Fingerprint Access Control

James Mackintosh & Co. Private Limited(JMC) is a 150-year-old shipping company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It has offices at most of the major ports and cities in India and one in Dubai. The company provides a variety of shipping-related services, ranging from container liner agency and tramp vessel representation to chartering. Besides, it also represents some of the world’s largest Professional & Indemnity Clubs.

With a network of over 50 offices, the company was experiencing an increasing need to upgrade security control measures and automate daily attendance logs.

Coping with fast-paced growth and increasing geographical expansion, officials at JMC identified the need for a system which, along with enhancing security, would also automate attendance recording. Besides, officials wanted to restrict access to certain areas of the office, like the server room, board room etc.

With multiple branch offices, it was imperative to install a system which was capable of capturing information at a branch level and storing it on a central database. For instance, an employee of Branch A could visit Branch B and have his attendance information stored on the central database. Thus, officials at both the branch and head offices could retrieve this information easily, thereby helping them monitor attendance and track access in certain sections of the office.

Faced with the above mentioned challenges, JMC decided to install a fingerprint-based biometric access control system, namely, Bayometric’s Fingerprint Access Control System: Baylock 500.
Baylock 500 is a time and attendance-monitoring fingerprint access control system. The device comes along with Fingerprint Access Server (FAS) software. Equipped with features such as Live Finger Detection (LFD), which can detect fake fingerprints, this device can store up to three fingerprints per user. Further, since it has an Ethernet interface, it is ideal for installing at remote locations, which may be connected via internet or LAN to a central server. Placed on doors, it helps in controlling access as well as monitoring time and attendance. Captured information may be viewed on a Web browser and may also be exported to .xls or .doc formats.

The FAS functions as a central server and along with Baylock 500 helps in controlling access at all entry points.

FAS is connected to Baylock 500 via TCP/IP. Baylock 500 is installed at all doors and entry points. User information is exchanged between the FAS and Baylock500 each time one tries to access an entry point. In case of a match, apart from granting access, FAS enters a log into the system containing user information along with details such as date, time and BaylockID. FAS allows for these logs to be exported to .xls or .doc formats, too. Further, user groups up to 99 may be defined for flexible attendance control report or access permission/denial setting.

In case of a connection failure to the central server (FAS), Baylock 500 functions in Local Mode. Thus, it searches its own database for fingerprints and based on a match permits/denies access, and also maps attendance. All of this information is uploaded to the FAS once connection is restored.

User registration can be either done on the BayLock 500 itself or by using a USB Fingerprint Scanner (FS80).

Baylock 500 is used at the JMC offices for initial registration of an employee’s fingerprint. Baylock 500 is installed at entry points. Each time a user wants to access a particular area, he needs to scan his fingerprint on Baylock 500. This information is sent to FAS. Having received this information, FAS matches it with the fingerprint in its database and provides the result to Baylock 500, which accordingly allows or denies access to the user. For every match, FAS logs the event with time, date and name details.

The biometric-based security system is more reliable than the conventional card one. It serves as a faster and more flexible control for organizations that have multiple offices. By providing selective access, it ensures that unauthorized physical access is denied in secure places such as the server room. It may also be customized to deny access on particular days, like public holidays and weekends.

The fingerprint data is stored in an encrypted format, thereby eliminating any chance of data compromise. Further, with the help of a single central database, information is no longer stored in a scattered manner.

Another advantage of this system is that it allows for automated attendance logs. With the help of TCP/IP, employee attendance from branch offices may be collected at the head office, thereby helping the company reduce HR costs. Additionally, logs are maintained in the system for the management to identify who accessed a controlled area.

Furthermore, since fingerprints cannot be lost or stolen like access cards, the system helps reduce administration cost to the company, apart from keeping imposters away.

Additionally, this non-intrusive device works smoothly across all age groups and is also easy to install and convenient to use.