Remote supervision improves safety

The China Fireworks and Firecrackers Association has teamed up with Hunan Yongjie Information Technology, in Hunan province, to launch an intelligent security management system that provides remote supervision in the fireworks industry.

Face-recognition technology and video surveillance will alert security teams to the presence of unauthorized personnel in production areas - fireworks production involves 72 separate procedures, and national regulations restrict employees to a single part of the process.

Details, including workers' images and their designated workspaces, are inputted into the system, which alerts security officers if an employee enters a colleague's workspace without permission.

A phone app provides closed circuit TV coverage so an entire factory complex can be monitored, according to Hunan Yongjie.

Xia Hu, the company's technical director, said the system only allows employees to have a maximum 100 grams of gunpowder in their workspace at a time to prevent explosions.

Moreover, workers are only allowed to transport gunpowder in 100-gram containers. If they attempt to use a larger vessel, an alarm will sound.

Zeng Fancheng, head of Hunan Yongjie, said guards will no longer have to sit outside gunpowder storerooms, because the system will allow them to monitor areas remotely, and with greater comfort and safety.

Tao Gusheng, security director of Tianfu Fireworks in Liuyang, Hunan, where the system is being piloted, said it has reduced his workload.

"Before, I had to either stay in the monitoring room or patrol the 40-hectare factory, which took about two hours, to supervise workers and ensure they followed the regulations. Now I can check any work area at anytime," he said.

Hunan Yongjie said companies' security departments will be given full access to the system, which covers the entire manufacturing chain, including production, sales, logistics and raw materials.

It costs an average of 150,000 yuan ($22,600) to install the system, which includes an online sales platform, in a factory. However, companies don't pay a lump sum, instead the cost is included in service fees.

Wu Zhengli, secretary-general of the China Fireworks and Firecrackers Association, said the organization will try to promote the system nationwide.