Why Do I Need It?
Access control offers a secure, convenient, flexible and cost-effective way of controlling who has access to your building and when that access is allowed. All businesses have to protect assets and employees whilst allowing people to move freely in the areas that they need. It is common in buildings that are secured by locks and keys for doors to be left unlocked all day. This opens up the possibility of opportunist theft and malicious damage. Installing an access control system means that you will never have to change a lock again. Tokens are issued to allow access through the controlled doors and are easily barred from the system if they are lost or stolen.
How Does It Work?
Once an access control system is installed, all doors controlled by the system will automatically lock when the door is closed. Anyone without a PIN or access token is unable to enter. If necessary, doors can be set to unlock during a designated time frame. Access control also offers flexible control over users’ access rights. For example, all staff can gain access through the main door of a building, but access to internal areas may be restricted to those who have a specific need to be there. Access may also be restricted by time, only granting access to particular users at certain times of day or night.
Networked Access
Networked access control offers central control, this means that commands given at the PC are sent to each of the doors instantly, such as barring tokens, opening doors and building lock-down. Other benefits of this type of system are flexible control, allowing different permissions for individual groups of users. Networked systems are great for sites managing multiple doors and users. The system can be extended easily, and offers advanced features such as event reporting, energy savings and integration with surveillance and other systems.
Standalone Access
This type of system may be used to control access on one or many independent doors in a building. Access is gained by using a PIN or electronic token. Unlike a networked system, a standalone system is programmed at each door. If tokens need to be barred or codes changed, this action must be completed at every door on the system. Stand alone systems are great for smaller sites with a relatively small number of users and one or two doors.