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Implats T&A contract to Saco

Reunert Group company Saco Systems has been appointed as the preferred provider of time and attendance solutions to the Impala Platinum Group.

Crowning a 15-year relationship between Impala and Saco, the relationship was cemented by the implementation of the system at Implats' Marula mine, as well as at its Zimbabwean operations. The latest contract awarded to Saco is for the replacement of the obsolete barcode readers at Implats' Rustenburg operations. The multimillion rand contract was awarded by the platinum producer against a background of its IT strategy recognising that its time and attendance system is critical to the organisation, on a par with production automation and the recently implemented SAP system.

"Impala has been using the Saco system for access control and time and attendance for a number of years. In 2005, we upgraded from the DOS version to the Windows version, which was a major project. Shortly after completion of this rollout, the SAP installation went live, and with it interfacing between the two systems. Teething problems were minimal, and the interfacing has now been stable for over a year," says Implats Group IT infrastructure manager, Annechris Sewards. "The current contract provides for the replacement of the old barcode readers with RFID technology. It is expected to take approximately eight months. The interesting thing about the project is that the biggest challenges lie not in the technical work, but in the swopping out of ID cards for over 32 000 people - without loss of clocks and hence pay. Following the successful completion of this project, Implats will start focusing on asset and people tracking."

During the past two years, the Saco system has become the de facto standard for Implats access control: it is used at all the Group's mining operations: Rustenburg, Marula (in the Eastern limb) and Zimplats. The central IT head office in Pretoria also uses the system. This is in line with the Group's stated strategy of standardising on IT-related installations. The current replacement of reader infrastructure at Rustenburg represents an investment of around R7 million, coupled with a yearly on-site support contract of approximately R1 million.

New additions

The new project includes fingerprint identification for contractors at the two processing plants. This was prompted by the need to ensure contract personnel have valid medicals and inductions, and were not brought in as substitutes on the way to work, using the absent worker's card. Authentication will be fingerprint and card - so the person's fingerprint will be written to their RFID access card.

Currently, Saco Systems' time and attendance system interfaces daily with Implats' SAP system, to provide attendance data for payment of employees; SAP in turn provides employee data to the Saco system. At Rustenburg, this includes a network of 13 active shafts, two processing plants and a services department (±27 000 employees). Additionally, there is a large number of contractors on site, hence the Saco time and attendance system services over 32 000 individuals through approximately 700 readers, 300 turnstiles and 34 clock stations.

At Marula, two shafts and one plant, accessed by around 2700 people, is being managed with the Saco system. This installation is fully interfaced with SAP. The Zimplats installation is still in its infancy, and the system is currently only being used for access control. Thus interfacing the Zimplats installation with SAP is planned for the future, when the Saco system would be used for time and attendance data recording.

Looking ahead

The RFID technology provides many opportunities for the future. For example, the system could be expanded to control vehicle access (this is currently being implemented at two sites at Rustenburg); it could be used to find people trapped underground - using handheld readers; it could also be used to limit access based on the person having the correct PPE with them.

"We believe that Saco Systems provides a robust and stable system for access control and time and attendance data," says Sewards. "However, we not only selected them for their technological prowess, it was important to Implats that Saco is a local company with the backing of such a strong industrial group, and that they offer complete solutions ranging from time and attendance to radio frequency identification and tracking. Due to the robust nature of the system, it has been possible to install the RFID technology at all new sites in Rustenburg, ahead of the barcode reader replacement project - with no ill effects on the software."

Other advantages include the ability of Saco's readers to function off line in case of system failure. Upon restoration of the connection, data is spooled through immediately and normal operation can continue without a glitch. Saco's total solutions approach means the company can supply all the hardware and software required for large time and attendance projects, and can even man clocking stations on a contract basis and train companies on the optimal use of its equipment.

Saco Systems' manager for the Impala Project, Johann van Rooyen, is confident that the current project at Impala Rustenburg is the start of the RFID revolution at Implats. "Once Implats experiences the benefits of this versatile technology, I believe it will extend it to many other spheres of its business. We are discussing options and opportunities with various role players at the Rustenburg operations, and are very excited about being involved in this evolution process."

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