These come in two main forms, key cards and key fobs. They can also work in two different manners, actively or passively:
Passive Proximity: Relatively cheap cards or tags with small chips inside. They transmit the user number to a reader from a short distance (>15cm) away. These are harder to clone and typically have a longer lifespan as they receive less wear.
Active Proximity: These cards use batteries to offer a longer range than their passive alternatives. Active cards and tags are usually used for long-range access readers, like those needed for vehicle access or for “hands-free” access. Typical reading ranges vary from 0.5m to 10m.
Keycards: Keycards are still the most common credential used in access control systems. While these will offer an affordable and easy-to-use option, keycards can be lost, or stolen and cloned, potentially leaving you vulnerable to card-cloning.
Fobs: Like keycards, fobs are an extremely popular credential for businesses across the globe. These typically take the form of a scannable, plastic RFID token. However, for major employers, creating fobs for each individual user will come with an expensive up-front cost.
Mobile credentials are controlled via a secure smartphone app on registered devices. Thanks to passwords, Face-ID and fingerprint control on most smartphones, modern mobile credentials are essentially dual-factor authentication. To access the building illegally, not only would you need someone’s phone, you’d also need their unlock code or biometrics to get to the access credentials. You can use a slightly lower security setting on the phone too for convenience, which enables the door to detect a nearby phone and release without having to unlock the phone.
Used in schools and businesses for decades, PIN readers rely on a specific code rather than a physical credential. Depending on the model, a PIN reader may operate as a standalone code for each room, or can be tied to an access control system to issue unique codes for each person. For obvious reasons, this is the lowest form of security as PIN codes can be shared. If you do opt for this approach, we would always recommend changing PIN codes regularly.
Biometric access draws on human data to permit entry, including fingerprints, iris scanning, facial profile and voice patterns. Biometric data gives you the certainty that the movements around your premises and within are true to what your system has reported. It removes the room for human error and deception, by using aspects of our genetic makeup as a means of access, as the elements of this are beyond the control of others - or even ourselves.
Scanner-like devices that are installed near access points within the building. They’re used as the main touchpoint for user credentials, with users typically touching their credentials on the dedicated pad to send a permission request to the control panel.
The entries to your property like doors, gates, turnstiles and elevators. Door contact sensors indicate whether a door is open or closed, propped or forced open. Request to Exit (REX) sensors and buttons are used to unlock doors automatically when someone exits via an access point.
Traditional door access points are usually configured with electric strikes or electromagnetic locks to bolster the sturdiness of the system. These additions reinforce the strength of an entry point, making it far less vulnerable to lockpicking or brute force attacks. You could have the most secure form of credentials and access control system, but if you have the wrong lock, it could be pointless. Careful consideration should be made when selecting an electric lock for your doors. We recommend that you consult a professional company for specification and installation.
These control panels receive credential data from dedicated door readers, which decide whether a user has the correct access permissions. The control panel, or ‘controller’, manages the entry process, instructing the access point to permit or deny access. These should always be installed on the secure side of the access control door, otherwise these devices are at risk of being tampered with.
PSUs are the energy sources that drive the electrified access control hardware. A suitable PSU should be used for each controlled access point in the system, in line with the manufacturer's recommendations. In the event of a mains failure, systems should be powered with a battery backup.
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The access control hardware communicates to an on-premise or cloud server which hosts a database to authenticate users. This application defines users, credentials and access schedules. The software helps users to report on space utilisation, access peaks and occupancy.
Anti-passback can be used to stop occupants from passing their credential over to another person outside the area after gaining entry. Anti-passback rules can be reset after a preset period after valid entry, at a fixed time each day, on exit from site or manually as an override.
Anti-tailgate is a feature designed to prevent physical security breaches where an unauthorised person follows a valid user through a door at the same time or immediately after. This technology can deter this action through notification or restricted movement (turnstiles etc).
Hard Anti-Tailgate: Employs physical means of prevention such as turnstiles to restrict movement.
Soft Anti-Tailgate: Raises a red flag such as a system alert or triggered alarm if unusual entrance activity is detected.
Lift control is a beneficial addition to multi-story corporate buildings and facilities. Using an individual’s credentials, staff members can be granted access to floors, rather than solely doors. For instance, a reader can be fitted in each lift cab, using technologies compatible with the rest of the system.
Linked to a dedicated CCTV camera, access control can be automated to enable access in and out of car parks through the use of ANPR. A camera is used to capture the image of the vehicle’s number plate, which is compared against a list of authorised vehicles stored in the database.
Cameras should be installed where vehicles are lane-controlled or constrained by narrow widths to improve the accuracy of the technology and prevent tailgating. It is also worth including measures to restrict this risk, such as speed humps, barriers or electric gates.
With access event timelines being stored digitally, cloud access control presents a unique opportunity for businesses to actively monitor their occupancy and capacity. From an HR perspective, businesses can keep an eye on staff arrival times and occupancy percentages, to identify unreported absences that may have slipped under the radar.
Occupancy monitoring can also be used to proactively monitor capacity in specific zones of your building that require management, such as car parks, staff cafeterias or gyms. Readers can even be remotely programmed to automatically deny new entries until capacity falls below a preset number.
Cloud-based access control can be taken the extra mile with CCTV integration, giving users 24/7 visual access to their controlled doors. With the right setup, users can arm their access control with facial recognition and visual confirmation of every user that passes through the entrance, backing up the audit trailing with video evidence.
Cameras can also be used to proactively detect user tailgating or doors being held open. By intelligently recognising these events using video analytics, the system will alert the admin on their mobile device, allowing them to respond to access alerts safely and proactively.
A modern access control software solution can support businesses in all areas of their operations, with access alerts, exportable heatmaps, entry event timelines and occupancy monitoring an ingrained part of most modern cloud solutions.
Access control software can support HR operators in better understanding abnormal events and patterns on their premises, such as absenteeism on particular dates or continual lateness. For example, if an employee is repeatedly off sick or late on the same day every month, the system will notice this, providing quick insights to help you make more informed decisions.
With visitor management integrations, organisations can operate more efficiently as processes are automated. This means that reception staff have to spend less of their time processing access requests, and visitors spend less time signing in. With some solutions, expected visitors such as contractors can be issued with one-time credentials remotely so they can just turn up and gain access to where they need to go for the day. Alternatively, unexpected arrivals can be screened more effectively with touch sign-in or a connected screen or tablet.
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