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Access control at A1 GP

The South African company DexSecurity Solutions has signed a contract with A1 GP SA to supply the access control system for the Durban A1 Grand Prix street race for the next two years.

This contract was successfully negotiated and signed by Derick Terblanche, sales and business development manager at DexSecurity Solutions. "The successful implementation of access control and security during an international prestige event such as this, will boost confidence in South Africa's ability to control big crowds by 2010," says Marius van Niekerk, director at DexSecurity Solutions.

Last year, the A1 GP encountered logistical problems regarding unauthorised access. The main problems included tickets being used more than once ('pass-back tickets'), as spectators handed their tickets through the fence to friends outside the fenced area. With the system that will be used this year, it will be impossible to use a ticket more than once.

A 2D-barcode on the ticket contains encrypted information, which is read by scanners at the gates. As part of each scan, the ticket is verified as a valid ticket that has not already been used or red-listed. Within milliseconds the system provides visual confirmation in the form of a green or red light whether the ticket is valid and whether the ticket holder may access the venue, or not.

Access to this year's A1 GP in Durban, held in February, was controlled by 30 of these 'intelligent turnstiles', equipped with two-dimensional barcode scanners. The same technology was used with a 100% success rate by Dex during the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, and this Dex system is now also being applied successfully at certain soccer stadia in South America and Europe.

The gates are centrally controlled by means of a wireless network. The system registers the use of each unique ticket on a central database and verifies it before opening the gate and allowing access. This all happens in a split-second.

The system has obvious safety and security advantages, because the entrance and exit of people is monitored and managed from one central point. Security personnel can see online, in realtime, exactly how many people are in certain areas and where there is a possibility of crowding or potential problems.

Furthermore, the system is able to control access per sector. Certain tickets, for example, can allow access to the grandstand only, and others to the pits or the VIP area.

Staff are also required to use tickets that will inform the organisers who are either late or do not report at all for work. The system provides information that can be used by the organisers to act upon immediately and also use for future planning.

At the A1 Grand Prix, one entrance was for residents, and this presented its own challenges, because, firstly, each car had to have a parking permit and, secondly, each person in the car had to have a ticket, before the car could be let through. The handheld units (PDTs) proved hugely successful here, because the scanning could be done at the car in the street without the occupants having to get out of the car. The PDTs were all RF connected to the gate, which in turn communicated with the central server via the wireless network. At the car, the system therefore did the full validation of the symbol, anti-pass-back on the database and logged the entry, all in split seconds.

Fact file

* There were eight entrances over a distance of 3,2 km.

* In total 40 turnstiles consisting of 26 turnstiles with built-in scanning, together with another 14 turnstiles with portable verification units (PVUs) connected to them, were set up at these gates.

* Six portable data terminals (PDTs) or handheld scanners were set up.

* Over 10 000 exits were recorded for people who exited the event and returned later.

* Each gate had a generator with enough fuel to operate for the whole day. Two backup generators were kept at a central point as replacements, in case any of the generators caused problems. The generators had to be placed on concrete blocks, because they could not be situated on the grass or other surfaces owing to the risk of fire.

* Each gate had a UPS so that, if the generator failed, there would be backup power until the replacement generator was running.

* Communication to the central server was done via a wireless network. An additional redundant network was set up as a backup, in case the other network failed.

* The central control server had a full backup server. This was set up in the JOC (Joint Operations Control) area and provided realtime information to organisers and security on entries and exits.

* 12 Dex staff members were in attendance at the event to provide support.

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