Access control comes in a variety of solutions. This is because it’s needed by a variety of different businesses, facilities, warehouses, and institutions. What a medical lab needs is different from what a warehouse needs. What a school needs is different from what a research facility needs. For this reason, access control can be a simple one-step process that can be changed from a master panel…or it can be a multi-layered approach with multiple alarm steps that requires multiple authentications to change any setting.

 

Let’s take a facility and handle its needs broadly so we can show how simple or complex you can make access control:

 

Simple Access Control

 

A simple solution might be to secure all entrances, exits, and windows. If an unauthorized individual breaches one of these, an alarm will sound at both the master panel and remote panels. This notifies security to investigate and advise. If a second is breached before you’ve addressed the first, a more urgent alarm can sound at panels or across the facility. This notifies personnel to take whatever measures you’ve implemented in this security event, whether it’s an evacuation or lockdown procedure.

 

You can change the alarm or the status from the master panel, allowing security to notify and clarify as needed. This approach contains simple steps that allow personnel to modify, investigate, and either correct or further detail the reason for alarm.

 

Complex Access Control

 

A complex solution might involve an automatic lockout of certain areas if an unauthorized individual gains access. Certain breaches can have specific repercussions in different areas of a facility: an automatic evacuation of one area, a lockdown procedure in another. Overrides for certain areas can be qualified with an automatic list – this means that under an alarm condition, only certain personnel would be able to override access to certain areas. You can utilize constant tracking for who tries to use their access leading up to and during an event. This allows you to analyze for any strange employee behavior surrounding the event.

 

Furthermore, shutting alarms off can be done at remote workstations by using a key. This allows you to sweep a facility section by section, only reducing section alarms when that section is secure. This is a much more complex set of solutions that can be implemented for a facility with increased security and control needs.