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Electronic makes flexible

Project Details

Client Name

Alcon

Category

Electronic makes flexible

Date

June 20, 2017

Website

alcon.com

Alcon Couvreur, part of the pharmaceutical group Novartis, has a massive production site and logistics center in Puurs, Belgium. As a global producer of surgical and pharmaceutical eye care products, the requirements regarding quality, standards, and documentation are extremely high. To ensure the safety of business-critical processes, Alcon sought a way to better secure specific technical installations, in addition to general access control.

Impressions

Challenge

Although general access to the buildings was well managed with a badge system, the technical and electrical cabinets constituted a blind spot in the security. Previously, virtually everyone had access to these cabinets, which posed risks to the production processes.
The specific bottlenecks were:

  • Uncontrolled access: It was unclear who made changes to the electrical diagrams.

  • Critical processes: Essential installations, such as freezer units for new medicines, had to be protected against unintentional shutdown or unauthorized use.

  • Costs and infrastructure: Equipping all 150 technical cabinets with traditional card readers would require a massive investment, particularly due to the necessary cabling in every corner of the site.

Solution

In collaboration with Sellox, Alcon chose the CyberLock system. This electronic locking system offered the perfect balance between security, flexibility, and cost control. The installation focused specifically on replacing the mechanical locks of the technical cabinets.

The results of this solution:

  • No cabling: Because the power and intelligence are contained in the key, the 150 cabinets could be fitted with electronic cylinders without extensive renovations or wiring.

  • Full audit trail: Facility Management can now see exactly who accessed which cabinet, when, and. This is crucial for quality control and incident management.

  • Exclusive access: Only certified technicians are granted access to specific cabinets, which has increased internal security and satisfaction among technical staff.

  • Flexible management: The system runs in parallel with the existing badge system and is easy to expand should security requirements be further tightened in the future.

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