CAMPBELL, CALIF. - March
6, 2007 - - Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies today announced that Martin's
Fantasy Island, a family theme park in the hub of Northern New York's Niagara
Region and less than 10 minutes from downtown Buffalo, is using its HandPunch
hand geometry terminals to provide 100 percent verification of season pass holders.
The biometric readers also prevent pass-backs, in which several people use the
same pass to enter the park. HandPunch readers automatically take a three-dimensional
reading of the size and shape of a hand and verify the user's identity in less
than one second.
"We previously used laminated cards for season passes," reports Mike
McGuire, customer service director for Martin's Fantasy Island. "We discovered
that some people were creating their own season passes to get into the park.
Therefore, we needed to implement a more secure system."
"After Martin
DiPietro park owner, consulting with Plasco ID (Miami, Fla.), Martin's Fantasy
Island decided to deploy BioParkPass, a passholder verification system that
streamlines the process of tracking guests and uses hand geometry as the credential.
The park ordered three hand readers, two to be used to register guests and the
other at the front entrance gate for passholders to use.
"Today, when a season passholder arrives at the front entrance, they swipe
their pass and then present their hand to the hand reader," McGuire explains.
"If they are indeed the passholder, a green light flashes and they are
immediately let in. This gives us much better verification than the pass alone.
It also speeds the passholder into the park quickly."
According to McGuire, the biometric-based system has been very helpful. It gives
a record on how many times the passes are used. This helps the park determine
future costs of the pass since they can now determine use and which days are
busier. With this information, they are able to better plan special events and
promotions.
"We are looking at additional applications as well," adds McGuire.
"We feel that local residents use our water park, which is included with
our admission, quite often over the summer. It will be interesting to track
that. We're also considering using the hand reader for our employees to punch
in and out of work. This will reduce buddy punching, in which one employee clocks
in or out for another, plus it will provide our employees with much more accurate
time recording."
Ingersoll Rand Recognition Systems was named a recent recipient of the Application
Market Penetration Leadership Award for access control and time and attendance
applications in Frost & Sullivan's study, World Biometrics Market. Website
is www.schlage.ingersollrand.com.