10 things to think about when selecting an Access Control system.
To effectively manage your organisational security, you need to restrict access to authorised personnel only. Here are 10 things to think about when selecting the best access control system to meet your requirements:
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You need to think about the number of employees working for the company. A good access control system should enable you to monitor visitors and contractors as well as regular staff. With a visitor management module, the receptionist will be able to register the details of each visitor. All visits and visitors can be reviewed, approved or declined.
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Will you need to control one or more sites? With a PC-based networked solution, you can control an infinite number of doors and sites – all from a single monitoring station.
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Centralised management. From a single monitoring station, you should be able to manage all your staff /visitors access requirements according to time zones and security groups. You should also be able to access and configure remotely all your readers.
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Audit trail. It is essential that your security system provides audit trails recording all activities – every opening /closing, failed attempts, etc. This information is crucial in the event of a theft or vandalism for example. The audit trail functionality will provide the capability to export audit logs into a database, TXT or CSV format.
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IN only or IN & OUT access control? You can control access IN only with a reader located outside a door (with a push button to exit), or both ways with a reader on each side of a door. By controlling access both ways, you will be able to monitor more precisely the movements of all users.
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Card vs biometric identification. Many different types of access control readers are available, from simple keypads to advanced biometric readers. Keypads are probably the simplest and least expensive access control readers; however, codes can be easily shared. With a card reader, employees will be granted access using magnetic, standard proximity or Mifare cards. Key cards cannot be shared with others as codes can be. Additional information can be also stored on the card, which can be useful for photocopiers, cashless payments, etc. Biometric readers provide the highest level of security, providing an irrefutable verification or identification of a person and no need to issue and/or replace cards. Most common biometric technologies are fingerprint template recognition or hand geometry recognition.
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Physical ID cards. You will also need to decide if you want to issue ID cards to users. With an access control software you can manage the printing of PVC cards, personalised with company name, employee details/photo, etc.
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Fire alarm integration and emergencies. In case of an emergency, your access control system should list the personnel present within the building. The emergency module should include a fire report, the ability to close or open doors automatically (or manually from a control screen) and registration at the evacuation points with real time reports.
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Link to CCTV. A good access control solution will link to your CCTV system, for complete security. When an alert appears on the system, the system should automatically connect with the CCTV camera close to the reader which generated the alert and capture images of the event - unauthorised access, thefts, etc.
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A modular and customisable system. It is important to be able to choose modularised access control hardware and software, which will easily and conveniently meet your expansion requirements.