The IntelliPort is a completely different kind of machine. While all of the other machines offer high security levels, meaning that there is no way for employees to access any item in a machine without authorization and complete documentation, the IntelliPort is a medium security system. The heart of the IntelliPort a set of locking doors that secure everything in the room behind them. The room can be any size up to an entire warehouse. Each item inside the IntelliPort storeroom is tagged with an RFID tag giving it a unique identity. When the employee approaches the IntelliPort, they activate it with their proximity card, swipe card or pin code. The doors unlock allowing them to enter. Once the employee is inside, the doors lock again until they have completed the checkout process. They are free to “shop” anywhere in the storeroom. When they have completed their shopping, they checkout at the IntelliPort door where the RFID scanners activate the RFID tags on each item and record everything the employee has taken. The employee then verifies the list and gets a receipt for their items. The doors unlock and they are free to leave. The IntelliPort also has security cameras that monitor all entries and all transactions.

What makes the IntelliPort medium security is that RFID cannot penetrate water, which makes up 80% of the human body, so it can be defeated by putting an item under an armpit. RFID also cannot penetrate metal, so putting something into a toolbox easily defeats the system. Of course you can see both of these transgressions by simply reviewing the security camera footage but that doesn’t really prevent the employee from taking it in the first place. And in reality, once employees are told about the security camera, they don’t really try to get away with much. The advantages of the IntelliPort are that you can manage very large items (even pallets or carts) and you can control an almost infinite number of items at a very low cost. You can also replace a manned tool crib or stores area with an unmanned crib or stores area.