Access Control System: what are the benefits?
Whether you have 20 or 20,000 employees or residents, an access control system is a robust way to help protect your premises. Access Control systems can limit who has access to your building, during which times and where they have access to.
By using this type of technology, you are able to know exactly who has accessed the site, at what time and which doors they have passed through, meaning if there’s a problem, it’s easier to determine who might have been involved.
Not only can access control systems keep your site secure, but they offer multiple additional benefits that may help to streamline and optimise your business.
Access Control allows ease of access
Implementing an access control system allows the flexibility to range access depending on individual employees’ needs. Particularly in multi-tenanted buildings, different businesses may have varying opening hours. When employees work at different times, an access control system lets them enter whenever they need to. Having a system in place can give you the ability to offer flexible schedules for your employees.
There is no requirement to wait for a keyholder to unlock the doors at the start of the day and managers don’t have to stay late to lock up the premises at the end of the day.
As most access control systems are controlled centrally through a software, parameters such as access times and permitted areas are easy to update.
Helping to offer a safer work environment
The main function of access control systems is to allow authorised individuals inside the premises and keep unwanted visitors out. This allows the freedom to do background checks and deny entry to those without the right credentials. This helps to protect assets, such as expensive equipment, or even office supplies, by limiting access to certain areas to those who are trusted.
Simultaneously, access control can act as a safety measure, preventing people from going near a potentially dangerous area or high-risk equipment (even if they weren’t authorised to be on the premises to begin with). In the event of an emergency, doors on the system can release automatically. If the system is connected to fire systems using a relay at the fire alarm panel, doors will release in the event of an alarm. If fail-safe locks are in place, doors will also release in the loss of power. Compared to traditional lock-and-key mechanisms, access control systems offer a swifter escape in a matter of urgency.
Optimise your space
Tracking when individuals/employees enter and leave certain rooms and locations can help you understand how your building or site is being used. With many people opting to work from home post-pandemic, it may be the case that particular spaces are not being fully used throughout the week and unnecessary costs are being paid out for them. Reviewing how efficiently your business’ space is being used through access control could help to run your business more efficiently and save costs in the long run.
Reduce overall costs
Traditional lock-and-key solutions can be costly if a key is misplaced or stolen, as locks may need to be replaced to keep the building secure. Calling a locksmith out is usually not a small expense and overtime can amount to excessive spend.
Access control systems use programmed cards or fobs to allow individuals access to a site. These tokens are reasonably cheap to replace if lost and offer a far easier situation to manage, as you have full control over the system and can instantly revoke access to that particular device.
Through emerging technology, some access control systems can now also be integrated with lighting, heating and cooling systems. These integrated functions prevent lights from remaining on in empty rooms or HVAC systems from consuming large amounts of energy when rooms or buildings aren’t in use.
Watch Systems Ltd specialise in designing, installing and maintaining bespoke access control systems in a commercial setting. To find out what we would recommend for you and your business, contact us here.
