Access control

Access control is a fancy name for restricted access and crowd control. When you have access control in place, your staff, visitors and customers can only go into certain areas of your premises. Take a movie theater for instance. You and your significant other decide to take in a movie. You walk into the lobby and approach the ticket booth. You go up to the booth and purchase tickets for the 7 pm showing. All is good. You wouldn’t think hopping the counter and invading the ticket master’s space. Nor would you help yourself to the popcorn behind the concessions stand. You are restricted to the customer’s side of the lobby. There may be a small gate or rope to remind you of this restriction. You may have parked in valet parking which is marked with a sign. The theater rooms themselves are open or closed according to showings and this is evidenced by the locked or closed doors and by roped off areas again. At this point you may be wondering what, if anything, this has to do with locksmith service. The answer may surprise you!

Restricted access

Have you ever gone into a government office, bank or business where a sign says “restricted access” or “authorized personnel only?” These signs are often backed by locks, video surveillance, keypad devices, CCTV, guard stations, and other similar security features.

Access control is everywhere you look!

It sure is! Now that you are getting familiar with it more, you’ll start noticing it more and more. You’ll see access control at work in grocery stores, veterinary clinics, movie theaters, call centers, apartment complexes, hospitals, universities, sports arenas, nursing homes, art galleries and lots more. You’ll notice turnstiles, signs, keypad devices, swipe cards, panic and exit devices, retina scanners, fingerprint locks, video surveillance, security gates, CCTV and lots more at many of these places. You can experience access control in obvious places like credit unions and banks to less noticeable locations like bakeries and retirement homes.

Badges and swipe cards

One of the most commonly used and effective methods of access control is the use of swipe cards and badges. These are useful in restricting access in medical and business facilities the world over. No key is needed for these to work. The staff member, guest or customer gets a specialized plastic card with an embedded chip in it, or bar code, and maybe a picture for further identification. This is swiped on a card reader or held up to it so that it can be scanned. Upon verification, a door is unlocked or a turnstile is released so that the person can now access the area. Anyone not having one of these badges is not granted access. Many times, these methods are combined with video surveillance for further backup in identifying personnel since badges can be stolen or lent out fraudulently.

Panic bars

Panic bars are used for crowd flow and security reasons and they are so effective that in many commercial and government buildings they are required additions. A panic bar is a spring loaded horizontal bar that is installed on a one way back door that usually has no door knob on the other side. The reason that panic bars work so well is that instead of each person turning a knob and opening a door, all that is needed is a push on the bar and this action is enough to unlock and open the door, all at the same time. Since these doors are one way only, anyone leaving by them does not have to fight incoming foot traffic that could slow them down or stop them from exiting. You can find panic bars almost everywhere including movie theaters, restaurants, hotels, offices, schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, shopping malls, government offices, warehouses and even in laundromats, animal shelters and convenience stores.

Keypads

Keypads are another method of effective access control. You simply enter your number sequence into the keypad and if it matches, you are allowed past the door. The keypad is usually mounted on a wall outside the perimeter and can often be activated remotely. Many times keypads are used in conjunction with CCTV cameras or video surveillance to ensure that only the right people are allowed in. Keypads can also be used for record keeping as a log is kept by the system to show time stamps and dates accessed. If an employee leaves or has a change in status, the keypad number can be deleted or changed to reflect this. The same goes for badges and swipe cards. They can be revoked or altered.

Other forms of access control

Basic locks are also effective at keeping unauthorized people out of restricted areas. There are dozens of lock types and sizes and as long as authorized users have a working key, control of the access is kept. These locks can include cylinder, mortise, magnetic, FOB and mortise locks. Add to the list locks like high security locksets, cam locks, padlocks and even deadbolts. Locks can be changed, rekeyed and replaced as often as is needed in case of lost keys or employee fraud. Even signs, construction cones, walls and gates can be effectively used forms of access control. To find out more we encourage you to call your local, full service locksmith shop and schedule a consultation about the many uses and potential benefits of access control in your particular circumstances.