Digital employee photos in industry and manufacturing: How factories are modernizing their security and access processes

In industrial production facilities, employee ID cards are a fundamental part of the security and organizational structure. An employee ID card is not only used for identification purposes, but also to control access rights, secure sensitive production areas, and document the movements of people on the company premises. In large factories, production lines, or logistics centers, employee photos on ID cards must be clearly recognizable at all times .

Despite its critical importance for security, many industrial companies still Capturing using analog Capturing : employees are photographed with improvised camera solutions, images are sent by email, stored locally, or edited manually. This manual photo workflow is prone to errors, slows down access management, and places a strain on plant security, HR, shift planning, and IT. These processes can be particularly inefficient in shift operations or at multiple production sites.

Photo Collect offers industrial companies a fully digital, scalable, and secure solution that automates the Capturing, processing, and transfer of security badges and factory ID photos. This makes onboarding, factory access, and security processes significantly more efficient—and at the same time demonstrably secure.

Flexible photo capture for production employees, external companies, and shift teams

Industrial companies work with a wide range of people: employees in production, maintenance, logistics, quality assurance, external assembly companies, temporary workers, and suppliers. Photo Collect it Photo Collect to reliably integrate all these groups into the photo and ID card process without any additional effort for plant personnel.

New employees receive a personalized upload link via text message, email, or QR code and can capture their employee photo for their work ID directly via smartphone. This self-service option is particularly suitable for industrial companies with pre-onboarding, external safety training, or changing shift teams.

In addition, photo kiosks can be placed in high-traffic areas of the plant—such as the plant entrance, break room, or security center. Employees or contractors identify themselves using their personnel number, plant number, or QR code and create their own plant ID photo. This significantly speeds up the issuance of ID cards.

Automatic image processing for employee ID cards and security badges

As soon as a photo is uploaded, the platform automatically takes care of all the technical steps: face recognition, cropping, background removal or standardization, formatting according to CI specifications, and quality checks regarding exposure, sharpness, and head position or common standards such as ICAO standards. This results in uniform security badges that comply with all company specifications—regardless of whether the photos were taken at the factory, at a kiosk, or with a smartphone.

If necessary, a manual quality check can be carried out beforehand. Managers at the plant or head office can efficiently check large quantities of images and automatically trigger new upload requests if they are rejected. This ensures that all photos meet the high requirements of plant security, occupational safety, and access control.

Seamless integration with access, HR, and security systems

The finalized industrial ID photos are automatically transferred to existing systems via API, sFTP, or batch export. Manufacturing companies can clearly assign the images using personnel numbers, plant access IDs, or employee keys. Integration into access control systems, visitor and supplier management, HR systems, Active Directory, or plant logistics is straightforward and secure.

Manual steps such as local file storage, email exchanges between departments, or manual uploads to ID systems are completely eliminated. The entire process of factory ID and badge management becomes standardized, auditable, and reliable.

Scalability for production sites, international plants, and manufacturing networks

Industrial companies often work:

• in shift systems,
  
  
• with changing personnel assignments,
  
  
• with multiple production or logistics locations,
  
  
• with external works,
  
  
• in high-security areas such as laboratories, manufacturing, assembly halls, or research facilities.
  
  

Photo Collect was developed to easily process thousands of employee photos per month. The process remains stable and efficient even with high staff turnover, service provider changes, or plant modernizations.

Data protection and plant security at the highest level

In industry and manufacturing, security and data protection are top priorities. Photo Collect all image data exclusively in Switzerland in an ISO 27001-certified data center and uses only its own AI models —there is no outflow to external clouds. Strict role and rights concepts ensure that only authorized persons such as plant security, HR, or IT have access to relevant data. Automatic deletion periods and complete encryption ensure maximum security throughout the entire photo workflow.

Photo Collect Capturing security badges and factory ID cards faster, safer, and more reliable. Companies in industry and manufacturing benefit from standardized processes, consistent photo quality, and seamless digital integration into security and access systems. The result: greater efficiency, less manual effort, and maximum security throughout the entire factory.

​