Access control systems

Having an Access control systems will ultimately equip your office or home with a superb level of safety and security. This system has the ability to grant access to specific locations to the individuals with the proper privileges while denying access to intruders and “would be� trouble makers. Not to mention that these systems keep a record of all the entrances and exits made by authorized individuals with the exact times of each event. This comes very handy for employees who are paid by the hour. They can simply swipe their card, or enter a certain code in the access machine when they first come in the property and just before they leave the facility. This will immediately creates a log report which the employer can easily review to grant the appropriate payments to the employees according to the hours worked.
If you have a home or business with many entrances and exits then Access control systems will provide you with a valuable service. Installing these systems in these entries and exits will enable you to control who will enter your facility and who will not thus enabling you of protecting and securing the people, documents, and equipment of your facility. There are many different types of Access control systems devices the most popular of all are control panel systems. These devices are simply small keyboards or panels that determine the lock position of a gate or door depending on the typed code. They can have actual buttons or have a touch screen for individuals to type their codes in, but the lock will only open with an appropriate preset code.

However access code panels are not the only Access control systems devices out there, the second most popular Access control systems device is the magnetic stripe reader commonly known as card reader or swipe machine. These devices can also be used to control entrances and exits in a facility; however it is a little bit more complicated than code panels. The company or administration of the facility must issue the employees a card with a magnetic strip encoded with data that the swipe machine can pick up once the card is swiped through it. Many times companies will hit two birds with one stone by issuing the employees business identification cards with the magnetic stripe on the backs of the cards. For increased security, some devices are designed to operate with both; swipe cards and pin numbers.

As technology continued to advance long range and proximity readers emerged. They advanced the operation of swipe machines and raised its performance to a new level. These sensors can pick up an encoded card’s data without requiring individuals to swipe it through the machine. Proximity readers can recognize the encoded cards at short distance of 100 millimeters. While long range readers will detect a card from a distance of about 1 meter. These two inventions come in handy especially for those with disabilities who may not be able to properly swipe the card through the machine.
Inventors have further developed access systems that will not only grant access to authorized personnel but will also collect a variety of vital and detailed information. Smartcard Readers was their invention. These Access control systems products can gather the name and time of a specific individuals passed through a door or gate, furthermore they can be linked up to the company’s catering, parking system, vending services and payroll system.

A high end Access control systems system product which was recently introduced to the market is the Biometric Fingerprint Reader. These highly accurate devices are designed to identify individuals with unique personal characteristics that make it impossible for anybody to imitate. With a security code or a magnetic card the facility is still at risk. An employee may loose an access card or someone may succeed in stealing a card from the employee and use it to invade the facility, another may look over the shoulder of an employee as he types the security code and easily use it to gain entrance but with a fingerprint reader unauthorized access will be eliminated for sure. This is due to the simple fact that nobody can imitate your facial features, fingerprint, voice, or eye characteristics regardless of how hard they try or the methods they use. Although superior, this technology is currently expensive to own and is undergoing experimentation to fine tune and iron out any technical difficulties that may arise during operation, it will certainly be a wise investment when these products finally reach the markets in the near future.

In some instances you may have visitors, friends, or other non-intruding individuals who may need a one time access to your facility. For these individuals, it does not make sense to give them an access card or pin code because they will likely loose it and since they will not need to enter the facility that often. Using a three method Access control systems device system one can easily identify the visitors or non-employees and grant them access when required. To start with, some sort of alarm system such as a door bell needs to be installed near the door to alert the facility’s staff of the visiting individual. Secondly, a two way intercom system needs to also be present near the entrance. This will enable the staff to communicate with the visitor and decide whether it is necessary or not to grant the visitor access. Furthermore, the individual present at the door could lie to them just to gain access, for example he can claim to be another employee while in reality he may be an intruder. This necessitates installing a security camera near the door to enable the staff or actually seeing the individual and identify him before he is allowed into the facility. If the individual is successfully identified then the entrance door is automatically unlocked for a small amount of time to allow the individual to enter the property.
Before someone buys any type of Access control systems, they should fully realize their needs and educate themselves about the available options. They should know the geographical location of the facility, how may exits, doors, and gates are in the property, the average number of individuals coming in and out the facility every day, the level of security you need, and any development and advances in the property that could happen in the future.