Controlsoft delivers highly cost-effective access control for Swaziland Posts & Telecommunications Corporation.
The main responsibilities of the Swaziland Posts & Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC) are the operation, maintenance and development of postal and telecommunications services in Swaziland.
In addition to its HQ premises, the SPTC has six tele-centres across Swaziland. SGGS, a local construction company had worked successfully with the corporation in the past and was tasked with installing a modern access control solution at each of the tele-centres.
Thando Dlamini of SGGS says that the access solution was required to monitor on-site access and to restrict entry to authorised personnel.
With no existing access control in place, Dlamini says the SPTC was exposed to a variety of risks associated with unauthorised access and lacked an effective means of monitoring attendance at each tele-centre. The absence of attendance monitoring also created issues of non-compliance with health and safety standards in terms of recording details of people on site in the event of a fire or similar emergency.
Planning for the access control project was provided to SGGS by Controlsoft who recommended a solution based on Morpho J-Series fingerprint scanners linked to Ideco ES² software which is designed specifically to support the use of Morpho scanners.
Delivering low-cost access to high security
Ideco ES² is a free software package that controls up to six fingerprint scanners installed at separate access points on a single site. Further scanners can be linked to the free package for an additional licensing fee of R4664.
Hilary Dredge of Controlsoft stresses that, “Ideco ES² was the ideal solution for the SPTC as it provides – for free – the essential elements of an advanced access control solution in a package that is extremely easy to use and manage.”
Dredge points out that Ideco ES² has provided the SPTC with the proven security benefits of Morpho fingerprint scanners within an access solution that delivers outstanding value for money.
Dlamini explains that each of the six tele-centre sites has been equipped with a standalone solution running on the Ideco ES² software that controls two Morpho J-Series fingerprint scanners for each entrance door. Free-exit is managed by an interior pushbutton door controller.
Administrators at each site control and monitor time-based access and attendance via Ideco ES² running on a standard PC. Fingerprint enrolment of personnel is handled within the Ideco ES² package, providing users with a simple, step-by-step interface that requires only basic computer literacy for successful operation.
Securing user acceptance
Although SGGS had no prior experience in working with technically advanced access solutions, the level of support supplied by Controlsoft and the simplicity of the solution meant that SGGS was able to complete the project without encountering any significant obstacles during installation and commissioning.
In fact, the most challenging aspect of the installation was not technical at all but rather involved securing acceptance of the solution amongst SPTC personnel. Having no routine experience of a modern access solution, users were understandably concerned about the implications of the solution in terms of fingerprint capture and monitoring.
Dlamini says, “Once these concerns were addressed, everyone involved is now benefitting from the advantages of increased security within our workplace.”
Fact file
Sector: Telecommunications
Scale of project: Six sites across Swaziland, 300 users
Key elements: Ideco ES² free operating software, Morpho MA J-Series fingerprint scanners.
Benefits: Cost-effective access solution based on free software that delivers the security benefits of fingerprint identification.
Solution supplier: Ideco ES² free software, Morpho MA J-Series fingerprint scanners; Controlsoft, Hilary Dredge, +27 (0)11 792 2778, hilary@controlsoft.com
Installer: SGGS, Thando Dlamini, +26 876 657590
Client details
Company: Swaziland Posts & Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC)
Business sector: Telecommunications
Tel: +268 2405 2000
E-mail: admin@vti.co.sz
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