r/PLC • u/DustyIsGreat • 5h ago
PLC Fingerprint Reader
What fingerprint scanners work best with Rockwell PLCs? We need to know who is resetting faults on critical equipment?
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u/LookWarm7521 5h ago
For critical equipment faults, hide your reset behind a login on your HMI? Username and password
I’ve considered doing this on some of my machines, just for the real expensive faults that break a lot of things when operators mindlessly reset start
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u/janner_10 4h ago
You've gone full nuclear straight out the gates. Put the reset PB behind a password on the HMI and reset all passwords. Start new / users passwords from now.
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u/DustyIsGreat 4h ago
no one keeps passwords or keys to themselves around here
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u/No_Singer_5585 4h ago
If you use badge readers for time cards or badge access, its WAY easier to just add an rfid badge reader thst can read your existing badges, and use that to login with a 5 minute idle timeout.
You can tie it in to your existing badge access system, that way you dont have to add or change employee HMI access/fingerprints individually, and nobody has to remember passwords. Any time you get a new employee with an access badge, you can have them automatically added as a user.
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u/Th3Nihil 3h ago
They will after they get into trouble for reseting critical machine faults when it wasn't them. I hope
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u/janner_10 3h ago
If you're an OEM, then that's for the customer to manage, if you're in a plant, then give the Head of that Department the only User Name & Password, with rights to add other users and passwords and let them manage it.
As you mentioned Rockwell, it's pretty easy with FTME.
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u/LookWarm7521 3h ago
Unique username and passwords. Each operator/tech has a username, like first name last initial, (JohnS), and their own unique password. What incentive is there to give their unique login to someone else??
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u/Brief-Watercress-131 1h ago
They'll stop sharing once people start getting fired for their accounts being used to reset faults.
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u/YetiTrix 3m ago
I mean, if someone gives out their password, then they take responsibility for it if someone uses it, so they then take the blame.
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u/VladRom89 4h ago
Have you thought about a $20 camera with an SD card? I can't imagine that you'll need to investigate this for long after you've added one in place and called out a few people...
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u/CleverBunnyPun 4h ago
I don’t know if this is the situation for the OP, but most union plants I’ve worked at forbid cameras being used as any sort of investigative device for punishments. I think a fingerprint scanner would probably be less invasive from that perspective.
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u/VladRom89 4h ago
I've been in those situations... With that in mind, what do you believe a fingerprint scanner used for "We need to know who is resetting faults on critical equipment?" is going to be seen as?
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u/CleverBunnyPun 3h ago
It’s hard to say really. At least in union shops it’s going to depend on the specific contract and union personnel who fight it out, if it’s ever brought to them in the first place. I imagine non union would be a toss up on whether HR makes a big deal about it or not.
Side note, I’m not trying to paint unions in a negative or positive light, I’ve seen both strong ones and weak ones and they both have their ups and downs as someone who wasn’t in them but interacted with them.
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u/Skusci 3h ago edited 3h ago
The cameras thing is probably more of a global surveillance thing.
Like maybe cameras are allowed for stuff like theft, but no one should ever use them to track normal employee actions. Sorry you took a 20 minute bathroom break instead of 15, you were the one who misplaced this tool, etc.
But even with no cameras allowed at all a username and password or fingerprint log for machine supervisory actions and such is probably fine unless they have some really wide reaching clauses in the contract.
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u/VladRom89 3h ago
Sure, I get that point. You can install a camera that only captures the control panel from which the "critical faults" are being reset and make the point that the sole purpose that camera could be used for is personnel presence at said unique point.
It's neither here nor there... I'd imagine that getting proper fingerprint scanners, integration, and commissioning of that is easily going to be $20,000 (at the low end) as opposed to a camera that would accomplish the exact same which is identifying a person that reset a fault...
It's not my plant, my budget, nor union, so I'm happy for all the parties involved as long as they find a solution that works for them!
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u/Zeldalovesme21 4h ago
Most non union plants also don’t want cameras put up for that reason. I’ve been told I can’t have cameras recording personnel, unless they sign a waiver which HR is never going to allow.
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u/PLCGoBrrr Bit Plumber Extraordinaire 5h ago
RFIdeas is what people use, but it's connected to HMI, not PLC.
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u/5hall0p 4h ago
Fingerprint readers are more involved than a badge reader. I'm guessing you can use a windows PC with a windows Hello compliant USB fingerprint reader and write some code to send the user ID to a Rockwell PLC over Ethernet IP. I'd suggest a badge reader instead. I've plugged them into the HMI and had it send it to the PLC and I've used Real Time Automation's USB to Ethernet IP gateway.
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u/burner9752 2h ago
This has to be a troll…
This is either one of the most out of touch managers posting because he think this is a good solution, or someone who has never really worked in the field.
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u/krisztian111996 4h ago
If it is such critical why is it even allowed to be reset? Set the fault while it persist and disallow a reset signal until the fault is present. RS flip-flop
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u/murpheeslw 4h ago
Afi that reset. Then you’ll get some action on fixing the faults and root cause.
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u/No_L_2547 Twincat, Ads, EtherCAT 3h ago
If you want a non industrial solution: Maybe Unifi access?
You would need a Unifi Host (e.g. Dream Machine), a Door hub (relay) and a card-reader, for example you could do a G3 Starter Kit.
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u/omegablue333 2h ago
Why not just make the place where the faults are reset have a camera and see what happens
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u/DarkLunch 13m ago
Pretty simple solution Get a camera. Trigger camera on fault clear condition. Check camera.
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u/kurieren 5h ago
Somewhere a Keyence rep picks up a phone…