Frictionless access control for corporate security

Founded in 1940, Air Products has built a reputation for its innovative culture, operational excellence, and commitment to safety and the environment. Focused on serving energy, environment, and emerging markets, they provide essential industrial gasses, related equipment, and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemical, metals, electronics, manufacturing, and food and beverage. That same focus on innovation and commitment to safety extends to protecting the employees who work for Air Products.

In 2020, Air Products was building its new Global Headquarters in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with the directive to make the new buildings cutting-edge and technology-driven. Of course, around this time, the world was experiencing the COVID-19 Pandemic, so one of the goals was to provide a frictionless and touchless experience for accessing the buildings. Air Products was experiencing difficulties with their initial facial recognition system and was looking to replace that solution when they came across Alcatraz by chance at a trade show.

Before selecting Alcatraz, the previously identified solution began failing after the manufacturer updated their software. This led to inconsistent facial reads of enrolled employees. Air Products invested a lot of time ensuring that the Alcatraz product would work and there would be adequate service and support after the purchase. Air Products also needed to validate that the product would work for its global employee base.

“Before purchasing from Alcatraz, we tested the product thoroughly. Due to our Global footprint, Air Products requires compliance with GDPR, which was another determining factor in choosing Alcatraz due to its commitment to privacy by design. Key stakeholders from a cross-functional team within Air Products vetted the Alcatraz Rock, to ensure the solution complied with GDPR and that no Personal Identifiable Information (PII) was exposed, the approval process went smoothly.”

— Ryan Daumer, Manager of Electronic and Physical Security for North America

Mr. Daumer reports that the initial installation and enrollment of users were efficient. “We are now expanding throughout India, and we were happy that the Alcatraz Rock is certified with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), as well. We are also expanding with a new facility in the United Kingdom, so GDPR compliance is key.”

“At our headquarters, Alcatraz stands out as a technology our employees consistently appreciate and enjoy,” remarked Mr. Daumer. “Moreover, Alcatraz has proven to be an exceptional partner post-installation; on the rare occasions when issues arose, their response has been swift and personalized. The Alcatraz team consistently maintains communication to ensure our satisfaction and the optimal performance of their product, demonstrating a genuine commitment to ongoing engagement.”

“The majority of our 1,800 HQ based employees use the Alcatraz AI Rock every day, and our employees love the ease of use and frictionless access, eliminating the hassle of reaching for a credential when carrying their personal items into work,” said Michelle Bauer, Project Security and Compliance Specialist. “I managed the enrollment process during COVID and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly we enrolled our large HQ population.”