AUDI AG now uses the all advantages of the highly secure and flexible smart card technology platform throughout all parts of the company.  (Photo by LEGIC Identsystems AG)

Together with Volkswagen, AUDI AG has introduced a LEGIC-based, multifunctional employee card across the entire Group with great success, and now uses the all advantages of its highly secure and flexible smart card technology platform throughout all parts of the company.

The need for such a system was clear.  Over a period of years, employees at AUDI AG had amassed as many as six separate cards and IDs which covered access control, time & attendance, cashless payment, refueling and various other applications.  However, the overloaded card systems in place no longer offered an economically justifiable option for additional functions such as access to data and networks or the use of digital signatures, because of the various outdated technologies involved, technologies that were also susceptible to wear.  In addition, high maintenance costs were also arising from the continued use and maintenance of the multiple ID systems.

Such costs could be clearly seen simply by taking a look at the time expenditures caused by the internal organization of existing parallel-run identification systems alone.  General studies in this area revealed that most companies with more than 10,000 employees have a time expenditure for making an ID of at least 4 minutes per employee and per ID.  This means that for every replacement (e.g. approximately every two years for magnetic cards) 4 x 10,000 minutes, i.e. 40,000 minutes or approximately 667 hours of purely internal work time are accrued in each case.  For two systems with contacts it is then 1,334 hours, for three IDs 2,001 hours and so on.  And these are regularly recurring costs!

To implement a new, more comprehensive and efficient technology therefore a clear set of objectives would need to be achieved.  Important selection criteria for the project team were multi-application capability, integration during ongoing operation, flexibility and scalability for continual setup/upgrading, security against tampering through verifiable copy protection, independence from system providers and ease of use and maintenance.

”We decided on the contactless Smart Card system from LEGIC because their technology platform fulfilled our most stringent requirements.  Especially important was its security package with the LEGIC Master Token System ControlTM concept which enables the design of a security and control concept at the highest level while providing substantially more security than systems that are just protected by passwords.  In addition, this platform had the desired flexibility and scalability to adapt all applications to the future requirements of the company at anytime -- even during ongoing operations,” comments Schlichting from AUDI AG.

The LEGIC contactless Smart Card technology provides AUDI AG with an integrated, uniform platform for modern authorization management for everything from parking, access control, time & attendance, cashless payment at food/beverage vending machines and in the cafeteria to possible future biometric applications that would be conceivable in highly sensitive areas such as design.  All applications can be operated with one single identification credential.  LEGIC-based system solutions can be assembled and upgraded according to individual requirements and needs. Also, so-called hybrid solutions, i.e. a combination of the contactless LEGIC technology and systems with contacts, are also possible.

The AUDI AG multifunctional ID is one such hybrid solution.  The LEGIC chip that functions contact-free is, together with the antenna, concealed on the inside of the ID card.  The contact chip is attached to the back of the ID.  This solution is then used to give certain cleared employees access to IT systems and E-business applications for example.

Today, over 200,000 employees within the Volkswagen Group now enjoy the advantages of the uniform, LEGIC-based, multifunctional employee card.  Employee acceptance is high due to the ease of use and convenience of its contactless operation.  To ensure smooth processing of entry control, time acquisition and cashless payment with the minimum of delay, approximately 2,000 terminals have been installed at AUDI AG, spread throughout various production locations and at other Group premises.  LEGIC partners Winter AG, Automaten-Seitz and Interflex are also involved in the project.

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