Biometrics solves industry problems

Far from being a far-flung futurist's fantasy, biometrics is solving some major concerns in the building and construction industries. in particular, the fingerscan which tackles problems such as: time and attendance, occupational health and safety (OH&S), shrinkage, security and staff management.

The technology provides a simple alternative to keys or swipe cards. This makes fingerscanners perfect for factories, apartments and office blocks. It also provides a means of restricting access. The fingerscans are mounted using standard wall mates and require a 230 V electrical supply. The device is unobtrusive and once installed interfaces with a building's existing management and alarm systems.

"The system integrates the crucial technology of data integrity. It is adaptable and highly secure which appeals to all sectors," says Frank Bruce, managing director of Biometric Systems International, a supplier and custom-designer of biometric solutions.

"Fingerscans do exactly that, they scan points from the patterns, loops, lines and whirls of your unique fingerprint to create a measurement set of approximately 30 points. This creates a template, which is a very small encrypted data file, 325-1275 bytes, containing these essential measurements. When an employee leaves, the template is simply deleted from the network and all their details are expurgated.

Staff management is where the fingerscan is proving most effective. Time sheets and bundy clocks can now be digitised. According to Bruce, "There is no fooling the fingerscan, attendance records are always correct. It also introduces a no-arguments audit trail for regulating OH&S issues in the workplace. In the case of an accident for example, being able to prove the employment was 50 minutes away from the workplace versus 5 minutes, can make a big difference to a claim.

"Once a fingerscanner has been installed staff cannot clock in for their mates so no more 'phantom employees', nor can workers slip away early unnoticed. "Many clients site a significant reduction in shrinkage after the installation of a fingerscan, as anyone who enters a security area becomes accountable for their movements. Best of all, no one can say they forgot their finger or give their finger to someone else."