Managing Who Has Access to Your Facility

Who do you want accessing your facility, when do you want them accessing it and which areas exactly can be accessed (or not accessed)? These are all valid questions! Whether you have a few employees at one location or a large staff at multiple locations, you have legitimate concerns about managing who has access to all or parts of your facility and when. For example, you may need to keep office personnel out of your warehouse for safety reasons or you may have confidential areas to protect from all but a handful of employees.

Another question to ask is, where do you even begin with making access control a priority? Keep reading for a few pointers from your favorite security systems service provider!

 

Intrusion Prevention & Detection

The number one reason for restricting access to your facility is, as always, safety. Allowing strays to come and go as they please puts your employees, vendors and other visitors at risk. Unauthorized users looking to infiltrate your facility will think twice when you make it difficult for them to gain access. It’s similar to home burglars who see your Per Mar Security signs and decide it’s not worth the risk.

Access control systems are also smart. Should an unauthorized user make several failed attempts to gain access to your facility or a designated room within the building, you will be notified. Conversely, irreproachable visitors are also protected from getting lost within your facility when you have these checks and balances in place.

 

Confidentiality, Hazardous Materials & Other Restricted Areas

Do you have any off-limits areas in your facilities? Whether it’s for confidentiality or safety reasons, if you have restricted areas then you are a prime candidate for access control systems. Control the number of people who are able to access hazardous areas at one time, or simply shut down that area during certain hours. As for your confidential or other restricted areas, easily assign different levels of access for different employees at different times.

 

Tracking & Record-Keeping

Knowing who entered and exited your facility can be important for many reasons. We covered employee theft in How To Appropriately Handle Employee Theft; having detailed and accurate records can help protect those who are innocent and catch those who are guilty. Access control technology can be as detailed as getting a full activity report from any key card at any time, making tracking a breeze. Unlike the days of past when locks would have to be changed, now when an employee is let go, simply deactivate the corresponding access control card to ensure no foul play. Your Human Resources department can also maintain employee profiles, including electronic photos, for better organization and identification.

 

Dynamic Control & Automation

For those times when one blanket function isn’t the answer, utilize dynamic controls to control access to doors, elevators, gates and more.

Especially useful for businesses that aren’t operating on a 24-hour schedule, automation allows you to set schedules for weekdays and weekends by utilizing technology to lock and unlock doors on a schedule. With the click of a button, you can even allow card access to specific employees to a particular room while you’re away.

 

Integration With Your Business Alarm System

Your burglar alarm and surveillance cameras integrate seamlessly with access control systems. Threats of burglary, arson and vandalism are further prevented by a well thought out (see PRO TIP below) access control system. Your video surveillance and other electronic security systems will further deter those threats from happening.

PRO TIP: Not having time or resources to plan out and manage your access control operation does not have to mean game over! With Managed Access Control, we can administer all programming, cardholder database management and reporting services for you. Our expertise is your expertise!

Running a successful and constantly growing business presents new challenges at every turn. This is one you don’t want to overlook and the good news is, you don’t have to be an expert in facility access in order to make it happen. We’ve got you! Contact us for a free evaluation of your buildings and access points.