How To Make Access Control Work For Your Business

1. Key Replacement

One of the primary reasons many business owners choose to implement a card access system in their workplace is to eliminate keys.  A large business might have tens, if not hundreds, of locked doors spread across multiple work sites, and as such, the number of keys floating around between employees can be staggering, and incredibly difficult to track.  Keys get misplaced all the time, and it can be days or weeks before an employee either realizes they’ve lost it or gets around to telling a supervisor.  During that time, your business is vulnerable to theft, and then there’s the expensive and often time-consuming process of re-keying locks.

With an Access Control system, a lost card can be disabled with the click of a button.  Not only that, but a “trace” can be put on the card, so that if anyone attempts to gain access to your building using that card, you can be notified, or an integrated CCTV system can take a picture of the door in question.  If the employee then finds it again, you just re-enable it in the software, and you haven’t lost a thing.  And because employees have one “key” that opens every door, they are much more likely to realize that they have lost it and report it to a supervisor in a timely fashion.

2. Grant Access on Your Terms

A card access system allows you to grant an employee access to any specific door at any time you choose.  Have an employee who should only be in Building A from Monday to Friday?  No problem.  Have a vendor who needs to drop off some equipment between 4AM and 6AM on a Saturday?  Easy.  What about an employee who has just been promoted and now needs access to a different set of rooms?  Just change their access level in the software, and you’re golden.

Unfortunately, one of the realities of running a business is that sometimes you need to let someone go, and not always on the best of terms.  Changing one setting in the software ensures that the employee can’t re-enter the building again, even if they haven’t given you their card back.

Access Control can also effectively manage your visitors and clients; people who don’t have a card.  Having your front doors automatically unlock at opening time allows customers into your sales room, but keeping doors to offices and hallways locked means only your employees can access them.

3. Integrate Multiple Systems, Multiple Locations

One of the biggest advantages to implementing a card access system, particularly for large or multi-site businesses, is that many features can be controlled from one centralized computer, or even from the cloud.  Systems can be setup to control multiple sites across the city, province, country, or even other continents, in real time.  Not only is it easier to have one person or a small team managing the software, but now, when a manager travels to a distant branch of the company, their same card works there too.  Their pre-defined access level allows them access to whatever sites and whatever doors are deemed necessary.

Many Access Control systems can also interface with alarm systems and video surveillance systems.  Now your alarm system can disarm itself when the first card is swiped in the morning, and a video camera assigned to that door can take a picture for the archives.  You can even manage employee’s user codes directly from the access control interface.

These are just some of the reasons why many Alberta businesses are implementing access control in their workplaces.  At Reed Security Calgary, every Access Control system is heavily customized to meet the needs to the building it is protecting. The highly scalable nature of the system means that whether you have one door to manage or 1000, there is always a solution that can keep your employees safe and improve your overall productivity.  Give us a call today to arrange for a free, no-obligation security evaluation; we’d love to meet you and show you how you can get the most out of your security!