Green Exhibition Services, specialists in event, conference and exhibition registration, was recently awarded the contract to assist with the roll-out of the new security permits at Johannesburg International Airport (now OR Tambo International Airport).
"This was one of the most complex projects we have undertaken to date," says Derek Green.
"OR Tambo International Airport is one of only a handful of National Security Keypoints. Green Exhibition Services worked very closely with the SAPS, NIA and ACSA to ensure that all security standards were adhered to. There were over 28,000 permits in existence, many of which had to be converted to a new biometric security system. Green Exhibition Services coordinated over 500 companies consisting of 18,000 staff. These applicants were organised to arrive in a streamlined manner and in consistent quantities to keep the permit office busy, but not too busy to cause queues. The impact on airport operations was thus kept at a minimum.
Green Exhibition Services assisted with the design and implementation of the operations. This included consulting on the optimization of existing systems, the supply of the Marquee for the temporary permit office, staff training and on-site management as well as implementing a computerized ID checking station for the SAPS.
The SAPS vetting was carried out using our own in-house registration software. It was configured to cross-reference the ID book barcodes with the main SAPS database, alerting the SAPS operator to the status of each applicant. The system ensured that only applicants entitled to new permits arriving on the correctly scheduled day were processed. After the vetting procedure there were 20 teller operators taking photographs and issuing the new permits.
We are very proud of the resounding success of this project. We rolled out over 17,500 new permits in just 23 days. A great achievement in itself, but there was also not one flight delayed due to the roll-out operations. We have since been advised by ACSA that this was the fastest such rollout ever to have taken place world-wide."
