3 Use Cases That Demonstrate the Flexibility of Biometrics for Access Control & More
Biometric technology has been proven to be a flexible and effective solution for myriad applications. Here are three success stories.
Biometric devices provide unique advantages for security. For a long time, security applications such as access control had only one option for determining if access should be granted: “something you have,” which would typically be a key.
As technologies improved, keys gave way to key cards and programmable systems with enhanced functionality such as multiple door access, time of day limits, and so forth, but still relied upon something you had.
Access codes and keypads, alone or combined with cards, boosted security to include “something you know.” The problems with these systems remained, however — both cards and codes could be lost, forgotten, stolen, or shared with others. Biometrics finally made the jump to “something you are” — and suddenly it was no longer possible to lose, forget, or share your credentials.
Today, biometrics are in wide use for access control, where they are not only secure, but also help limit the spread of illness by reducing the need to touch common areas like keypads. But, they have even more flexibility and effectiveness to offer!
Here are several companies in different industries, all using biometrics to support their objectives. Perhaps these can inspire potential applications for future customers.
Workforce Management
Fine Hygienic Holding (FHH) is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of hygienic paper products. It was actively looking for a reliable biometric time and attendance solution that could support its workforce management objectives across many operating locations and multiple countries. This situation is a common one for many companies that are competing in global markets — management needs flexible, accurate systems that can keep up with daily activity levels and provide up-to-the-minute staffing information and status.
By upgrading to flexible, capable biometric readers powered using a single PoE connection, FHH got the accurate, frictionless time and attendance readers they needed with time tracking and other data instantly available through web-based biometric management software. In addition, the software was then integrated with FHH’s ORACLE enterprise human resource management system to seamlessly share data in support of payroll with 100% accuracy.
The modern biometric readers offer a selection of biometric identification modes, and staff don’t need to keep track of any cards, tokens, or codes. The system has plenty of room to grow in both the number of covered staff and in further integration with other business and security systems.
Workforce Management With Health Screening
Companies can also gain health and safety benefits by upgrading to modern biometric systems. Orthoplastics, part of Viant Corp., is a world leader in the development and supply of implantable-grade and biocompatible plastics.
They recently modernized their employee time tracking system by migrating from card-based time clocks to touchless face recognition, making the clocking in and out processes both faster and more accurate, while discontinuing the costly use of access cards that can be lost, stolen, or used by others.
Orthoplastics’ biometric time tracking solution includes integrated temperature screening as part of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as stringent social distancing measures and abundant access to hand sanitizer and personal protective equipment at work, contactless temperature screening is a crucial element of Orthoplastics’s effort to protect individuals on site.
As a manufacturer of essential medical plastics, Orthoplastics cannot shut down, but must instead take every step necessary to keep employees healthy. They were able to implement this new health screening process simply by including an enhancement option on their advanced biometric readers, making installation and deployment fast and easy.
Bolstering Security and Access Control
In addition to being faster and demonstrably more effective than other antiquated access control technologies, multimodal biometric readers can raise the bar significantly when very high levels of security are required. Advanced biometric readers offer two biometric modalities: facial recognition and a choice of fingerprint or finger vein recognition.
World-leading biometric readers can also support the use of PINs and access cards in many formats to enable four-factor authentication that represents the very definition of “high-security.”
Data centers require unique security solutions to ensure that their customers’ most critical assets are protected from theft. LightEdge, a premier provider of Cloud and colocation services in the Midwestern United States, sought a biometric solution that matched the company’s high-level goals of security and futuristic design. It wanted to improve their security beyond their existing two-factor hand geometry and card reader units.
It replaced its legacy hand geometry readers with advanced two-factor biometric readers at multiple high-security data centers and were able to implement a seamless transition by continuing to use their existing access control software. After two years of use, the company remains extremely satisfied with the speed, performance and aesthetics of the system, which conveys an appropriate design sophistication to match its high-tech operations.
Biometrics: Flexible and Effective
Biometrics deliver benefits to companies that install them for workforce management, health screening, access control — or any combination of these applications. With such a versatile, powerful technology, cost-effective biometric systems can be implemented in any industry. How could advanced, multi-factor biometric readers benefit your clients?
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