Dutch Barrier Services’ Smart Access Turnstile (S.A.T.) is a new safety tool for events to monitor and control crowds, by combining a physical access control turnstile with integral scanning and counting software for speedy entry with accurate counting.
The new system underwent three successful trial events in December 2025, where it was a great hit with the organisers and production teams.
Frank Verbeek, Head of Production & Operations, GLORY Kickboxing Worldwide, used the system in December 2025. He describes how it gave complete operational control in one platform
“For us, the DBS S.A.T. gates brought speed, flexibility, safety, and control together in one solution. Ticket scanning, backstage accreditation, crowd monitoring and security flow management all came together in one clear, centralised operational overview,” Verbeek said. “A major advantage for us was that we could scan both public tickets and backstage accreditations within one single system. This gave us a complete, real-time overview of who was where and what was happening across the venue.”
S.A.T. was also successfully deployed at the Winter Paradise Theme Park and ‘Top 2000’ TV show in December. At all events, it enabled speedy scanning for ticket checking, monitoring and control of crowd flow, so that production and security could respond quickly to any busy peaks.
Duco Verhaar, 4pm Entertainment BV, said: “From December 13th 2025 until January 3rd, 2026, we used the Dutch Barriers’ Smart Access Turnstiles at Het Amsterdamse Winterparadijs. During this event, we welcomed around 250,000 visitors. The system has worked very well for us. We have had zero issues and the Dutch Barrier team was super quick if external help was needed. Visitors quickly adapted to the new way of entering the event and have been very positive as well,” he added. “I am expecting to use the system for years to come.”
The relocatable S.A.T system combines a standard turnstile unit with upgraded hardware and software, integrated into the company’s proprietary aluminium crowd barrier system, to create a robust, temporary event ticket scanning and audience counting system.
The proprietary software developed specifically for this by software partners, Event Accreditation (EVA), reads tickets from any ticketing platform, giving a live timeline of data on when people are entering and leaving a venue or controlled space. An integral scanner can process a wide range of tickets, barcodes and QR codes, providing a quick scanning process, for speedy access, without the need for personnel to check tickets. This supports personal security checks, but removes the need for an additional person with a hand-held ticket scanner before physical security searches. The software will also spot a duplicate scan, preventing ‘human error or fraud’.
The S.A.T. also gives the option to just count the audience in and out, which means organisers can confidently set an automated crowd limit. It will only let new people in when other people have left the area, which means audience numbers are compliant with the safety capacities agreed in licenses.
Erwin Sprengers, Dutch Barrier Services Account Manager, commented: “We have worked closely with our clients and software partner EVA to develop the Smart Access Turnstiles to improve the safety and efficiency of access control for events. We have a very robust, temporary system with the same ability as a permanent turnstile system that you’d expect to see in a train station.”
