Interactive Access Control Solutions

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Anyone who enters the premises of a chemicals factory or power station, however short the visit, has to be made aware of the safety regulations and requirements, in order to recognize potential dangers and take the necessary precautionary measures. This applies equally to visitors, suppliers and employees of other companies.
 
In the event of an accident, insurance companies are primarily concerned with establishing responsibility for the accident and thus determining who will have to bear the costs. In the past, short-term visitors were often briefed by the porter or other safety officers who, during the briefing, were temporarily taken away from their other duties. If two visitors requiring instruction and clearance for different areas of the company arrived at the same time, either the second of the visitors had to wait until the first had been briefed, or two members of staff had to be placed at their disposal.
 
Interactive kiosk systems are increasingly being used to relieve personnel of this duty, and to perform individual briefings with flexibility. For some years now, Merck KG in Darmstadt, a manufacturer of pharmaceutical and chemical products, has been using a Polygon kiosk solution to inform visitors and suppliers of their safety regulations. CheckPOInt kiosks were fitted with glass wall separations and so-called ‘sound showers’ where the loudspeakers are arranged in such a way that the sound is concentrated on the person standing under the loud speakers. This means that no sound leaks out to distract other visitors when training several people simultaneously.
 
For RWE, one of the largest energy suppliers and power plant operators in Germany, Polygon collaborated with Impuls media, market leader in the provision of software for safety instructions at the works gate or portal, and developed a solution involving any on-site personnel. The system is based on the proven and popular CheckPOInt terminal, which was customised to include privacy screens in order to separate the individual training stations. The instructions are displayed on a 17”touch screen and the sound is transmitted through headphones, so that each visitor can concentrate on their individual instruction without being distracted by what’s happening at the adjacent terminal.
 
Supporting Cast

The terminals are fitted with standing supports, which allow the visitor to concentrate fully on the instruction without tiring. For confirmation at the end of the training, the kiosks have a signature pad where the visitor can sign to say that they have heard and understood the requirements.
 
The visitor registers at the gate, where he is given a card with an RFID chip. He then swipes this over a specific area of the terminal marked with a symbol. The instruction software, developed and implemented by impulsmedia, now starts its training program.

The multimedia content communicates the safety information required for the relevant access areas by means of images, text and video sequences. At the end of the program, the visitor is required to answer a few compulsory questions and also several other, randomly selected questions. The questions are formulated as a multiple-choice test and the visitor inputs the answers via the touch screen.
 
When all questions have been answered correctly, the visitor or subcontractor’s employee signs to again confirm that he has understood and will observe the rules and regulations and, above all, that he has answered the questions independently and without assistance. The signature is saved with the questionnaire as a PDF file and stored in the company’s database. At the same time, the card is activated and the visitor is given access authorisation for the relevant areas. The card enables him to pass through the various access control points on the company premises. The entire training session, including the test, just takes a few minutes.
 
For RWE, cost efficiency was a key factor, and this was achieved using a standard kiosk customised to meet company specifications. The terminals can be installed in front of a wall or as freestanding and back-to-back models.

By using headphones and screens, the distance between the individual training stations can be minimised without the fear of disruption from other training sessions running in parallel. Depending on the location, up to thirteen training sessions can take place simultaneously. So far, 35 systems have been installed at various RWE locations throughout Germany. On the strength of its positive experience with the system, RWE has decided to install another 50 terminals in the coming months.