Access Control Systems
Maintaining site security starts with personnel. Ensuring your business provides proper access for authorized parties while keeping uninvited guests out is the function of an access control system. These can range from simple procedural checks to sophisticated locks and sensors, sometimes even integrated with cameras, alarms, and numerous parallel security functions.
Commercial access control systems are critical to protecting your New Jersey business from theft, vandalism, and even corporate espionage. Whether your security needs are as modest as they come or depend on full-scale enterprise solutions, Security Service Company has a suite of access control options for any scale.
Below, we’ll outline the available access control systems and the considerations to take when implementing access controls at your facility, apartments, or other commercial structures.
What are Access Control Systems?
An access control system is any procedure or device, however simple or complex, used for controlling physical access to your premises. Anything from a guest or vendor check-in sheet to biometric scans can serve access control functions for an entire structure and a specific area within.
Most importantly, your access control system adapts to your workflow while preventing unauthorized access with 100% accuracy. That’s why, in many cases, facilities implement multiple access control measures, which complement each other and provide system redundancy.
Types of Access Control Systems
Keyfob locks and password-controlled doors are common examples of simple access control functions, but commercial access control systems can be far more complex.
Most access control depends on sharing and verifying credentials, which can be achieved in a number of ways:
- Ticket issuance
- Keyfobs/cards and RFIDs
- Biometrics
- Digitally encrypted data
Commercial access control systems also utilize various means of controlling entry. This goes well beyond lock-and-key barriers, and can include any combination of the following:
- Magnetic locks
- Automatic timed locks
- Proximity sensors
- Remote transmitters/receivers
- Weatherproof keypads or card readers
- Vehicle entry gates equipped with loop detectors
- Mechanical push-button locks (which retain function in case of power loss)
- 24/7 monitoring
The Advantages of Access Control Systems
An access control system is essential for maintaining a safe work environment and protecting valuable resources. It also improves worker and stakeholder confidence while securing the peace of mind your employees deserve as they serve your and your clientele’s interests.
Note that system integration is enormously important for access control. Rather than take a piecemeal approach to your business’s overall security, safety ultimately depends on full system integration. For instance, safety may require deactivating door locks, such as during a fire or evacuation. Additionally, access control systems allow you to integrate your security alarm, letting you control the arming and disarming with the access control system.
Some companies also manage site accessibility via networking functions, allowing owners, safety managers, or security personnel to:
- Interact from afar via site intercoms
- Receive alerts for custom-set parameters
- Grant or revoke access on an individual basis
- Verify credentials
Analyze and share traffic flow data - Lock or unlock mechatronic (i.e., electromechanical) locks
- Physically open doors equipped with motors or actuators
- Monitor access from anywhere with network connectivity
Cutting-Edge Access Control Systems From Security Service Company
Protecting your business can, at first, seem more than ever with today’s ever-evolving spectrum of security challenges. The first line of defense for practically any business is to control who you allow onto your site physically. With increasing reliance on facility-wide networks, it’s also necessary to integrate advanced networking security into your access control system.
Security Service Company can equip you with everything needed for a safe and secure workplace, including remote networking access control functions. Contact us to learn more about our commercial access control systems and maintain perfect control over your physical perimeter.
Image Credit: Sompetch Khanakornpratip, Shutterstock