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Product category: Access Control, Door Entry Systems
News Release from: Legic Identsystems | Subject: LEGIC contactless technology
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial Team on 01 July 2004

Smart Cards Harbour Security

Port of Dover installs LEGIC contactless technology for secure access control.

LEGIC Identsystems Ltd, one of the world's leading suppliers of secure platforms for contactless smart card technology, has supplied the RFID technology to enable the Port of Dover to upgrade its existing access control system The harbour at Dover has been in constant use for cross-channel traffic since the Bronze Age; with a lighthouse built by the Romans still visible on the cliffs to the east of town

Dover Harbour Board was established by King James I in 1606 and is responsible for the administration, maintenance and improvement of the harbour at Dover.

As northern Europe's largest passenger ferry and cruise Port, and one of the worlds busiest drive-on, drive-off terminals, Dover now handles around 2.6 million cars, 14.7 million passengers, 1.8 million freight vehicles and some 19 million tonnes of freight per annum.

It supports 6,700 jobs in port operations, processing and regulatory authorities, 3,000 jobs in indirect supplier businesses, and has a total of approximately 60,000 staff all requiring access to port facilities throughout the year One of the main points of entry to and exit from the United Kingdom, the Port of Dover requires an effective access control system to assist with border security and to this end it has two security zones within the Port - the Restricted Zone and the Controlled Zone.

The Restricted Zone is an area within the Docks next to the sea and people allowed within it are the travelling public, whose tickets for sailings act as passes; and staff working directly with ships or their cargo.

The controlled zone is for office staff and others engineering contractors, delivery vehicles with legitimate business in the Docks.

Passes are the primary means of access control, which are presented to readers at the gates.

The previous access control system was mostly built from off-the-shelf components, with the exception of the software required to operate the gate controllers.

The system consists of pedestrian turnstiles; both full height and waist-level, and swing-arm vehicle barriers triggered by reading a pass or by signals from transponders mounted on vehicles that are read as the vehicle passes over a loop in the road.

In the offices there were Magstripe readers and key-pad locks.

This technology was aging fast however, with some parts were getting hard to source, and the growing Port now had additional security requirements so the decision was taken to review the access control system.

A project team was appointed under the leadership of Nigel Shepherd, for Feasibility, and Debbie Lawther for Implementation, which set about talking to people who used the system, the pass issuers and staff on the gates of the restricted zones, as well as to other stake holders including ferry operators and statutory authorities who employ the staff who work in the Port to get their views and requirements.

Key elements were that the new system had to meet ICT technical standards; carry forward the good features and improve on them whilst eliminating the more problematic aspects of the old system.

Since most access readers were located outside, exposed to the elements, the first requirement was to minimise any electro-mechanical components as they were expensive to maintain.

And it was reported that the continual swiping of cards through the indoor readers was fast wearing out the cards.

Also the key-pad door locks in the offices were operated by tapping in a security code.

The code was changed on a regular basis as the best available measure of security but that meant visiting each door each time the code was changed.

There were similar maintenance problems with the vehicle barriers and pedestrian turnstiles outside.

With the in-road transponder loops, the loops were pretty robust, but the transponders weren1t, but they1ve been kept on so far as the best available solution for the physical gates.

With the old access control system while the Pass Office was responsible for all permanent passes, gate staff could also issue visitor passes, which could delay traffic.

A primary requirement for the new system therefore was to centralise all pass issuing in one place.

While the old permanent passes showed the image of the pass-holder, the 48,000 plus visitor passes issued each year had no such image.

They identified the holder as a legitimate visitor, but nothing more.

The decision was taken to have pass-holder images on all passes.

Then there were freight and coach drivers, and some others like drivers of regular supplier vehicles.

These people make repeated Ovisits1 to the Port, but do not qualify for permanent passes so the port needed to find a better way of dealing with their access.

The previous access control cards were of the Magstripe variety which were collected for re-use.

The motorised readers did this very well keeping any card that was expired.

Technicians would routinely empty the reader housing, and take the collected cards back to base for a wash and dry and deliver them back to the Pass Office for re-issue.

The annual budget was for 5000 replacement visitor cards, and it was calculated that on average, a visitor pass card was reused three times.

Most went out only twice, and none did more than 20 Otrips1.

The benefit of the Magstripe cards was their cheapness and, with the motorised readers, their ability to be re-collected.

Running costs for the new system therefore needed to be in line with the costs of the old operation; it needed to Ofeel1 secure to users; and it had to offer reusable cards.

The project team wanted more than just a good replacement system they wanted a system that offered Oextendibility1 and integration.

They needed a system that could provide access control now with the option of adding other functions such as time and attendance and cashless vending at a later date and in other areas where services were provided such as in the Cruise Terminals and in the Marina, they wanted it all to run with the same technology.

Move to contactless.

Having evaluated all of the above, the project team were now faced with two options.

To remain with a contact based system or move to a contactless smart card system.

Moving to a high coercivity Magstripe system would have addressed the problem of accidental erasures but the read/write unit failure and the high level of maintenance attention would have continued.

This pointed them in the direction of contactless technology.

Since proximity readers have no moving parts they are more robust, there would be no erasure problems, and smart cards can have a life of 50,000 uses a lot more than a Magstripe card.

A visit to the IFSEC Security Solutions show provided contact with several suppliers offering integrated solutions and five were invited to tender.

After evaluation of the tenders, First City Care were chosen to supply software from Geoffrey Industries as it met the Port's functional and technical requirements and Legic was selected to supply the RFID smart card technology as they offered the best value and it was available in formats that gave the project team the flexibility they required with the issuing of visitor passes including use with re-printable and paper cards.

Sold on the benefits of the Legic technology, the Port also decided to become a Legic Licence Partner.

As the coding of a Legic smart chip involves the use of a master code, and as a licence partner the Port would hold its own master code, this made them independent when it came to developing card use for purposes other than access control.

With all the major issues sorted out, work could begin and initially access would have to operate with both old and new readers during the phased installation of the new system.

Two pass stations for new passes were set up, and one for Magstripe cards to copy data from old passes to new.

The initial aim was to issue 200 passes a day and within two months 8,000 new passes had been issued.

Meanwhile new readers and reader controllers were installed by First City Care, and Dover Harbour Board took care of the cabling.

Doors, pedestrian turnstiles and all the vehicle gates soon followed.

Project team leader for Implementation Debbie Lawther comments: "We1re now delighted with our new access control system.

Running costs are lessening, management reporting is more accessible and maintenance is easier, quicker and cheaper." "We1ve lost the automatic collection of visitor passes we had with the old Magstripe system, but the voluntary return process is working very well.

We've had a visitor pass being used an average of 8.3 times, with one card making 39 trips! And even if a pass is lost it can not be re-used because of the control in the software as well as the image of the holder." So what of the future? There are a lot of possibilities says Lawther.

"The Time and Attendance project is considering use of the contactless cards; and our security staff is investigating the use of hand-held card monitors.

We may extend the access control system to other areas of the Port, both buildings and for car and lorry parking and we could introduce cashless vending for staff in the canteen.

We might also add competencies to the cards guaranteeing that only those who are qualified can gain access to electricity sub-stations, or can drive the cranes." "Our major customers, the ferry operators, have shown interest in sharing our smart cards, so staff would need to carry only one pass and we could use the system for building security for our tenants.

But all these applications will need cost-justifying business cases and budget approval - but the project team is sure that with our new contactless smart card technology from Legic we 1ve provided the basis for the Port of Dover to have security of access control for a long time to come.".

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