Regional Transportation District of Denver Uses L-1 3D Face Readers to Guard its Treasury

The Challenge
The Regional Transportation District (RTD) of Denver serves 9 counties and 44 municipalities and has 85 million passenger trips aboard its light rail, bus, call-n-Ride and access-a-Ride services each year. As a result, it handles millions of dollars a year in collected transit fees. Like other financial organizations, the RTD Treasury needed a state-of-the-art solution to secure access to its offices and safes.
But card-based access alone left too much risk. The Treasury wanted to increase security by adding a stronger authentication factor to its access control measures.

The Solution
The Treasury began looking for a biometric solution as the most secure way to control access to its area. It found what it was looking for in 3D face readers from the enterprise access division of L-1 Identity Solutions. The division’s biometric solutions authenticate workers using factors unique to them — such as the structure of their face.
The Treasury tied the face readers to a Lenel card access system and placed a mantrap at the entrance to ensure only one person could enter at a time. Treasury employees pause in front of the face reader, which authenticates them in under a second against the template called up by their smart cards. The L-1 3D Face Reader shines a near-infrared light on the user’s face of a grid pattern and takes a picture of the resulting distortions. It collects some 40,000 data points and makes matches based on information such as the curvature of the forehead. As a result, the reader can make a match even if a person’s face changes as a result of scars or swelling caused by an accident or weight gain or loss. Because the reader uses its own light source, it can also make matches in poor lighting conditions. The face readers can accommodate a number
of facial positions, further simplifying the user experience. The enrollment process during which a user’s facial image is first acquired takes 6 to 8 seconds.
Because of the amount of cash it deals with, the Treasury set the threshold for the face reader very high. This means that a high number of data points must match before an employee can gain access. At lower thresholds, fewer data point matches are needed. “We have Treasury’s security access thresholds set very high on the 3D face reader, because Treasury cannot tolerate any false accepts, yet we experience a 99 percent throughput rate. The L-1 3D face readers are serving us with fast speeds and high accuracy,” said RTD Treasury Manager Don Young.

The Results
The Treasury has added a new dimension to its security and created a formidable obstacle for would-be intruders. The face readers use a factor of authentication that can’t be lost, stolen or copied making it impossible for unauthorized personnel to gain access while keeping the access process straightforward and uncomplicated for employees.
“Security at the Treasury has been increased significantly,” Young said. “L-1 3D face readers are an elegant and simple solution that will present a significant challenge to anyone attempting to gain unauthorized access to the Treasury.” Like the RTD, other organizations are also beginning to see the value of face recognition.
According to the International Biometric Group (IBG) report, Biometric Market and Industry Report 2007-2012, face recognition technology is expected to exceed $1 billion in annual revenues by 2012.
As a result of the implementation, the RTD, which has 1,100 buses and 35 miles of light rail, is examining where else it can take advantage of the face readers. “The Treasury application of L-1 3D facial recognition has been successful. We will continue evaluating the use of L-1 3D facial readers for additional programs,” said Michael Sinclair, RTD’s Security Systems Administrator.

Monitor Arm saves cluttered computer desk

When it comes to having a computer in a small space, there are ways that a person can avoid having too many problems with overcrowding. Keyboard trays were designed with that idea in mind, so that people who needed their desk space would have somewhere to keep their keyboard so it would be out of the way when they weren’t using it.
In the spirit of that, there are now monitor arms, as well. These are designed to mount either to the back part of the desk surface or to the wall behind the desk. They help avoid the cluttered desk area that a monitor and its cords and wires can provide, and they also help to ensure that a person can adjust the monitor just the way that he or she really wants it.
The main idea, though, is that these monitor arms help to free up desk surface space so that it can be used for something else. A lot of people have paperwork and other things that they need while they are working on their computer, and if the desk surface is small and mostly taken up by a monitor, that paperwork has nowhere to go. Attaching the monitor to a swing arm and getting it up and off of the desk – and out of the way – can make a huge difference to someone working in a small space.

If you’re looking to mount your flat panel monitor on the wall, you’re in luck. There are plenty of different arms for you to use to do that. Getting one that is the most comfortable to you is key, though. Ergonomics are important, and you don’t want to end up with something that you can’t get adjusted properly. Fortunately they come in just about all shapes and sizes, and many of them are adjustable.
Common options include a flat panel monitor arm that attaches the monitor to the wall, much like one would see with large flat screen television sets, a monitor arm that allows the monitor to swing from side to side, and a lcd monitor arm that allows the monitor to move up and down.
These seem to be the arms that are in the biggest demand, so when it comes to picking one for you, know that you have plenty of options. You should get what you like and what you will use the most, and not worry about what a colleague is using or anything like that. You don’t want to be stuck using something that you really don’t like just because you feel like everyone else has one. Get the right one for your needs.

Melt the stress away with ergonomic seating

Computer Furniture Warehouse offers a fantastic line of office chairs.  Whether you are looking for an executive chair, or a more basic mesh back chair, the range of seating is sure to have exactly what you need for your office needs.
The chair models provide a high level of comfort and adjustibility.  Most office chairs also offer ergonomic features as well.  All areas of the users comfort are considered when creating this incredible line of chairs.  The seats are manufactured with resilient high density foam padding that allows the user to remain comfortable throughout the work day. Office Chairs featuring mesh back allow air to move through the mesh adding further comfort for the user.  The adjustable lumbar support allows you to move in and out as well as up and down.  The pneumatic seat height adjustment and seat slider allow the seat to be moved forward or rearward to achieve the perfect amount of support for people of varying heights.
Workstation chairs have added features such as armless options, as well as adjustable arms.  Further more they are tested before, during and after production to ensure their quality.  End result: The chairs are more than attractive & affordable, they are a great investment now and throughout their lifetime.

The newest in the ergonomic line of seating is the Ergonomic Mesh office Chair.  These chairs have a sense of elegance and sopistication that all can enjoy.  The chair has a soft back mesh and features a breathable fabric mesh seat upholstery with pneumatic seat adjustment.
This chair also features a very important ergonomic seating design.  This can be defined as the neutral body positioning or the way your body alligns when you are seated (working posture.)  Many people fail to realize the importance of this critical aspect.  The following four characteristics of the Mesh Desk Chair are key components to proper ergonomic seating:

Height adjustable arms

Pneumatic seat height adjustment

Synchro tilt chair control with tilt tension adjustment

Single position tilt lock

Overall ergonomic seating helps reduce stress as well as the strain that your muscles endure and further reduces the damaging effects that may occure due to improper body positioning.

British Red Cross, Taking the drama out of a paper crisis…

International aid agency British Red Cross use Fujitsu’s desktop scanner, ScanSnap to speed up and reduce the cost of paper distribution

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest independent humanitarian network in the world, with more than 100 million members across the globe. One of the most active members of this movement, British Red Cross is a leading UK charity with 40,000 volunteers working in almost every community.
Getting to the source of the problem
British Red Cross relies on donations to continue its vital impartial humanitarian work, so the job of the press office is to get The Red Cross seen and heard by potential donors as much as possible. The press office issue an average of 10 – 15 press releases a month - ensuring the Red Cross is mentioned in over 6,000 press articles a year.
It’s crucial that the press office deal with journalist enquiries and information requests quickly - The Red Cross can receive well over 50 calls a day during a major humanitarian crisis. Journalists frequently have tight deadlines that the press office has to meet to ensure they get as much valuable publicity as possible. With over 40,000 volunteers working on projects throughout the UK there are a lot of activities and projects to publicise, and huge amounts of promotional material to manage!
British Red Cross wanted an admin solution that would make paper documents and photos easier to file, manage and send out to the media. In addition, the department wanted to scan in press cuttings mentioning the organisation for staff and volunteers to read on a daily basis over their secure intranet.
Clare McNeil, Press Officer at The British Red Cross explains: “We needed to find a document scanner that would quickly and easily convert paper-based documents into electronic files that could be distributed throughout the organisation and to third parties. Being a charity, we obviously needed a solution that was powerful yet inexpensive, which is why we chose to try Fujitsu’s ScanSnap solution.”
Instant results
“Once installed, ScanSnap was immediately put to good use and is now helping us in many ways. Now whenever we have any paper-based information that needs to be delivered to someone externally, we can just scan the documents into digital format and email them off. Scanning takes literally two seconds! Journalists now receive the information almost immediately and no longer have to wait for the next day’s post. We have saved considerable money on postage, and drastically reduced our fax costs.”
As space within the press office is at a premium, the size of the scanner proved to a real bonus: “Traditional flatbed scanners we have used in the past proved to be cumbersome to use all the time and it was difficult to justify the cost and space. But ScanSnap is so small, fast and easy to use it really has become an essential addition to my desktop! In fact, we are using ScanSnap to reduce the amount of paper we keep in filing cabinets which we hope will eventually free up more office space than we had before.”
Plans for the Future
“Our primary goal was to shorten the time it takes to send promotional material out to journalists and ScanSnap has really helped us with this. We’ve also experienced benefits we hadn’t even considered we would get with a document scanner. ScanSnap’s Cardminder software enables us to scan in business cards straight into a database. This is so good for us as we’re always out meeting people at fundraising events and being handed cards that normally sit in a drawer. Now we can easily keep records of whom we’ve met and make sure no-one gets forgotten!”

Hillsborough County | 9-1-1 Emergency Response Printer Upgrade

When the Hillsborough County 9-1-1 Administration was upgrading its Fire Printer Network (FPN) 9-1-1 Call Delivery System, it turned to TallyGenicom laser printers to increase efficiency and improve emergency response time. Fire rescue emergency situations leave little room for error. The moment a call is received from the 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatch Center, firefighters and paramedics rely on rigorous training and advanced technology to respond to the scene. 

Problem Met | Upgrading Technology
In 2003, the Hillsborough County 9-1-1 Administration began the process of upgrading its FPN. For years, the Administration had relied on slow dot-matrix printers with short ribbon life and inconsistent performance that did not provide the flexibility of larger fonts, bolded text and information boxes to highlight call information.   “We were looking for high-speed, top quality laser printers that could work in a public safety environment and decrease the process,” said Joni Taylor, manager, Hillsborough County 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatch Center.

TallyGenicom’s Solution
Taylor found the mix of speed and rugged design she was looking for in the TallyGenicom mL260 laser printer. The mL260 is designed for 24/7 use and was perfect for the company’s Critical Response Printing System. The printer features adjustable font sizes that can be changed on a station by station basis and Intellifilter™ software that allows for printer compatibility on any system without the need to reprogram.

Speed When It Counts
As compared to its competitors, the TallyGenicom mL260 laser printer was far more rugged and offered a deeper paper tray. And, the automatic power saver mode could be shut off ensuring that there would be no delay in the dissemination of crucial dispatch information. During a performance test conducted by the Hillsborough County Fire Department requiring the transmission and printing of a tear n’ go sheet for six separate fire/rescue apparatus in 30 seconds, the TallyGenicom printer was able to transmit and print faster than the HP.

Customization Creates Efficiency
The TallyGenicom mL260 laser printer has capabilities that will continue to be implemented by Hillsborough County over time. The highlight of the TallyGenicom laser printer is its ability to pre-program maps into its hard drive for duplex printing. When the Administration becomes more acclimated to the new dispatch system, Hillsborough plans to phase in use of the map duplexing capability. Pagers, PDAs and mobile devices also can be connected to the TallyGenicom printers, enabling first responders to receive dispatch sheets if an emergency situation compromises telephone lines through failure or overuse.

Customer Feedback
“TallyGenicom stood apart based on their printer performance. Also, they took a challenge-solution approach that made our Fire Printer Network operation more efficient and user-friendly for our personnel.”

Office Seating for the workplace

Due to the today’s technology, a large number of people are spending most of their working time behind a desk in uncomfortable office chair. Cause of this deskbound lifestyle, more and more people are become overweight, out of shape, and developing other health problems.
Although a sedentary lifestyle causes health problems in itself, uncomfortable office chair causes a completely new arena of problems. Hours and hours in uncomfortable chairs bring trouble on the back, neck pain, and overall body aches from bad posture.
Here is a guide that can help you in choosing the right office chair, which reducing body aches, stiffness and pain.
Buy office chair is similar to buy a car. Would you buy a car without test driving it? The same thing is applied in selecting your chair, you have to sit down and feel it. Once again, like a car, you want comfort; you will spend many hours in the car commuting, shopping and running errands. The same philosophy applies to your office furniture. You will spend many hours in the chair so choose wisely.
Here is a guide as to what you should consider when buying your next office chairs.
Back support
Your new chair should give an adequate back support. Back support of the chair should also be adjustable to fit properly to your back. Back support of the cair should remain the same as you move and recline in your chair. A good office chair with proper back support can improve your posture and can eliminate or reduce back pain and stiffness. Selecting an office chair without adequate back support can cause back problems which may stay with you throughout your life.
Seating
The padding and seat design should be considered.
The front of the seat should have a rounded edge. A straight horizontal front will cut off circulation in the backside of the knee. A good tip is that you should be able to slide your finger between the inside of the foot and the front edge of the  seats.
The width of the seat and armrest
You need to fit in the chair. If you want to squeeze into the chair then it does not fit, no matter how uncomfortable it may seem once you are seated. There must be room between the armrests and your body. In addition, the armrests need to interact with the table. A good office chair have adjustable arm rests. What goods are armrests if they are not useable or inconvenient to use. Quality armrests can help with tasks such as reading and writing, and take the pressure and tension from neck and shoulder.
Height adjustment
The people are not all the same height, so your office seating should have a height adjustment. Specifications to adjust your office chair and to promote good posture are as follows: thighs should be horizontal to the ground while both feet are on the floor and your wrists should be straight while typing.
If you can not find an office chair height that allows the two above, you perhaps have straight wrists while typing and your body is aligned correctly in accordance with the chair and the floor.
Stability
Your chair should be stable. Your chair tipping over if you are in it is not funny. Permanent injury can occur. Search for a chair on wheels that swivels and five basis points that will not flip you over your head when you recline.
So take the time you are out shopping for your new office furniture, take in this article. Once you have decided on your new office chair, make sure it has all the features above. As mentioned earlier, a good office chair can improve posture and eliminate pain and aches.

Inergy Automotive Systems | 100-Percent Accurate Bar Codes Automatically

Inergy Automotive Systems, the world's leading manufacturer of plastic tank systems for top German car makers including Porsche and BMW, depends on the security and reliability of Printronix printers for internal logistics at its manufacturing plant in Rottenburg, Germany. Equipped with a customized Online Data Validation (ODV) system, Inergy is able to check bar code labels for accuracy and ensure all production and assembly documentation is readable.
With 25 plants in 19 countries, Inergy Automotive Systems employs approximately 4,500 people. The company, headquartered in Paris, France, has three manufacturing plants in Germany at Rottenburg, Eisenach and Ginsheim-Gustavsburg.
The plant in Rottenburg an der Laaber in Lower Bavaria, employs approximately 150 people working three shifts, to make more than 700,000 plastic tanks a year. The Rottenburg plant has made, tested and dispatched more than eight million tanks. This is demanding work, and the plant is certified in quality management, environmental management and safety-at-work management.
Problem Met | Printers for Quality and Process Assurance
Inergy Automotive Systems needed a printing specialist with a robust offering for reading bar codes and cancelling them immediately if they are faulty or incorrect. From its good experience with Ratio Label Service GmbH (RLS) of Flörsheim, the decision-makers at the Rottenburg plant learned about Printronix. Printronix is the only supplier in the market offering intelligent print systems, such as ODV. The ODV solution from Printronix does more than just confirm that bar codes are readable, it intelligently cancels and reprints inaccurate labels.
“When we decided to use RFID printers at our Rottenburg plant, we opted for Printronix because they offer the best and most versatile thermal printing solutions with ODV,” said Robert Brusch, industrial engineer for Inergy Automotive Systems who worked with Manfred Grahl, manager information systems and services, to coordinate IT and production.
“What really made us select Printronix is that they were already working in a highly reliable partnership with RLS,” said Grahl. “Since RLS wrote the software for our requirements, it just made sense.”
“We're incredibly pleased that Inergy Automotive Systems, one of the largest international automotive contractors, believes in Printronix,” says Holger Steer, area sales manager for Central Europe and South Africa, Printronix. “We’re also pleased that the automotive industry, as well as its suppliers are turning to Printronix more often for our reliability and performance. Our solutions are highly flexible and can meet any demand.”
The Printronix Solution | T5204r with ODV
Inergy chose the Printronix T5204r thermal bar code printer with ODV for its flexibility, easy maintenance and ability to quickly upgrade to RFID in the future. The T5204r is used to print two, code 128 bar code labels containing the tank's serial number for tracking during the manufacturing process and beyond. Building on the flexibility of the Printronix solution, RLS created custom software for Inergy. The printers connect to a PC with the RLS software installed. This
2-2-2 Inergy Automotive Systems | 100-Percent Accurate Bar Codes Automatically
temporary stand-alone solution can be integrated later in a remote-manageable network if the other moulding systems are fitted with ODV systems, which can then be fitted with PrintNet Enterprise, Printronix’s own management software, so the computers can be remote controlled from anywhere.
Inergy Software Solution
The software designed by RLS meets Inergy's requirements and automatically gives the tank a serial number. Only the administrator can change this number, because there are a number of different serial numbers depending on the product that is to be made. “Something else which is particularly important about this software is that the individual tank weights also are held in the system and these are quality checked directly,” says Klaus Sterker, managing director, RLS, who is in charge of implementation for this project. “Our software connects the ODV thermal printer to the scale, providing the quality and process assurance Inergy needs.”
As tank production and assembly records have to be kept for a specified time, the software writes a report file for each individual tank, which the administrator can print out on demand.
Confidence is good, checking is better
Tanks are put on scales and weighed. If they weigh within tolerances, two identical bar codes are printed out with the same serial number, which are read by the ODV control unit. If both labels pass content and quality tests, staff on site can see on the computer screen that the labels are correct, and paste them to the tank in the position required. “ODV checks the quality and content of printed bar codes online then the data is sent to the program to be analysed and recorded in a file,” said Grahl.
Intelligent problem-solving
If a fault is reported because of incorrect serial numbers or unreadable bar codes, the printer takes both labels back in and prints over them with a checkered pattern so there is no way the incorrect labels can get to the production chain. Another clever detail is the weighing program. Should a tank be well over or under weight, no serial number label is printed, as it is clearly non-standard.
“Printronix printers are the only ones in the world which offer this cancel option,” said Sterker. “If a tank weighs even slightly out of tolerance, the tank gets a label with a serial number, but without a barcode, and is marked showing that its weight is not okay. It is then set aside and recycled.”
User-friendly and secure
Inergy has multiple users for it’s print solutions. In order to be sure that printing runs as smoothly as possible, each user is given specific user-rights. For security reasons, the printer requires an employee’s bar code ID to be read before the printer will work. This identifies the printer operator and is used to determine user rights for that employee.

The Best Business Printers for 2011

Business printer solution provider Metrofuser  announced the release of the research publication “The Best Business Printers for 2011,” an in-depth study which rates printer devices overall in terms of sustainability, functionality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Metrofuser’s findings show that the most cost-effective printers right now are not new printers. In fact The Best Office Printers for 2011 were built between 2001 and 2009. Laser printer and MFPs evolved very quickly in the late eighties and nineties. Since then, however, the acceleration of that technological development has slowed down, creating a marketplace opportunity for the consumer – these older models offer a huge range of features, workhorse performance and deliver flawless prints. The report represents the best-in-breed for businesses with varying printing needs.
The Selection Process
Derived from historical service data and research from commonly failed parts this list is a comprehensive yet concise look at the print devices that will help maximize businesses print budgets. The printers selected were chosen for their noteworthy;
Service Reliability
Access to/and Quality of Aftermarket Toner
Aftermarket Toner Market Penetration
Page Yield
Functionality
Number of Users
Duty Cycle
Page per Minute
Street Price