The John Lewis Partnership is piloting a smartcard project to give employees secure access to all staff-related systems.

The high-street retailer will deploy the system at its London headquarters this year. The aim is to save staff carrying a variety of forms of identification, ease  access  and improve the security of premises and systems.

‘So far we have purchased the key requirements for deploying the pilot,’ said Miles Knapman, John Lewis project manager.

‘We are looking to provide an integrated system that will give us the flexibility to work with different technologies, including magnetic strips and barcodes and applications.’

At the moment staff have to carry different identification devices for various purposes such as accessing parts of the premises, using cashless vending in canteens and claiming staff discounts.

The pilot will initially concentrate on integrating access control and cashless vending, but John Lewis will eventually extend the infrastructure to personnel systems, discount authorisations and desktop or till access.

The company will work with Siemens Communications as the lead vendor on the project, using its DirX integration and smartcard technology and consulting services. The firm will also use management software from Intercede.