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Lowering security risks through fingerprint technology

Project scope

An estimated 1000 permanent users with several hundred visitors per day at the pilot site are currently utilising the system installed at the Central Johannesburg College of Education. Complete rollout across all the campuses would include an estimated 5000 users gaining access through biometric technology. The main campus is currently being secured with Sagem fingerprint readers at the main pedestrian entrances through one enrolment station. Four Sagem Outdoor MorphoAccess 300 readers have been installed and operate in an identification (fingerprint only) mode.

History

In September 2001, the Central Johannesburg College (CJC) was established as a result of a national strategy to restructure South Africa's educational landscape and provide greater access to education across a diverse learner population. The technical colleges were officially declared Further Education and Training Colleges by Professor Kader Asmal the minister of Education. The College's ultimate aim is to create an institution that will directly impact on the transformation of education by making it relevant and uplifting through active entrepreneurial and practical training.

The CJC comprises five former technical colleges in and around the central Johannesburg area. The Technical Colleges that merged to form CJC were Alexandra, Highveld, Johannesburg Technical College, Parktown and Eastside.

Improved campus security became of prime importance as the need to protect students, assets and data from security threats became a priority. The urgency for an integrated access control solution became particularly apparent when the high volume of people, and the numerous access points involved in gaining entry and exit into a campus, was considered. The CJC recognised that controlled access and accurate records of attendance for staff and visitors provides the basis of a more secure academic environment.

The goal

In the case of CJC, the primary objectives are to prevent unauthorised access across all five of their member campuses. The CJC also require that staff adherence to rosters at specific campuses be monitored for time and attendance and that movement between campuses is also closely recorded. In order to achieve the overall goal for a completely integrated access control and time and attendance solution across all campuses, the main campus was chosen as the pilot site.

Tenders and specifications

Subsequent to the identified need for a reliable, integrated access control solution, Brian Joseph, risk manager at CJC, met with various companies in deciding on the best physical access control solution. Potential vendors made various proposals and a tender was issued. What separated IDtek from competitors was not only the quality of the solution, but also a willingness to visit and spend time at each campus. The partner-focused approach and the intricate consultation phase enabled IDtek to recommend the ideal solution to the client based on leading biometric technology. This ensured the suitability of the proposed solution to an enterprise-wide rollout. IDtek presented surprising detail and compelling arguments for a Sagem fingerprint identification solution.

Julian Thorrold, managing director of IDtek explains: "Sagem's scalable solution can be expanded as infrastructure develops. At a later stage, once a virtual campus hub has been established with connectivity across all campuses, the relevant personnel will be able to log on and ascertain which campus a member of the teaching staff last visited, and how much time they spent at that location. Furthermore, where poor student performance becomes an issue, a time report can be drawn to ascertain student attendance."

Implementation and obstacles en route to a final solution

The ICT Learning Centre in Troyville was chosen as a pilot site. One of the main difficulties arose with visitor registration. Since the enrolment station itself comprises relatively valuable equipment it could not be left outside the gates. The solution had to allow for visitor enrolment at the point of entry. Being IP65-rated, fully water and shock resistant as well as dustproof, the Sagem Outdoor MorphoAccess 300 (OMA300) fingerprint reader was chosen as the ideal outdoor access control solution. Another requirement was for visitors to be able to obtain once-off entrance and exit onto the campus. The Sagem solution provided for an administrator at the point of entry with enrolment on the fingerprint reader itself. The system recognises a pre-selected finger as belonging to the administrator and automatically switches into enrolment mode. The visitor is then enrolled and allowed another single fingerprint match upon exit, following which all access rights are terminated. Sagem's MorphoAccess readers provide completely for fast single entry, single exit, on-the-fly enrolment and identification.

Benefits and rewards

The benefits of the Sagem fingerprint solution are significant when one also considers that each year, new students also need to be enrolled in order to enter the campus. Thorrold explains: "The whole system is scalable so that enrolment stations can be added as required. The savings on issuing cards is significant when one considers the cost of a printed proximity card and the time involved in administering a card system. Furthermore, significant numbers of students leave each year without returning their cards. On a fingerprint system there is no financial loss." The additional costs of lost, stolen or abused student access cards, as well as the breach in security due to 'card swapping' is all negated through Sagem's biometric fingerprint solution.

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