Integrating processes in rail freight
MorphoTrak has partnered with Identity One to deliver a time & attendance and biometric access control system to a North American freight railroad company. More than 250 Outdoor MorphoAccess 520 (OMA 520) biometric readers were deployed across the continental United States over a six-month period. This solution includes custom web-based enrollment at more than 70 locations and integration into existing human resource and payroll systems. Ruggedized with an IP65 weatherproof rating, the OMA 520 is well suited for the railroad industry. For particularly harsh, cold conditions it can be supplied with a built-in heater for extreme low temperatures. The new system brings the company improved security, as well as streamlined human resource and access control processes. From a single enrollment, an employee’s secured biometric record is distributed for access control, time & attendance and compliance applications.
Managing security controls in Oman gas plant
A gas and oil-fired power plant in Oman has chosen the AC2000 security management and networked access control platform from CEM Systems. The company’s AC2000 security management system has been installed in the Sur Independent Power Plant (IPP), Oman. The system was installed by CEM Approved Reseller Majees Technical Services. The gas and oil-fired Sur Independent Power Plant (IPP) will be the largest power plant in Oman, representing approximately 30% of Oman’s installed power capacity when it is complete in 2014. The $1.6bn project owned by Phoenix Power Company SAOC will provide much needed power to meet the growing demand for electricity by employing state of the art technology and introducing high efficiency conversion technology. CEM’s AC2000 is a powerful and reliable access control and security management system used to protect sites where security is of paramount importance. AC2000 provides Sur with a suite of essential client, browser based applications.
Condition monitoring of rail infrastructure use
Alstom Transport announced it has deployed Coriel Electronics’ UHF RFID-based automatic vehicle identification solution to track rolling stock on railways. Coriel Electronics, a U.K.-based provider of embedded electronics, has been developing a solution that employs passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags and sensors to capture and transmit data regarding train carriages, such as their location, and to indicate their identity in a system used for condition monitoring. Throughout that time, the company’s products have been used by its customers to identify railcars and components on those cars requiring maintenance. Once such customer is Alstom Transport, a France-based manufacturer (with global operations) that produces railroad infrastructure and rolling stock, and also provides maintenance services to the rail sector. Beginning this spring, several rail-infrastructure owners will begin undertaking pilots intended to determine if RFID technology can help manage the conditions of cars using their tracks, as well as monitor the speed of a train as it passes readers installed on those tracks. Coriel’s rail automatic vehicle identification (AVI) solution consists of the firm’s DcTrak software, which manages read data, as well as its TrakStar RFID readers, installed at key locations within rail yards or adjacent to rail tracks, and linked to system sensors, such as axle counters and speed-detection systems. The technology is being used, in some cases, to capture the history of conditions related to a specific railcar, or a particular axle on that car.
Completing the emission control value chain
With a takeover, automotive supplier Continental plans to extend its powertrain system competence. The Hanover, Germany, based supplier announced to acquire its present 50:50 joint venture Emitec. The move will enable Continental to offer next-generation exhaust gas treatment systems. Emitec is said to be a leading vendor of exhaust gas treatment technologies. The company with headquarters in Lohmar near Bonn (Germany) develops, manufactures and sells metal carrier catalytic converters, components for particle filters and dosing modules for selective catalytic reduction (SCR). The company runs subsidiaries in Europe, the US and Asia and employs some 900 persons. The SCR technology reduces the NOx emissions by injecting a watery solution of urea into the exhaust gas system; experts believe that the technology will gain significance in future vehicle generations.