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Access control in mines

Keeping a tight rein on the movement of people is crucial in these dangerous environments where the assets - precious gems, minerals or expensive equipment - are easy to remove. To assist this industry sector, Johnson Controls has just released Version 4 of its Pegasys access control software, the functional upgrades of which are specifically designed to meet the needs of mines.

"Intelligently directing and managing the movement of individuals in mining environments to meet stringent safety and security requirements means a number of complex criteria need to be calculated and applied at various access points," says Neil Cameron, systems manager, Johnson Controls SA. "Pegasys 4 integrates new functionality that enables flexible control of access in daily operations as well as unique, threat and crises situations."

A typical access control solution consists of a person or asset carrying various forms or identifiers, such as a smart proximity card, contact cards, badges, tokens or long range active devices; readers or controllers that control in- and egress; and a central management console.

Because Pegasys 4 is the only available BACnet access control system currently in the market, it easily integrates to CCTV, SCADA, fire, airconditioning and environmental control systems and asset tracking systems, allowing for automated functionality that delivers high levels of control.

"With high value items in the working environment a stable system that offers tight control is essential," says Cameron. "Key features of Pegasys are its ability to easily interface with other systems, its backward compatibility with older systems and its robustness and customisability to suit complex scenarios."

The system is built on an open platform that allows integration of enterprise applications. It can also create custom rules, for instance, a person may only be allowed in a particular area at an appointed time to service a product. If these rules are broken, alarms will go off and the system will 'lock' the person into a secure area and deny further movement.

Integration to intelligent devices that are an integral part of security and risk management solutions is also possible. X-ray machines that do full body scans are used in some environments, for example. Advanced algorithms used by the Pegasys solution ensures people are selected for searches randomly over a specific period of time and are not overexposed to harmful rays.

It also features a built-in zoned anti-passback feature built into the system. "If a person has passed through a particular area, they have to pass back out before they will be allowed in again," explains Cameron. "This is also applied in dedicated areas, compelling badge or cardholders to reach these areas via specified access routes."

Advanced alarm routing is important where risk is high. Pegasys will, in the case of a door being broken open, for instance, integrate with the CCTV, asset control and risk assessment systems to assess actions to be taken. In the case of fire, advanced alarm routing will make use of the CCTV system to view the area and use advanced system controls to reroute people into safe AND secure areas. Security threat control functionality will also, in the case of a spillage of a valuable product, for example, automatically escalate risk levels to limit movement.

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