Nedap’s uPASS readers ensure secure vehicle access control at Neath Port Talbot Borough Council

Outdated access control system

Neath Port Talbot Borough Council selected Frontier Pitts Ltd to upgrade an existing road blocker and tag system. Frontier Pitts Ltd, based in Crawley (West Sussex), is the leading manufacturer of Security Gates, Automatic Barriers, Road blockers, Rising Bollards and Pedestrian Control Turnstiles and Gates.

The existing system had been installed for over twenty years. The road blockers are used to permit access for buses only, through an area where other vehicles have previously used the road as a bypass to avoid other traffic hotspots in the area.

The tag system technology has progressed greatly in the last twenty years, and the Council were keen to upgrade the system. The same system is also installed and has been in use at Swansea University since 2018. This was to ensure vehicles from both sites could use the same tags across both access control systems.

There was also an issue with vandalism in the area, so consideration had to be given to ensure the readers are installed appropriately, to avoid damage.

Nedap’s UHF RFID reader for long-range vehicle identification

Nortech advised Neath Port Talbot Borough Council on the right technology for their application and recommended the uPASS Target readers from Nedap. The uPASS Target is a high-end UHF RFID reader for long-range vehicle identification. Based on passive UHF technology (± 900 MHz), vehicles are identified up to 10 meters distance. Because of this long read range, the readers could be mounted on high access control posts to solve the problem of vandalism.

Benefits of automatic vehicle identification solution

Using Nedap’s automatic vehicle identification technology for Neath Port Talbot Borough Council ensures secure vehicles access control and has multiple benefits:

• Vehicles can be detected at up to 10 meters;
• Operates in all weather conditions;
• UHF vehicle tags are inexpensive and easy to fit to vehicles;
• Vehicle tags can be read at any orientation;
• Avoids the need for manned gates;
• Prevents unauthorized vehicle access;
• Using the same technology readers expanded the system enabling buses to access both sites.

“The choice of Nedap’s uPASS Target readers and vehicle tags provided us with solutions to our initial problems and has been a resounding success ever since”. Phil Frohwein, Lighting & Telematics Engineer at Frontier Pitts Ltd