Three of SA's leading suppliers of access control and T&A products are joining forces to demonstrate the power of biometric security systems and the benefits they are delivering to the mining industry.
According to a recent article in Mining magazine published by the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, theft from mines is costing the local industry some R1,8 billion a year. Clocking fraud and theft of property are identified as the causes of these staggering losses. Looked at from the perspective of the South African access control and T&A industry, the losses themselves are perhaps not as astonishing as the fact that there are tried-and-tested systems readily available to eliminate clocking fraud and provide 100% validation for pedestrian access. So what is the problem?
Mark Eardley, marketing manager of Turnstar, believes that the access control industry must greatly improve communications with its markets. In his opinion: "South African mines are hardly likely to be satisfied with these levels of theft. But is our own industry doing enough to provide accurate and appropriate information on how we can help?" He believes that one answer lies in presenting combined solutions in a manner that allows customers to experience them first-hand and to encourage on-site trials before the customer commits to purchase.
The ability to experience and trial highly secure access solutions will therefore be central to Turnstar's presence at Electra Mining, from 11 to 16 September at the Expo Centre, Nasrec. Turnstar will be joined by fellow ACE partners, the Ideco Group, distributors of SAGEM fingerprint readers and Blick, provider of complete access control and T&A solutions. Together, they will focus on how the power of biometrics can be leveraged to create levels of security far beyond traditional card-based systems.
On display will be the Tribune Maximum Security Turnstile, a new generation of turnstile intended specifically for use with biometric ID systems. The Tribune will be fitted with a Sagem MorphoAccess fingerprint reader and will be linked to the BlueLine T&A operating platform from Blick. The system will be live and visitors can experience the full solution for themselves. Eardley says that visitors will be actively encouraged to enrol their fingerprints on the system and thus see the solution in reality. He continues: "It is essential that people are able to interact with the solution, from having their fingerprint captured, to going through the turnstile and watching their details being displayed on the monitors. They need to prove to themselves that our claims of zero clocking fraud are completely valid and that this is a practical solution suited to mining."
Gary Jones, manager of biometric security solutions at Ideco, emphasises the importance of the live experience: "Our mining industry has been bombarded with hype about all types of biometric systems and how they are all the magic bullet in the fight against clocking fraud and the criminal activities associated with it." Jones also stresses that systems similar to those on display will be available for on-site trials. "We have always been keen to encourage our mining customers to trial our systems - particularly in comparison with other biometrics. Without exception, on-site trials have always resulted in Ideco's products being selected."
For Mike Lotter, sales and marketing director of Blick, Electra Mining will be another opportunity to work with Ideco and Turnstar to showcase complete, high security T&A solutions. As Lotter says: "It is largely an educational process so we need to demonstrate working solutions. In general terms, we will reinforce the fact that biometric-based solutions can be entirely appropriate for mining." Lotter feels that trials not only allow solutions to be evaluated in operational environments but that this component of customer service acts as a differentiator between solutions providers: "Blick has the infrastructure necessary to properly support trial solutions and work closely with customers to configure systems that will best serve their requirements."
If you need to see for yourself how modern biometrics technology is being applied to combat mine theft, visit stand K17 in Hall 6 at Electra Mining.
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