Siemens has built a working relationship with DONG Energy, Denmark’s largest power generator. Having delivered a number of diverse projects for the company, the recent has seen Siemens work with DONG to establish one common access control system across all of the company’s 85 sites throughout Denmark.
Siemens has built a working relationship with DONG Energy, Denmark's largest power generator. Having delivered a number of diverse projects for the company, the recent has seen Siemens work with DONG to establish one common access control system across all of the company's 85 sites throughout Denmark.
Producing more than 50 percent of Denmark's power and approximately 40 percent of its heat, DONG is one of the energy companies in Northern Europe. Its business is based on producing, distributing and selling energy and energy-related products through traditional power plants and wind farms, not only in Denmark but also in the U.K., the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Poland and France, as well as through hydroelectric plants in Sweden. The company employs around 6,000 personnel mostly working at its Danish sites.
DONG believes that maintaining a good working environment and a high level of safety for employees and suppliers is a prerequisite for operating a healthy and efficient business. This corporate responsibility being an integral part of its values and vision, the company requires all staff to undergo a safety and security certification course for each of its sites at which they work or visit. This attitude was the major driving force behind a move to improve the access control systems deployed at the 85 sites in its homeland, though the initiative also addressed recommendations made by the Danish authorities that regularly monitor security and safety at Denmark's critical infrastructure facilities.
As a result, DONG Energy determined to establish a common access control system across all of its sites in Denmark to increase the security level and to ensure easy access for all employees to centralized and decentralized power plants, city stations and office buildings alike. DONG placed the order with Siemens for the multisite access control system specified by its own facility management team. The contract was duly completed on schedule and all DONG Energy employees are able to use the same card to access all sites anywhere in the country. The project included not only implementation of new systems and the replacement of old, third-party systems, but also the facility to interface with DONG's system application & products system for exporting human resources data.
The new Siemens access control system provides freedom of movement for thousands of employees in a secure environment at numerous locations scattered throughout Denmark. It is flexible, scalable and easy to use and in its entirety comprises 6,000 contactless smart cards and proximity cards, 79 door controllers, 617 readers or proximity coupling devices and four printers. The system is also installed in smaller substations and office buildings throughout Denmark and has the capability for future expansion into other international locations.
The central controllers of the access control system play a crucial role, as they are the interface between the integrated software and the field-level devices. Two types of controllers are installed, which work in tandem on the same site. Communication between all the controllers in the system takes place peer-to-peer, independent of the server. So if connection to the server should be interrupted, operation of the system is unaffected.
Following the successful implementation of the access control system, Siemens was also awarded the service contract for three years.
DONG Energy is aiming to be a major international supplier to the whole of Northern Europe. The company has approximately 70 current licenses for research of oil and gas and is undertaking drilling activities in the Danish and Norwegian part of the North Sea.