Protecting precious metal

Access & Identity Management Handbook 2005 Access Control & Identity Management

Project scope

4132 enrolled employees all processed through. Seven SACO Sagem biometric terminals. All biometric transactions are 1:many identification (fingerprint only), and matching speeds average less than two seconds per person.

These terminals are used to control access to the hostel kitchen and record the meals consumed by staff. This system is also fully integrated with the SACO access control and T&A system, which manages the rest of the site and shafts.

The history

Lonmin is the third largest primary producer of platinum in the world, producing over 900 000 ounces of platinum and a similar number of ounces of the other platinum group metals such as palladium and rhodium. Operations are located in the district of Marikana, near Rustenberg, in the North West Province.

Lonmin was experiencing major problems controlling access to its hostel kitchen where over 4500 employees are provided with meals. This presented an ideal opportunity to implement and test the feasibility of biometric-based access control on a mining site with a large number of employees (with poor quality fingerprints), with a plan to roll out biometrics throughout the site.

The previous card-based system was susceptible to fraud and abuse. There were approximately 500 fraudulent entries to the canteen daily when the card-based system was in place.

SACO has been supplying systems to Lonmin since 1992 and has been strategically involved in ongoing enhancement of access control and T&A systems and procedures on the site throughout this period. In an effort to provide better security and reduce costs for Lonmin, SACO proposed biometric integration into the existing hostel system.

The solution

SACO Access Control and Time and Attendance system, utilising Sagem Morpho biometric hardware and software.

SACO utilises Sagem's Morpho Matcher on the central fingerprint database. For its biometric terminals it utilises Sagem's Morphosmart 200 high-end optical scanners.

The goal

The solution in use at the mine aims to eliminate fraudulent access to the hostel kitchen; control meal times in relation to shifts; and record protein and non-protein count directly against employee biometric identification.

The benefits

What the solution achieves is efficient access control; reduced card and associated administration costs; elimination of fraud; and increased safety and security on-site. Unauthorised persons on-site can introduce a serious safety risk to both the company and its employees.

Obstacles en route to a final solution

The use of fingerprint identification in mining environments is made challenging by the quality of the fingerprints encountered and the size of the workforce.

In addition, rapid identification is essential to ensure smooth access control and to ensure no disruptions of shift start and end times.

Initially it took some time to get employees familiar with the placement of their fingers on the system. While the Sagem scanners are probably the most flexible when it comes to finger positioning, some initial user education was necessary.

Implementation

A solution was sought which would integrate tightly with the access and T&A system.

A pilot phase was run to test the viability and performance of the system. Based on the success of the pilot a roll out plan was determined and the system was implemented.

Measuring progress

Progress is being constantly measured even in the live environment. SACO performs ongoing analysis of the systems performance and uses this information to provide valuable feedback.

The result

The system has performed extremely well, and has proven its feasibility to an extent where it is believed the system should be further deployed in the site for example to control access to the mine shafts.

Fact file

Key service providers and products:

Saco Systems, Des Oliver, 011 652 5555, info@saco.co.za

Sagem Biometric Products distributed by Ideco Group, Gary Jones, 011 840 7800, info@ideco.co.za

Lonmin Platinum, Jannie Jacobs, 014 571 5586.





Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

Gallagher Security releases Command Centre v9
Gallagher News & Events Access Control & Identity Management Integrated Solutions
Richer features, greater integrations, with the release of Gallagher Security’s Command Centre v9 security site management software designed to integrate seamlessly with various systems and hardware.

Read more...
Paxton’s Net2 secures medicinal cannabis facility
Paxton Access Control & Identity Management Healthcare (Industry) Videos
Paxton’s Net2 access control has been installed at Highlands Grow, a fully licensed industrial-scale cultivator, producing cannabis for medicinal and recreational use.

Read more...
Lock down your access control with Alcatraz AI
C3 Shared Services Healthcare (Industry) Access Control & Identity Management AI & Data Analytics
Alcatraz AI, represented in South Africa by C3 Shared Services, changes access control by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and analytics at the edge, where facial recognition becomes the essential credential autonomously.

Read more...
Effective access control
Flow Systems Access Control & Identity Management Products & Solutions
Flow Systems has introduced its new Extra Heavy Duty Industrial Rising Vehicle Barrier, which provides a high level of protection. It is a traditional-looking control barrier with the benefits of high-level physical protection.

Read more...
Newport Aquarium replaces traditional locks and keys
Paxton Access Control & Identity Management Entertainment and Hospitality (Industry)
Newport Aquarium wanted to replace its old security system with an easy-to-use and high-security access control solution to keep the animals, visitors, and staff safe. The solution was Net2, a PC-based access control system that offers centralised administration.

Read more...
Securing easy access
Suprema neaMetrics Access Control & Identity Management
Securing access to hospitals and healthcare institutions presents a unique set of challenges, because these facilities operate 24/7, have highly ‘open’ access in public areas and require a strict level of security.

Read more...
Reliable mass notification
Access Control & Identity Management
The use of voice alarm and voice evacuation systems within the healthcare industry ensures a safer and more reassuring environment in the event of an emergency.

Read more...
Protecting our most vulnerable
Access Control & Identity Management
In a nation grappling with the distressing rise in child kidnappings, the need for innovative solutions to protect our infants has never been more critical. South Africa finds itself in the throes of a child abduction pandemic.

Read more...
New generation of cyber-focused controllers
Gallagher News & Events Access Control & Identity Management Products & Solutions
The C7000 gives users an opportunity to leverage their hardware and firmware to build a platform designed to catapult their organisation into the future, with cybersecurity baked in from inception.

Read more...
New T&A terminal features revolutionary AI technology
Suprema News & Events Access Control & Identity Management AI & Data Analytics
Suprema has launched BioStation 2a, the world’s first deep learning-based fingerprint recognition solution, providing powerful access control features and an improved ability to extract templates from low-quality fingerprints.

Read more...