Since human beings first started walking on two legs, we’ve been looking for ways to keep other people out of our private places. Wooden lock systems have been found in Assyria that date back around 4,000 years, medieval castles boasted moats and drawbridges to keep out intruders, and even Tutankahmun’s tomb was found secured with a rope system. Now, thousands of years later, we call these ‘access control systems’ and there’s a huge variety to choose from. And like many modern technologies, they have become a lot more complicated in the process! So today we answer one of our most commonly asked questions – how do access control systems actually work?
How Does Access Control Work?
The whole idea behind access control is to keep people out of places they shouldn’t be while making sure those who do have permission can get in easily. It’s a physical security measure designed to restrict who can enter a specific space at any time. Using different types of technology, access control systems assess and verify the identity of the person wanting to enter, and either grant or deny access.
There are a lot of technologies that can be used in access control. The most basic is a lock and key, moving up to pin pads and access codes, all the way to RFID, biometrics, electromagnetic mechanisms, keycards and even smartphones. These systems are placed at the entrance and exits of the restricted area, and in order to go in or leave every person has to show their credentials. No credentials, no entry.
Credentials are the thing that tells the system if an individual has permission to access the area or not. Depending on the system it could be a keycard, a code, a key fob or even a fingerprint, but each is programmed to tell the system where that person is allowed to access, or at what times. If they have the right permissions they will be allowed through, and if not, the system will reject it and remain closed. They can be quite sophisticated, so for example, if an employee is allowed access to a certain room during their working hours only, they could get in during those hours, but be denied access if they tried outside of them.
Why Use Access Control Systems?
Access control systems are all about keeping your business safe without having to invest a lot of manpower and time to do it. For example, giving your staff a key to every area of your business can be a risk. Opening and closing your business at the right time can be complex. Restricting certain areas from certain staff is essential but tricky, especially if you have areas that require more security and knowledge than others. And having someone monitor those entryways manually is incredibly inefficient, not to mention a serious logistical challenge.
Access control systems provide a simple solution to all of those problems. It takes away the need for constant monitoring and instead gives you universal power and oversight over the security in your building, and the ability to adjust it to your needs. Using one also dramatically improves the security of your business overall, protecting you from damage, theft and more from both inside and outside forces.
Industries That Benefit The Most
To be clear here, any business in any industry could benefit from a proper access control system in some way. But there are many more reasons that the bank on the high street would need one more than the graphic designer down the road. So what industries need access control as standard?
Financial Institutions: Have you ever seen a bank without a secure access door behind the kiosk? No. That’s because financial institutions of any kind have a very high stake in keeping their premises secure and locked down tight. Banks are constantly under threat, and need to be able to manage security without having to employ physical security for every location. So they will have a range of security systems designed to restrict access, as well as an IoT access control system that can lock doors and offices remotely, without the need for physical intervention – giving them ultimate control over each site.
Multi-Site Businesses: If your business has multiple sites, security poses a difficult problem. How to you monitor and control access across separate locations, sometimes across the entire country? Traditional locks are not secure enough to meet modern business needs, and legacy access control systems on individual sites can cause problems of their own. Cloud-based access control solutions can provide complete oversight from a single interface so that giving and restricting access permissions, timings and records can all be handled easily from the central IT department for every location.
Multi Business Sites: On the flip side, single sites that house multiple businesses can also benefit from access control systems. From business parks to blocks of flats, if you have one building accessed by multiple people then your security level needs to be high. If all tenants can access all areas of the building, theft, trespass and worse are all possible. By creating ‘zones’ within the building for each tenant, the building manager can control who can access which areas at any one time. In practice, this looks like an employee from company A only being able to open their own company’s offices and communal areas with their key card.
Education: One of the key jobs of any education facility is to provide a safe and secure environment for students and staff. They need to be sure that only people with a legitimate reason to be there are on campus, and those who don’t can’t gain access to any of the staff or students. Access control systems give education settings the ability to finely control who can enter the premises, including setting parameters for specific individuals. For example, delivery drivers may have to enter a one-use code to gain access, or contractors can be given time-restricted access to match when works needs to be done.
At Securifix we can provide a wide range of access control systems to suit almost any requirement. From simple coded entry keypads to biometrics and iris recognition, our experts can identify, install, monitor and maintain the right solution for you. We even offer a free, no-obligation site visit, where we will check cable runs, types of doors and discuss the application to make sure we give you the right advice. Just get in touch to book yours today.
