New system helps ensure security for shuttle bus service at the Yard

In response to efforts to make the Brooklyn Navy Yard (the Yard) more secure following the launch of a new shuttle bus service, Orion Entrance Control, Inc. was selected to use its technological expertise to help develop a security solution for the buses. The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC), a nonprofit that was chosen to convert the Brooklyn Navy Yard into an industrial park in 1981, needed to find a way to make the Yard more accessible to the employees, contractors and visitors of the 300-acre industrial park. The BNYDC settled on offering a shuttle bus service, but needed to find a way to ensure that only authorized personnel took advantage of it. As a secure facility, employees at the Yard are required to provide credentials upon entering the facility.

“We already had an S2 access control system in place at the Yard entrances and wanted to extend its capabilities to our buses,” said Pasquale Cirullo, vice president of technology for BNYDC.

To explore options, BNYDC tasked Advanced Electronic Solutions to come up with a plan to address the security concerns. Advanced Electronic Solutions worked with Orion Entrance Control, Inc. and designed a credential-reading solution. The system stands three feet tall and includes bar code readers, HID iClass readers and an S2 MicroNode™ Plus. It will read physical cards and mobile credentials, as well as barcodes supplied to Yard employee visitors.

The system is currently set up on six buses and is user and driver friendly It closely resembles the systems used on public transportation, simplifying the experience. The driver of the bus is also easily able to monitor credentials, as a green or red light is displayed when they are read.

“The new system makes it easy for us to ensure that the people who should be on the Yard, are on the Yard,” said Cirullo.

The system has improved Yard security and enables the facility to remain secure. The system also allows the Yard to capture important data about who is using the service and route efficiency.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard has an illustrious past. It was founded in 1801 and was the nation’s foremost naval facility, launching the USS Maine, USS Arizona and USS Missouri, among others. The City of New York received the Yard in the 1960s after the Navy vacated it. A few years later, the BNYDC was appointed, and construction of the secure facility begun. Today, the Yard is home to over 400 businesses employing more than 8,000 people.

“We plan to grow the Navy Yard to house 20,000 or more employees, and now we have a solution for our buses that can scale as we grow,” Cirullo added.