Swiss Company Using Active RFID System To Track Employees

NoviTech, a Swiss provider of turnkey solutions for access monitoring, is using an active RFID system from INGECOM to automatically monitor the location of its employees in real time. The company is rolling out the system at its own headquarters with ambitions to deploy RFID tracking technology to healthcare centers to prevent the wandering of mentally-disabled patients.

The system detects the presence of employees in front of access points and denies or grants access by opening a door. A log file keeps track of the path of any of the employees, only for the purpose of investigation in case of forgery.

Finding the room where a tag is located is simple. All of the controllers send the data to a centralized database for software application to query from and include a set of configurable rules to triggers alerts in case of emergency.

The INGECOM system uses active tags and controllers in the 2.45 GHz range. While the controllers are available in different configurations, the Wi-Fi version allows the company to use existing technology infrastructure. A Wiegand configuration, with reduced throughput, is used in cases where Wi-Fi is not accepted, such as certain medical, banking or military environments. The tags are available in two formats –- a 4-millimeter credit card shape or a domino format that can be used as a keychain holder.

The tags are water-resistant and have a five-year battery life, even with a 1-second refresh rate. The tags also can propagate at distance of more than 3,000 feet in open space when using the range enhancer. The software-programmable range adapter embedded inside the controllers can modify the range to just a single room.

The system has been used successfully at NoviTech since mid-2007 with 20 controllers and 300 tags. The company plans to ramp up the program with 800 tags in use by the end of the year in other locations.

About the Author

Brent Dirks is senior editor for Security Today and Campus Security Today magazines.

Featured

  • 2025 Gun Violence Statistics Show Signs of Progress

    Omnilert, a national leader in AI-powered safety and emergency communications, has released its 2025 Gun Violence Statistics, along with a new interactive infographic examining national and school-related gun violence trends. In 2025, the U.S. recorded 38,762 gun-violence deaths, highlighting the continued importance of prevention, early detection, and coordinated response. Read Now

  • Big Brand Tire & Service Rolls Out Interface Virtual Perimeter Guard

    Interface Systems, a managed service provider delivering remote video monitoring, commercial security systems, business intelligence, and network services for multi-location enterprises, today announced that Big Brand Tire & Service, one of the nation’s fastest-growing independent tire and automotive service providers, has eliminated costly overnight break-ins and significantly reduced trespassing and vandalism at a high-risk location. The company achieved these results by deploying Interface Virtual Perimeter Guard, an AI-powered perimeter security solution designed to deter incidents before they occur. Read Now

  • The Evolution of ID Card Printing: Customer Challenges and Solutions

    The landscape of ID card printing is evolving to meet changing customer needs, transitioning from slow, manual processes to smart, on-demand printing solutions that address increasingly complex enrollment workflows. Read Now

  • TSA Awards Rohde & Schwarz Contract for Advanced Airport Screening Ahead of Soccer World Cup 2026

    Rohde & Schwarz, a provider of AI-based millimeter wave screening technology, announced today it has won a multi-million dollar award from TSA to supply its QPS201 AIT security scanners to passenger security screening checkpoints at selected Soccer World Cup 2026 host city airports. Read Now

  • Brivo, Eagle Eye Networks Merge

    Dean Drako, Chairman of Brivo, the leading global provider of cloud-native access control and smart space technologies, and Founder of Eagle Eye Networks, the global leader in cloud AI video surveillance, today announced the two companies will merge, creating the world’s largest AI cloud-native physical security company. The merged company will operate under the Brivo name and deliver a truly unified cloud-native security platform. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.