New screening technologies on trial at Changi Airport terminal 3

Source: CAG. A view of the airside section of Singapore's
Changi Airport.

The Changi Airport Group (CAG) is conducting trials on new security screening technologies that can improve efficiency and processes at the screening checkpoints. The trials are being conducted at two boarding gates at Changi Airport Terminal 3 until June 2016. This is part of CAG’s effort to deliver a better airport experience for passengers.

CT security screening for hand-carry luggage

The first trial involves the use of a new type of security screening technology called computed tomography (CT) to screen hand-carry luggage at the boarding gates before passengers board their flights. The advantage of CT is that passengers no longer have to take electronic devices such as laptops and tablets out from their hand-carry luggage and place them on a separate tray for screening.

Automated tray return system

The CT trial includes the testing of a new automatic tray return system. With this automated system, trays can be presented to two passengers simultaneously at the start of the screening belt, enabling both to deposit their bags at the same time. The trays are automatically returned to the line after each screening cycle is completed, removing the need for security screening officers to manually bring the trays back to the start of the screening belt. This will improve screening efficiency and reduce waiting times for passengers.

Bags that require further checks will be automatically routed to a separate channel for followups by security officers. This improves overall flow.

Enhanced body scanning

Currently, departing passengers at Changi Airport are screened using walk-through metal detectors. To improve screening capabilities, CAG is trying out a body scanner machine that uses millimetre wave technology to detect both metallic and non-metallic items. 

Passengers, after removing items in their pockets or on their body, simply need to walk into the body scanner and be scanned, a process that takes a few seconds. The data will be analysed by a computer algorithm. If a concealed item is detected, a non-invasive outline image indicating the item’s location will be generated automatically. 

This allows the security officer to zoom in on the identified area to check the item, which would be more efficient. If nothing is detected, a green screen with an ‘OK’ appears and the passenger clears quickly.

Millimetre wave technology has been certified to be safe. It poses no known health and safety risks as it utilises a very low-power non-ionising form of electromagnetic technology. The amount of electromagnetic radiation emitted by millimetre wave security scanners is many times smaller than that emitted by a mobile phone. The scanner complies with the standards set by the US Food & Drug Administration, American National Standards Institute and United Kingdom Health Protection Agency.

Said Alan Tan, CAG’s Vice President of Aviation Security, “At Changi Airport, we take safety and security seriously and are committed to maintaining the highest standards. We work very closely with the authorities to review and adopt new advanced technologies and process innovation to improve security screening and enhance the passenger experience at Changi.”

“The data and passenger feedback we collect from the trials will help us assess the effectiveness and operational efficiencies of these new systems, before we ascertain their suitability for implementation at the airport.”

More employees in Asia Pacific lying about their job history, First Advantage says

First Advantage, a Symphony Technology Group (STG) company and a provider of screening analytics and identity solutions, has released First Advantage Employment Screening Trends Report: Asia Pacific, Q1 2014, which has found that almost one in five of all Asia Pacific employees have not been completely truthful about their employment history and other details.

According to First Advantage, which conducts around 23 million global background checks annually, the challenges of hiring the right candidate have increased as regional legislation surrounding anti-corruption, data privacy and consumer protection is changing. The regular updating of the legalities in different countries complicates the background screening process, making it extremely difficult for employers to perform proper background checks on their candidates. 

“Through this trends report, First Advantage seeks to help employers in Asia Pacific identify the current employment background verification trends and understand how they can optimise their screening programmes,” said Matthew Glasner, Managing Director of South APAC at First Advantage. 

“We are seeing a significant increase in discrepancies in region and this further highlights the importance of using state-of-the-art screening practices available to ensure companies know who they are hiring, thereby mitigating the business loss associated with a wrong hire.”

Key findings from the report include:

• The total number of checks done per case in the APAC region has gone up from four checks on average in Q1 2013 to five checks in Q1 2014, indicating that there is more awareness among companies about background screening services. Employers are also demanding better output. 
• About a quarter (26%) of employers in the Asia Pacific region are now conducting more than six checks and above. They are 11 times more likely to uncover a discrepancy as compared to those who conduct only two checks (3%) or five checks (9%). 
• The report shows that there is an overall increase in discrepancy rates (5.8%) compared to Q1 2013. 
• Nearly one in five (18.9%) of the discrepancies in the Asia-Pacific region are related to education of employees.
• Employment history discrepancies top the list at 54.6% of all discrepancies. This constitutes an increase of 5.6% in Q1 2014 over Q1 2013, when employment discrepancies made up close to 50% of all discrepancies in the Asia-Pacific region. 
• Employers in Australia and New Zealand are the most interested in employee screening with 23.38% of respondents reporting they do it in Q1 2014, a significant increase from Q1 2013 when they stood at just 12.96% of respondents from this region. This is followed by Singapore, which had 18.78% of respondents reporting they screen in Q1 2014. 

First Advantage also notes that there is now a growing trend toward “infinity screening,” in which screening programmes are extended to include contractors and vendors, and existing employees are periodically rescreened. Infinity screening has led to fewer discrepancies in employee information where is practised, the company said.

*The report is based on data drawn from 300,000 employment background verifications and reference checks conducted by First Advantage in APAC from January to March 2014. The screening results represent a cross-section of the company’s clients located in Japan, Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. 

Over 10,000 screened for Ebola at Indian airports since 10 August

The Indian government has reported that 10,194 passengers from countries affected by Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been screened by the Immigration Department via airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Trivandrum, Kolkata and Kochi.

A number of individuals have tested negative for the disease as of 16 August, including two Nigerian nationals and an Indian national. Another Nigerian national is under observation at Dr RML Hospital. 

A quarantine cum isolation health facility at Delhi Airport is operational, and all suspect cases detected at Delhi Airport will now be admitted to this facility, the government said. Since 16 August, five citizens of Indian origin aged 38 (M), 38(F), 7(M), 2 (F) and 31(F) have been admitted to this facility. All of them have been found negative for EVD in tests done at NCDC.

The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) is tracking such passengers, the details of whom are provided to them by the Airport Health Organization. Today, 90 passengers were enrolled for follow up in their respective states through State IDSP units. As of 17 August, a cumulative number of 267 passengers are being tracked. Most of them are in the States of Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The Control Room in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has received 557 calls since its inception on 9 August. Most of the callers have sought information on signs and symptoms of the disease and travel related risk of acquiring the infection.

WHO has reported a total of 2,127 cases and 1,145 deaths as of 13 August 2014 due to EVD from affected countries.