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Port of Antwerp Deploys Biometric Identification System
Apr 20, 2005

The Port of Antwerp, Belgium, has installed an Internet-based biometric identification and credentialing card-management system from Ingersoll-Rand Maritime Solutions. When fully deployed, it is estimated that credentials for more than 20,000 longshoremen, truck drivers and other employees and visitors requiring access to the port will be validated and recorded by the system.

Ingersoll-Rand also has designed an open-architecture database and supporting technological infrastructure through which the port's 71 private terminals may access and use the card management system to secure their individual access points. Private terminals will have real-time access to data about all personnel cleared to do business with the port. Port authorities and government officials can obtain up-to-the-minute reporting on all port activity for those access points intergraded into the system. Ports are required to establish a process for tracking access by employees and visitors across private terminals under the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) International Code for the Security of Ships and of Port Facilities (ISPS).

"Ingersoll-Rand's experience at designing, installing and servicing complex, integrated security systems makes it the ideal provider for this ambitious project," said Ernie Scheerlinck, managing director, AlfaPass, a company that facilitates the distribution and management of electronic identification cards for the Port of Antwerp and other ports in Belgium. "Using the Ingersoll-Rand card management system, the port will be able to more quickly and accurately verify the identities of authorized employees and visitors at port entrances, improving security and safety as well as operating efficiencies."

The capabilities of the Ingersoll-Rand security system include:

* RFID electronic identification cards. Each of the 20,000 electronic identification cards are equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology allowing cards to be read up to 10 cm away by each reader, facilitating fast movement through access points. The system stores information about employee certifications, work experience and access restrictions, as well as biometric identifiers. The cards may be used with Ingersoll-Rand and other RFID readers.
* Biometric HandReaders. The hand geometry of each card recipient will be prerecorded on each credentialing card for use at terminals employing Recognition Systems Inc. (RSI) biometric hand readers. RSI is a business unit of Ingersoll Rand Security and Safety. At the entrance, the employee identifies himself by using the smart card together with a HandReader, which automatically takes a three-dimensional reading of the size and shape of the hand and verifies the user's identity in less than one second. Scan information of his left hand is compared with the template information on the smartcard. He repeats the process upon leaving.
* An open, scaleable system. Built with an open architecture, the Ingersoll-Rand database enables each terminal to integrate additional security and safety technologies, such as closed circuit television (CCTV) and time-and-attendance, with their individual systems through an XML interface as well as other open standards.
* Web-based operation and reporting. The Ingersoll-Rand card management system is built on the latest Web technologies. The system uses a powerful workflow engine coupled with full Web-based interaction, enabling the complex credentialing process to be carried out fast and efficiently across terminals and other systems. The Web-based reports can also detail the movement of employees and visitors through the port, among other information.

The systems are a predecessor application to the "Transportation Worker Identity Program (TWIC)" now being developed by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, which could ultimately involve 6 million workers at U.S. seaports, airports, railways and other transportation facilities. Likewise, European ports must establish a process for tracking access by employees and visitors across private terminals under the IMO International Code.

Frontline Solutions

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