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When the going gets tough ...

Hot, humid, dirty and wet. Add high traffic volumes and round-the-clock operations and you have a challenging set of conditions that are hardly ideal for sophisticated electronic access and T&A equipment.

And yet environments like this are commonplace for the access control industry in southern Africa, demanding equipment that is robust and dependable. Harsh environments and high numbers of users are also often synonymous with the need for strict safety and security regulations. So, not only do systems have to be tough, they also need to be consistently reliable.

Mining is a huge and diverse market sector for the local access and time and attendance (T&A) industry, but similar operational requirements certainly exist in other sectors such as steel production, petrochemicals and construction.

Factors like climatic conditions and specific industry-related regulations mean that equally demanding standards exist in perhaps less obvious sectors such as ports and food processing. Coastal installations generally require high levels of resistance to continuous exposure to saltwater and spray. The ability to endure frequent and rigorous washing down is essential in industrialised food production.

The right tools for the job

As the demand for access control and T&A continues to grow throughout Africa, some elements of the local industry have been remarkably successful in producing solutions that meet the physical challenges associated with much of this growth. For example, as one of the world's largest marine parks, u-Shaka Marine World in Durban, needed a turnstile-based system to control access for huge numbers of visitors. The requirement was for attractive, ultra-heavy duty waist height turnstiles that would be able to withstand the corrosive effects of windblown sand, salt mist, high levels of humidity and high traffic. Turnstar Systems responded to this challenge by manufacturing units with bodies and tripod-arms in 316-grade stainless steel. In addition, Turnstar's engineering manager, Pat Cooke, designed special internal stainless housings to protect the turnstile locking mechanisms as well as the ticketing systems' electronics. Similarly, the company has produced corrosive-resistant full height turnstiles in stainless steel for large oil and gas field installations in the Middle East and Northern Europe.

Glen Baptiste, sales manager central office at Blick South Africa, says the last few years have seen a rapid growth of access and T&A applications in industries with tough operating environments, "Currently we are implementing a fully-integrated access and time management solution for a big construction group in Nigeria and we have done a lot of work with the Ports Authority in Mozambique.

"The Nigerian project is interesting because the project is right on the coast, with high rainfall and humidity.

"For coastal Mozambique, the main challenge is really major problems with corrosion. In Namibia, we have a uranium project with the added challenges of extremes in daily temperatures and a site full of volatile and dangerous chemicals. The key to success with physically demanding projects like these is to be certain that we use properly protected equipment with a solid track record of performing under such conditions."

How tough are biometrics?

Many visitors to Electra Mining 2006 were surprised to see waterproof, ruggedised fingerprint readers that were displayed with a constant stream of water running over them. Given the operating conditions of mining and its extensive reliance on large-scale access and T&A systems, the industry has been extremely cautious in introducing biometrics. A few years ago, this was largely because of concerns that the technology simply was not man enough for the job and therefore no good for mining. In many ways these perceptions were well founded but were perhaps initially influenced by experiences with inappropriate systems and methodologies as well as sub-standard implementation and user-training by some eager solution providers.

But much has changed in the last two years both in terms of market perceptions and a widening acceptance of biometric capabilities. As a provider of biometric-based access solutions, Blick is well-positioned to comment on the latest purchasing trends in biometrics for tough industries. Baptiste sees "A definite move towards enterprise-wide standardised biometrics. Industrial specification, IP65-rated biometric readers are certainly available and their use in harsh environments is now increasing as the technology proves its physical strengths in extended trials and realtime applications." He warns that the selection of equipment is still very important, "Not all biometrics are equal - far from it. As with all emerging technology, there are leaders and laggards. It is imperative to choose product with proven capability."

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