RFID Tagged Construction Permit Verification System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Construction sites face challenges in ensuring that workers carry all required government authorization cards, as existing cards are not smart cards and workers must present multiple cards repeatedly, leading to difficulties in compliance and increased fines during inspections.
Innovation Solution
A construction site access control system using RFID tags irremovably attached to authorization cards, which are read by a portable and inexpensive RFID reader to verify the presence of necessary permits, associating card ID codes with RFID codes and using a database to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional paper authorization cards are used without RFID tags, then the cards are simple and inexpensive to issue, but workers must constantly present multiple cards to readers, making compliance verification difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple authorization cards (OSHA card, DOB card, welder's license, etc.) into a single composite card by attaching RFID tags to each card and linking them through a database using worker identification. This merging allows the system to verify all required credentials simultaneously through a single RFID scan, eliminating the need for workers to present multiple separate cards individually.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy of the multi-card verification process by storing RFID tag data and card associations in a database. The RFID reader captures electronic copies of card information and the system verifies compliance by comparing against stored records, replacing the need for manual inspection of physical cards with automated digital verification.
2Reliability
If multiple separate authorization cards are issued by different agencies, then each card can be independently validated, but workers must carry and present multiple cards, increasing complexity of the access control process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary database system that stores the relationships between workers, their authorization cards, and RFID tags. This intermediary layer manages the complexity by centralizing card associations and providing a unified verification interface, allowing the access control system to handle multiple credentials through a single coordinated process rather than managing each card separately.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal access card system where a single composite authorization card (multiple government cards combined with RFID) serves multiple functions: identification, credential verification, and access control. This universal card replaces the need for workers to manage multiple separate cards and allows a single RFID reader to handle all verification functions.
3Extent of automation
If RFID tags are attached to authorization cards, then card verification is automated and compliance is ensured, but the cards become more complex and require association databases to link card ID codes with RFID codes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-establishing the associations between worker identities, authorization cards, and RFID tags in a database before the cards are used for access control. This pre-linking of data eliminates the need for complex real-time matching operations during verification, as the system only needs to check whether the presented RFID tag matches pre-recorded associations in the database.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively verifies the presence of required authorization cards, reducing the burden on workers and minimizing fines by ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, allowing for efficient entry and exit control while reducing the need for multiple card presentations.
Implementation Method 1
controlling and providing access to a construction site by reading RFID tags that are associated with different government authorization cards
Data Source
AI summary
A credentials verification system for controlling compliance with required carrying of permit cards at construction work sites has an association database with stored data that correlates work permits with RFID data corresponding to RFID tags, where a respective and unique RFID tag is assigned to and irremovably attached to each work permit. A local control system at each work site includes: an RFID tag reader that reads an RFID tag wirelessly when a worker approaches within a predetermined distance of the RFID tag reader; a local processor and a software facility associated with the local processor that verify that a sensed RFID tag is authorized; and an entry controller operating under the local processor for controlling the entranceway into the work site so as to admit a worker only when the worker has been determined to carry the required work permit(s).