Hi folks Bit of an off-the-wall enquiry as I'm looking for a bit of kit that may not exist! We have a concern that pre-start checks for equipment may not be being conducted with quite the rigour that we would like: since everyone entitled to enter the production area has a personalised key fob to swipe in the main door, I was wondering if there's some sort of technology that will prevent a piece of machinery from starting up at the start of shift unless an authorised manager swipes a fob reader on the machine. OK, it still wouldn't stop the responsible person from swiping without conducting the checks, but at least we'd have a record of who allowed the machine to be started and accepted responsibility for its soundness at that time. Does anyone know of such a piece of technology and have any opinions as to its usefulness?

Paul, I expect the automation control industry should be able to use the existing entry technology in the way you describe. Why not ask the machinery suppliers directly?

Paul, Have a word with these people http://www.traka.com/ used something similiar for our Fork Lifts.