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Speedy access to luxury

Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate is located 10 minutes from OR Tambo International Airport, yet its proximity belies the tranquillity within the estate. The award-winning Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course attracts many avid golfers and the estate is home to a number of discerning residents who are intent on combining convenience with luxury in this mixed-use arena. Future developments include a hotel and conference centre, shopping facilities and an office park.

One of the biggest access issues encountered at the estate was the delay in processing golfers on their arrival at the entrance gates. The UTM Group, which had been involved in the maintenance of pre-existing on-site security surveillance and access control systems, was asked to conceptualise, design and implement a suitable solution to ease the regular backlog of visitors, in conjunction with SA Digital Villages.

“The estate focuses on state-of-the-art security equipment and infrastructure with intelligent policing of both the internal and external elements of the estate. In line with this we devised a high-tech system that could be readily integrated into the existing system, while at the same time drastically reducing the waiting time at the entrance points,” Kelly Mclintock, MD of the UTM Group said.

The visitor management and processing system comprises an Impro IXP400i system with customised visitor management back-end system as well as 22 Sagem MA500 biometric fingerprint readers and 16 Impro keypads attached to Impro iTRT controllers.

The UTM Group worked closely with SA Digital Villages to develop the integration pack that would allow the new system to integrate with the existing database. “This was a rather complex and time consuming process which took four months to complete. After running live, we encountered a few teething problems with the SQL interfacing and port allocations. We subsequently made a number of subtle changes to the code and the system is now running seamlessly. This system is typical of the new trend whereby coding and other IT involvement comprises 90% of the successful implementation of security systems,” Mclintock explained.

When a visitor wishes to access the estate, their host (a resident or the Golf Club) logs into the portal and requests a one-time PIN code which is then sent to the visitor’s cellphone. The PIN is directly linked to a specific access time period and zone inclusion on the system. The system allows management to interrogate each resident’s account to track all visitors admitted to the estate.

A visitor is required to travel through a number of boomed access zones within a predetermined time limit. Should they not check in during this period, the system immediately alerts the estate’s security rangers, who will then search for the vehicle and assist its passenger to reach their destination.

Based on the success of the new system and the UTM Group’s extensive experience in driving integrated security solutions, Serengeti Golf & Wildlife Estate has awarded the company the contract to upgrade all surveillance equipment and bring the entire access control system in line with the new visitor management technology. In phase 4 of the upgrade this will include the deployment of RFID readers to service the residential component as well as LNPR and facial recognition cameras.

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