Control access. Protect people. Stay compliant.
From single doors to multi-site enterprises
Synel provides access control that works in real operational environments, from a single secure door to complex, multi-site estates. Manage who can enter your buildings using biometrics, cards, mobile credentials or ANPR. Set permissions by role, location or time, and monitor doors and activity in real time.
Every access event is logged automatically, creating a complete audit trail for security, health and safety, and compliance.
Trusted by industry leaders
Know exactly who is on your site, and when.
Manual visitor books and clipboard sign-ins do not survive a Building Safety Act audit. Synel verifies contractor credentials before the door opens, captures every entry against a CSCS card or biometric, and gives you the timestamped record auditors expect.
- Validate CSCS, RAMS, inductions and insurance before granting access
- Auto-revoke access when a contract or insurance expires
- Real-time site occupancy for fire wardens and HSE auditors
- Tamper-evident audit trail for the Golden Thread
Scalable Access Control for Any Size Organisation
Synergy Access manages all your access points from one platform. Doors, turnstiles, gates, barriers and bollards. Biometric readers, card systems, and ANPR cameras. Cloud-hosted or on-premise. Scale from a few doors to thousands across multiple sites.
Integrate with time and attendance so employees use one credential for clocking and access. Connect to fire alarms for automatic door release and instant evacuation reports. Visitor management is built in, giving you clear visibility of who is on site at any moment.
Access Control Solutions
Secure your premises with integrated hardware and software.
Biometric Access Control
Secure access using fingerprint or facial recognition, not cards or keys.
Card Reader Access Control
Fast, familiar card-based door access with central control and real-time visibility.
Door Entry Systems
Centralised door control with real-time visibility across single or multi-site estates.
More Access Control Options
Building Safety Act Compliance
Verify competence at entry and maintain a digital Golden Thread for Building Safety Act compliance.
ANPR
Automatic vehicle access using number plate recognition, without stopping or credentials.
Turnstiles
High-throughput turnstile access with accurate headcount and fail-safe fire integration.
Visitor Management
Digital visitor sign-in with photo badges, fire roll inclusion, and Ofsted-ready records.
One team. From the first reader fitted to the last service visit.
Most access control failures sit in the gap between three suppliers: the platform vendor, the hardware fitter, and whoever's on call when something breaks. Synel is all three, on one contract.
- Cloud access platform vendor
- Separate door hardware installer
- Separate reader and turnstile commissioning
- Separate break-fix contractor on a different SLA
- Own access control platform and Open API
- Own UK engineers fitting readers, mag locks, exit devices, turnstiles, and gates
- Own commissioning, network handover, and cutover
- Own break-fix engineers on a single support contract
Building Safety Act 2022: are your access controls compliant?
BSA 2022 holds duty-holders accountable for who entered a building, when, and what credentials they held. Manual sign-in books and uncontrolled keys do not satisfy the Golden Thread. Synel gives you the tamper-evident audit trail regulators expect.
- CSCS card validation at every controlled access point
- Tamper-evident logs satisfying Golden Thread evidence requirements
- Real-time on-site headcount for fire wardens and HSE auditors
- Auto-revoke access when a credential, contract, or insurance expires
Buyer's guide
Building access & security: a buyer's guide
- 01 The compliance minefield
- 02 The hardware
- 03 The software
- 04 Extending the perimeter
- 05 Emergency mustering
- 06 The bit nobody tells you about choosing a supplier
Free · No signup required
Building access and security, built for the compliance era.
Securing the perimeter, automating compliance, and preparing your estate for Martyn's Law, the Building Safety Act, and the next generation of building safety regulations.
4,000+
Employees managed
£40 million
Facility investment
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Scalable Acess Control Management Across your Organisation
Synergy Access is a scalable access control solution — allowing your company to secure and control access to your organisation, and giving you total control over access points on your premises.
Synergy Access, the leading name in security solutions UK, is also available as an add-on module to Synel’s Synergy Workforce – which includes Time and Attendance and other workforce management modules or as a completely standalone access security solution.
Whether you are looking for the benefits of hosting your access control solutions in the cloud – such as not having to worry about managing servers, simplicity to scale, automatically keeping your solution up to date, and the highest levels of data security, or the more traditional approach of an on-premise server, Synergy Access provides options for both infrastructures.
Control access points with security groups and time zones
With Synergy Access, your business can create specific security groups to control user access to specific doors. The added benefit of setting time zones allows you to control the days and times that users can gain access to your premises, reinforcing your security even further.
Setup Information for Synel Access Security Solution
Synergy Access allows you to create an unlimited number of security groups, and users can be members of multiple groups within your access control solution.
Control an Unlimited Number of Access Points
Synergy Access is suitable for all sizes and types of businesses organisations – whether you are a small or medium enterprise or a large business, school, institution or factory.
Synergy Access allows you to control access to anything from a few doors in one location, to thousands of access points over multiple sites.
The way in which Synergy Access scales makes it cost-effective for any size solution. With Synel’s hosted cloud architecture (SaaS) it’s even simpler to join sites together on the same solution and scale up or down, as required.
State-of-the-art Access Reader Technology
Synergy Access is compatible with a wide range of access reader technology, including MIFARE, Proximity, biometric and facial recognition, there is a solution for practically any application.
Door Technology
Access card and type: entry-hyperlink id: 2GDS8oIigzk4cLRT2GQiX8deliver a truly touch-free experience for users – perfect for businesses who wish to adapt to the ‘new normal’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Real-time Dashboard
Synergy Access security solutions UK enables security personnel to restrict control access to the sensitive parts of your building. See at a glance, for example, a host of information, such as who is currently within your building, as well as the status of doors, e.g. ‘door closed’ or ‘door held open’. Alerts can be sent to managers by email when specific events occur, such as when a door is held or forced open.
Automate your Fire Evacuation Procedure
With the optional Fire Link module, Synergy Access can automatically open gates, doors and turnstiles when a Fire Alarm is triggered.
Synergy Access can also play an important role in your type: entry-hyperlink id: hub-emergency-mustering as reporting is provided with a fire report for rapid analysis following an emergency incident. If Synergy Access is connected to your fire panel, this can also be automatically e-mailed to appropriate managers or printed at any networked printer(s).
Anti-Passback
To ensure the same access control credentials cannot be used twice to enter a door, Synergy Access features anti-passback, which prevents users passing their card to another person after they gain access.
The anti-passback feature can be configured to be set to be active during particular times, days, or even be set to stay active permanently.
ANPR (Automatic Numberplate Recognition)
With the optional type: entry-hyperlink id: solution-anpr, ANPR system server software and a compatible camera to read vehicle registration number plates (VRN), Synergy Access can also control access to bollard and car park / entrance barriers by simply identifying authorised vehicles and granting access accordingly. Number plates can be added/removed from the database via the Synergy Access browser-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) by an administrator, and this is then pushed in near real-time to the local ANPR system server, which controls access.
This is known as a hybrid approach as, for convenience, all administration is completed via the browser-based GUI, but the data is stored at the access control point on site.
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How secure is your building? Is your access control technology up to date?
Access Control FAQs
Common questions about access control answered.
What is access control?
Access control systems manage who can enter your premises, specific buildings or restricted areas.
They use credentials such as cards, PINs or biometrics to verify identity and grant or deny entry, while maintaining a complete audit trail of all access events.
How do turnstiles integrate with access control?
Synel provides the intelligence that makes turnstiles more than mechanical barriers. Our software controls access logic, anti-passback and shift enforcement.
Turnstiles connect to the fire panel for fail-safe evacuation. Arms drop automatically on alarm activation.
Entry data feeds both access control and time & attendance simultaneously, so clocking and door access happen in one action. Reader options include RFID, facial recognition, cards and QR codes for visitors.
Can access control integrate with fire alarm systems?
Yes. Synel access control systems connect directly to building fire panels via the Adam Link controller.
Upon alarm activation, the system automatically unlocks designated doors, gates and turnstiles. Power is cut to magnetic locks, ensuring they fail-safe (unlock) instantly.
The system also generates instant roll call reports showing who is on site, supporting fire safety compliance and speeding up evacuation accountability.
Can access control validate CSCS cards?
Yes. In construction environments, the system validates CSCS cards (skills cards) in real-time at turnstiles. If a card is expired or invalid, entry is denied automatically. The turnstile will not open.
This "no card, no entry" approach ensures only qualified workers access the site, meeting CDM Regulations and Building Safety Act requirements.
The validation creates a compliance log proving competence at point of entry.
How long does implementation take?
Implementation timelines vary by project scope.
A single-site time and attendance deployment typically takes 2-4 weeks from survey to go-live. Multi-site or integrated access control projects may take 6-12 weeks.
Synel provides dedicated project management and on-site installation by our own engineers, not subcontractors.
Secure your site with Synergy Access
Book a site survey to discuss your access control requirements. Our engineers will design a solution that fits your security needs and budget.