Sagem, GTSI awarded Port of Miami contract
10 December, 2008
category: Biometrics, Contactless, Corporate, Government, Transit
GTSI Corp., an IT infrastructure solutions and services provider, announced that it has partnered with Sagem Morpho Inc. to supply the Port of Miami with physical access control readers. The fixed biometric readers are used to authenticate Transportation Workers Identification Credential smart card holders via a contactless interface.
The Port of Miami is the first U.S. port to implement this system from GTSI and Sagem. This solution enhances the safety of the Port’s cruise passenger terminal and expedites the verification of dock workers entering secure areas around the ships.
With Department of Homeland Security funding, the Port of Miami deployed the biometric devices as part of the TWIC program mandated by the U.S. Coast Guard and Transportation Security Administration. Under the TWIC program, workers who need access to secure areas of U.S. ports and vessels are being issued tamper-resistant smart cards containing their biometric identification information.
The Port contracted GTSI Corp. to implement the TWIC-card readers and collaborate with Seaport Information Systems to integrate the devices with an existing Lenel physical access control system. GTSI selected Sagem Morpho’s OMA521 TWIC biometric readers because it is a biometric reader to demonstrate the ability to meet TSA TWIC specifications for all Maritime Security levels, including real-time card verification and authentication of biometric data. Sagem’s biometric reader also offers fake-finger detection technology.
The Port of Miami finalized deployment of the biometric smart-card readers in early November. With integration of the TWIC readers into the existing access control system now completed, the smart-card system is scalable and expandable. The system can easily be modified to accommodate additional biometric readers at other access points throughout the port facility.
