Something to aim for

“The problem comes when the gate becomes an idea later in the design phase. It is something we have seen a bit of; the port of terminal has been designed and then, after it has gone live, operators think ‘maybe we should have some sort of automatic gate procedure’. We can do retrofitting, of course, but it is much easier when it is planned out from the beginning.” Visy’s advice is to keep things simple and start with a smaller system that meets the port’s needs, not to go straight for a large system that really isn’t needed.

Mr Lund says that the key to easy extension of a system can be the database solution, something which Visy has been pushing this year, and which it says has brought positive feedback.

“Having an access control system that runs on a commercial database platform really provides benefits that we think our customers need,” he says. “For example, we can plug in OCR or RFID or use biometrics and use any data collection device, and all on the same database.

“The advantage for the customer is this is a one-time investment. The database can be used for ten to 15 years and we provide upgrades each time our database providers release their upgrades. The system can be scaled up or down, technologies can be added or removed.”

Mr Lund also emphasises the benefits of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware.

“With a port access control system there is generally no need to use specialised hardware such as custom-made cameras for licence plate recognition or other vision applications related to OCR,” he says. “Plenty of first-rate COTS components are available for these applications. Using specialised cameras only puts the buyer at a disadvantage during hardware replacements and upgrades. The buyer will be tied to a single supplier for support, service and maintenance.”

Visy only uses COTS in its systems and also makes all software in-house.

“The buyer should require that all software comes from a single supplier,” he says. “This holds a single party responsible for delivering a complete, fully operational system. If OCR comes from one vendor, gate system from another, and RFID applications from a third, the lines of responsibility become unclear.”