As a business owner yourself, you will understand the importance of controlling the flow of people. Most businesses today want to keep a close eye on the number of customers that visit their business (if you are a brick and mortar store, for example) and where – and when – your staff access parts of the facility.
Thanks to the development of access control systems, businesses have more control than ever on this kind of insight. The challenge, of course, comes down to setting up a system your staff actually like using. According to an expert locksmith in Leeds, they are now actively encourage business owners to invest in these easy-to-use systems, like access control terminals.
Not only can they tighten your security, an access control system can make a real difference to how easily your business manages everything from the flow of personal traffic to arranging deliveries, etc. Let’s dive in with this card and fob security guide crafted by professional locksmiths.
The Rise Of Access Control Systems
In the age of technology, many businesses aim for the stars and go for options like biometric scanners and the like. While these are very effective, not every business has the budget or need for such high-end access control. Many, especially smaller businesses, benefit more from card and fob entry systems.
Not only do these provide easy regulation of entry, but they make it easy to track where staff have been and who has visited what part of the premises. What, though, is the best choice?
Card and fob entry systems are broadly similar in that they use entry methods where the card or fob is shown to the access control terminal. These tend to be quick, easy to use and simple for staff to get to grips with.
Facilities as wide-reaching as stores and schools, to hospitals and factories, can benefit from the installation of a card or fob-based access control system. Commercial locksmiths find that just about any kind of business can benefit from an investment in access control systems, regardless of their niche.
Let’s look at what these systems offer.
First Things First: Why Use Card Or Fob Entry Systems?
The simplest answer is the most important: security and accountability. From a security standpoint, having to access the building using a keycard or a fob means that people cannot simply come and go as they please.
From an accountability perspective, the auto-logging systems within an access control system mean you always know what card/fob was used to access which door, at which time.
Areas with sensitive materials or data would be secured so that only those with the experience and credentials required can enter. These systems are automated, too, which is useful.
With most fob and card systems being automatically read by the access control terminal, too, the flow of traffic remains consistent. There is no queue of people inputting PIN codes, no worries about people forgetting their codes, etc. – thus, access control remains efficient.
Other access control alternatives can become quite burdensome from a cost, training and ease of use perspective. With the help of a locksmith, it becomes super-simple to set everything up, from PIN code systems to automating the control system.
Using Fobs And Keycards For Access Control
The two primary uses of an access control system revolving around fobs and/or keycards (you can use both) come down to entry to the premises and then access to certain parts of the building. Your main access comes down to getting into the building itself, i.e. through the main doors, past security.
Then, the secondary access revolves around accessing facilities within. This could be individual departments, or places like the staff car park and canteen. There is also the ability to use these fobs to give access to devices such as lifts and escalators, if desired.
Who gets access to a keycard or fob?
This is the challenging part for most businesses, especially if you are a customer-facing business. Most retail facilities will have an open-door policy for the front doors so that customers can come into the store. Then, areas such as where stock is held, staff areas and management offices will be behind a multi-layer access control system.
Most businesses will provide their staff with access control systems, but who else? Others include:
- Visitors to your premises, such as sales personnel, suppliers, and contractors
- Third-party service providers, such as mechanics, trade staff, and educators
- Deliveries: You might need to provide your main delivery providers with access
- One-time guests, such as potential new staff employees or VIPs from the head office
Universal Benefits Of Keycard & Fob Access Controls
With the above, you hopefully now have a more general understanding of why you might use such a system in your place of work. However, the above examples are fairly specific.
Let’s take a look at some examples of the benefits you receive from using access control systems controlled by keycards and fobs.
Low-Cost Security
Compared to other forms of access control, such as the biometric scanning we mentioned above, the cost of installing these systems is minimal. Yes, it costs more than a traditional lock and key system. Yet, the benefits that are provided in terms of efficiency, security, ease of tracking, and ease of use make the costs worthwhile.
Installed by a professional locksmith, such as Lock & Key, installation and implementation are much easier.
Even with the minimal risks that exist, such as the potential for card/fob cloning, these risks exist with every security solution you can implement today.
Rapid Replacements
If your business relies on traditional lock and key systems, you could be in trouble. You would need to call on a local locksmith in the area, such as Lock & Key, to re-key every lock that was affected by the missing key.
That costs time and money, and repeated loss of keys can become a major expense. With access control via keycard/fob, your security team just has to disable access rights for the missing keycard/fob(s). It takes seconds to do, instead of having to invest in an emergency locksmith to come out and help you.
Easily Educated
An often hidden cost in this industry comes down to staff training. How easily can your staff get to grips with a new entry system?
If your staff are not tech-minded, training for more advanced access control systems can take time. However, most of us own a contactless debit/credit card and a wireless key fob for our cars. As such, getting staff to understand how to use keycard/fob entry is very easy. If you want to reduce the time it takes for staff to get to grips with access control systems, keycards/fobs reduce training time significantly.
Simple Integration
Even your security team benefits – they can easily pair up access control systems with other security tools you use. For example, your CCTV camera systems can be paired up with access control so they all work in harmony with one another.
You could even integrate, say, video/audio intercoms into certain parts of the building. For the most high-security, management-only places, you could use things like biometric security scanning to verify the identity of the entrant.
Staff Efficiency
Every business relies on its front desk staff to manage the coming and going of deliveries, customers, staff, visitors and crucial administrative tasks. With access control systems in place, your staff spend way less time dealing with mundane tasks that can be automated, allowing them to put their skills to other use.
Automated Tracking
There is also the benefit that every usage of a fob or keycard is tracked by the access control system and then stored. With every card and fob having a unique identifier, tracking is easy. Now, you can better work out where staff have been and what they have been doing.
This makes performance tracking and working out the culprit for poor performance, or even corporate theft, much easier.
Keycard & Fob Entry: The Ideal Choice For Modern Businesses?
As you can see, then, keycard and fob entry systems make a great deal of sense. They are secure, easy to use, simple to train staff to use, and highly versatile.
They remain exceptionally effective and simple to work with. Security and front desk staff love having these systems in place, too, as it allows them to focus their energies on tasks that need more professional focus. It also makes investigations easier.
These systems are pretty universal, too. A clothes shop or a pharmacy would benefit just as much from having access control as a school, hospital, factory, or hospitality venue. Just about any business looking to up their security standards can benefit from having keycard and fob access control systems in place. With the ability to add an extra layer of security where needed, too, you are never short on options.
