Biosite’s access control system launched on site near Stockholm

2 minutes

A construction site in Nykvarn, south of Stockholm, is the launchpad for one of the first biometric access control systems within the Swedish construction industry.

With the application of biometric technology from Biosite, using a unique algorithm developed specifically to read the low quality fingerprints typically found in the industry, the construction company Betonmast can now ensure that only the right people are present on site, stop ID fraud and at the same time get accurate, real-time data on workflows that enables optimization of the way they plan and operate their projects.


Biosite is a leading supplier of biometric access control for construction sites in the UK. In its home market, Biosite’s access control system and workforce management solutions are installed on around 700 construction sites, with more than 650,000 workers registered. An average of six million biometric events are captured every month through the company’s system. In February 2020, Biosite was acquired by ASSA ABLOY to spearhead a new construction vertical and support global expansion, with Sweden being a core target market.

 

Now, for the first time, Biosite’s solution has been installed on a Swedish construction site. In Nykvarn, Betonmast is building 145 apartments for Bokoop. Everyone who passes in and out of the construction site identifies themselves through their fingerprints and can then pass the turnstile to the fenced area. An online induction software solution also completes pre-registration in advance, with all worker data collected on a central portal, for visibility and traceability.

Marcus Garheden, CEO of Betonmast Mälardalen AB, explained: “For us, it is an important safety issue to know who moves in our workplaces. This solution is both secure and easy to install and manage. We also get a good basis for developing our processes and our planning and a better grasp of the actual workflows in our projects.

“We know from the UK that this is a revolutionary technology that has spread very quickly.”

Behind the construction project in Nykvarn is Bokoop, the first large-scale investment in cooperative tenancies in Sweden in more than a hundred years. The goal is to build good quality, cost effective housing for young people. The houses are close to public transport, heated only with geoenergy and solar panels, will be environmentally certified, are equipped with an electric carpool and an e-commerce annex where residents can pick up packages and groceries. Extremely fast internet is included in the rent.

Olof Landgren, chairman of Bokoop Kooperativ Hyresrättsförening, commented:

“Our goal is to create sustainable innovation at all levels in the housing market. For us it is an obvious choice to work with responsible partners such as ASSA ABLOY and Biosite, who drive sustainability in an industry with major historical challenges.”

ASSA ABLOY’s Biosite solution now expects that more construction companies will follow the lead of Bokoop and Betonmast. Earlier this year, a collaboration was initiated with ID06; an industry-wide initiative with an identity card systems at the center, aimed to to make it easier to identify people in the workplace and connect each person to an employer. Already this summer, ID06 had delivered over 580,000 new cards to 75,000 Swedish companies.

Samuel Asarnoj, Head of the Construction Business Area, within the ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions division, concluded: “The system provides an easy and flexible way to secure both identity, documentation and compliance through accurate data. We see biometrics as a natural next step for the construction industry and are completely convinced that in Sweden we will benefit as much from the technology as we have in the UK.”