Emergency Evacuation

Automatic Identification is Critical to Rapid Response in Any Disaster

Unstable environments like an oil refinery or natural gas facility can quickly become disaster zones. People trying to escape this type of situation are thinking about only one thing: get out as fast as possible. Now imagine the team assembling at the mustering point, but several are not yet seen. With an automated RFID-enabled tracking solution in place the team lead can quickly determine not only who has not arrived but can also track their location on the site, enabling emergency response teams to hone in on the areas that require the most immediate attention.

Axcess’ patented ActiveTag™ RFID-enabled system automatically keeps track of personnel entering and leaving the facility whether or not their access card or credential is in their wallet, purse, or briefcase or attached to an outer garment. The keys to hands-free identification are the range over which the RFID tag credential can send a signal and the transmission frequency used to avoid traditional elements of interference.

Contractors and visitors also benefit, as this solution gives you a centralized system for tracking them in and around the premises. They are more easily controlled and accounted for in any situation.

After reviewing the statistics on building disasters, particularly those caused by terrorism, we discovered that the vast majority of incidents have actually occurred against commercial facilities, so there is also a great need to provide this system to the general business community as well as government. These are the personnel credentials for everyone the 21st century.

How It Works

The ability to identify personnel without the physical presentation of a credential is called “hands-free identification” and is a critical capability to being able to respond to those impacted by a disaster.

The credential tag uses an embedded battery in small, lightweight form factor compliant with the ISO 7810 ID-1 standard. This tag is also available as a “docking” tag to be affixed to an existing access control card. Each tag transmits at UHF frequency band (for extra-long range identification) to palm-sized, network-based receivers from 18 inches up to 700 feet away depending upon the antenna used.

Tags are automatically activated as they move through a doorway, gate or docking bay, or into a parking/staging area. Tags can also autonomously beacon at pre-set intervals for real-time inventory counts and location. Embedded sensors, such as temperature, regularly report data or are programmed to alarm when outside the norm. Its mustering capabilities have been successfully tested at a DoD research facility and the system supports both government and commercial applications.

Implementation Overview
Increased Safety, Emergency Preparedness, and Maximum Security at an Oil Refinery

Axcess’ long range access control and safety system is used to provide automatic hands-free identification and time and attendance for 2,700 personnel at a 75 sq mile facility in California. The new personnel tracking system has been operating for over a year and all employees, contractors, and visitors at the oil field wear Axcess’ Dual-Active™ RFID-enabled badges. The system also enables safety and risk managers to determine where personnel are in the event of an emergency, such as an earthquake, terrorist threat or explosion.

Previously, the refinery used picture ID cards presented to guards or logs to monitor who entered or left the facility. The company replaced those badges because they couldn’t accurately represent how many people were in the facility. The new system tracks employees and contractors entering and exiting the facility with time and attendance to assist with contractor management. The system also allows them to better fulfill OSHA's Safety Management (PSM) standard for tracking hours for mandatory injury rate calculations. The system records the time and attendance to compile hours on site and get a truer reflection on safety statistics.

The Axcess “hands free” ActiveTag™ system proved most reliable and accurate in automatically detecting and identifying personnel entering or leaving the site in a independent test conducted by the Defense Department’s research facility.

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