Aramco rolls out facial recognition technology at facilities

Aramco is living up to its mission of making it the safest and most secure place to live and work through the deployment of cutting-edge facial recognition technology.

Spearheaded by Industrial Security Operations and in alignment with the company’s Digital Transformation strategy, the Industrial Security Support (ISSD) and the Information Technology Engineering departments have started the roll out at 31 critical facilities Kingdomwide, including Ras Tanura Refinery, Abqaiq Plants, and Shedgum Gas Plant. 

The technology is associated with Security Access Control.

Digitalization

Facial recognition is a way of identifying or confirming an individual’s identity using their face. It can be used to identify people in photos, videos, or in real-time.

Fahad Y. Al Khathran, lead project engineer with ISSD, explained: “A benchmark with world leading mitigation measures of COVID-19 was conducted in early 2020 and resulted in selecting this technology, which is being deployed as part of the security access control to eliminate touch points and enhance the safety and security of critical facilities. This technology was also endorsed by the company’s COVID-19 committee. 

Phase one

Phase 1 of the project, Al Khathran adds, will enable seamless access for employees in non-oil and gas facilities through the scanning of facial features; while in oil and gas facilities, two-factor authentication will be utilized by scanning both ID and facial features.