstar ROTASLO hydraulic damper system which ensure ultra-quiet operation. The turnstile is often installed in reception areas and quiet operation is of prime importance. The turnstiles were manufactured from powder coated 304 grade stainless steel due to the severe environmental conditions.

The Traffic Master vehicle barrier was selected to control vehicular access. It is a heavy-duty industrial vehicle barrier and is designed to operate in extremely harsh environmental conditions. The cabinet of the vehicle barrier is manufactured from powder coated 3Cr12 stainless steel.

Turnstar also manufactured special proximity card reader columns for the seamless mounting and integration of the proximity card system with the Traffic Master vehicle barriers.

The products were sent to Cameroon by airfreight and the installation was carried out by Servitel. The installation and commissioning was carried out over a period of two months.

Servitel Intelec, established in 1982, is West Africa’s leading supplier of communication technology, including voice, data and video, and security. Servitel has an indirect sales presence in over 16 West African countries and currently services over 500 clients. Servitel’s head office is in Douala, Cameroon and currently employs 60 staff, 20 of which are experts in the electronics field. Technology products supported by Servitel include Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco Systems.

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