WHY YOU NEED TO ADD ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEM

Are you thinking of adding access control to your Ahwatukee, AZ business or industrial location? It may be a very smart choice! For those not familiar with access control, it is simply a way to better control the flow of people throughout a location, by use of locks, hardware, signage or other tools. While the term “access control” sounds mysterious or even intimidating, it’s really not. Remember the last time you went to a sporting event? You entered through one location and got in line at another to buy your ticket. You got into another designated line to present your ticket in order to gain paid entry. You were directed to an assigned seat and after enjoying the event, you exited through a designated doorway that most likely opened from the inside and not the other way around.

It’s all around us!

Access control is used by all of us on a daily basis - not only here in Ahwatukee, AZ but everywhere in the world! You see evidence of access control in restaurants, hotels, nursing homes, shopping malls, universities, apartment rentals, retail stores, government buildings, schools, casinos, sporting events and even funeral homes.

Why is access control important?

Access control use enables us to enjoy privacy, security and order. By restricting access to certain parts of a building or location, we can enjoy enhanced benefits that would not be possible during an all-out free for all. Take banks for instance. Our Ahwatukee Locksmith AZ technicians often are called upon to install keypad devices, CCTV, panic bars and badge readers at local banks, savings and loans and other financial institutions. Can you imagine if anyone visiting your bank was allowed to enter into the vault, safety deposit box room, or manager’s office? Thanks to access control, only authorized personnel can gain entry to these areas and their contents.

More examples

Visit your local jeweler and you’ll see additional examples of access control. The gems, watches and necklaces are kept inside of locking glass cases and only the staff, manager or owners have authorized access. Additional gems and investment grade stones are kept in a private vault in a private, no public access area. The back door to the store is protected by a panic bar, an exit sign and an alarm system. You as a customer know that you are to stand on one side of the cash register and glass cases. How do you know? The signs and roped-off areas say so! If you are observant, you will start noticing access control everywhere you go. Access control can be applied in residential, commercial, industrial and institutional locations and in each case, it makes crowd flow and employee access more controlled, safer, and orderly.

Fingerprint locks

Biometric lock technology or fingerprint locks is a fairly new and emerging from of access control. The person trying to gain access to an area or a device must enter a thumbprint, handprint or even retina scan first to see if it is recognized. If it is; access is granted! This form of access control is probably the most expensive form and is used in high dollar locations or products like banks, luxury high rises, jewelry stores, museums, luxury hotels and the like.  Apple is now using this form of access control mixed with a number sequence on a keypad backup for greater security for their iPhone buyers.

Panic bars

Also known as push bars or exit bars, these universally used horizontal bars seem to be everywhere! There’s a reason for that; they work! Push bars help with crowd flow by allowing the user to “push” on the bar and open the door. This is done easily, quickly, and with no knob turning or keys in the lock. You’ll usually find panic bars on exit doors that don’t have normal access into the room or building. This one-way flow helps keep the traffic moving along and leads to less panic and trampling in times of danger.

Push to exit buttons

These are mounted on walls near the exit doors and just like the name implies; you push on the button to release the door in order to exit. Most of the times, these buttons are red or green and clearly marked “push to exit.”

Motion sensors

This unique technology detects a person or a vehicle approaching the exit and when it does, it unlocks the door or gate. This is often used in government facilities or in country club communities where access is limited to authorized personnel or certain residents.

Emergency exits

These are usually located near the exit and are attached to the wall. There are two main types of these. One type uses a pull down handle that releases the door. The second type is the one where you break the glass and a switch inside is activated that releases the door.

Keypads

These are quite common in the access control industry and can be found in many applications ranging from car doors to luxury hotels. They are easy to use and only provide minimum security as anyone standing behind you can observe your key code and use it later to gain access. In order for keypad devices to be more secure, a video surveillance system needs to be implemented along with it so that visual recognition can be matched to the number sequence entered.

Proximity readers

These are also known as swipe cards or badges. These readers are a form of keyless entry in that no keys are needed to gain access to a room or building. A badge or swipe card embedded with a bar code or a computer chip is either held up to the device to be read (proximity) or swiped in order to be recognized and to be allowed access.

Get more info

Is access control right for you? If you’ve read this far, it might be! We urge you to call an experienced Ahwatukee locksmith expert and get additional details and all of your questions answered.