Access Control Best Practices for a New Era
We’re in a new era now…one in which working from home has become common, businesses are more used to complying with restrictions, and everyone is preparing for these things to be part of our reality for the foreseeable future. It’s the perfect time to evaluate your security systems, starting with access control.
If your business already has an access control system installed, these best practices can help you get the most of your system.
First, evaluate who has access to your building.
The best place to start is with your current access logs. As you inspect them, ask yourself:
- Have you discontinued access for all former employees?
- Have there been any failed access events (people unsuccessfully attempting to enter)?
- Does anyone new need access, such as your cleaning or maintenance vendors?
Answering these questions and proceeding with the appropriate actions can strengthen your building security quickly and effectively. But that’s not all your access control logs can do. If there is a positive COVID test among your staff, your logs can also help you with contact tracing. Examine your logs regularly to ensure you stay on top of building safety and security.
Next, take advantage of remote access management.
When an access control system is managed on-premises, that calls for a visit to the site any time the system is down. That’s why we recommend cloud-based access control, which lets you handle repairs and reboots from the safety of your own mobile device.
Additionally, you can use remote management to make any adjustments to building access. From your own smartphone, you can turn on access for the night crew, turn off access for the day shift, or make exceptions for different employees at different times. All of this is simple with a cloud-based system.
Now, combine access control and video.
To leverage your cloud-based access control system to the fullest, consider integrating it with video surveillance. These two technologies can work together for tighter site security; for example, you’ll be able to check your access logs against your video footage to investigate any security alerts. In this new era, video surveillance and cloud-based access control are the ideal integration for your business security configuration.
Finally, find ways to reduce contact.
From now on, it’s important to keep our security tools as contact-free as possible; the fewer touch points, the better. To reduce touch contact, you might want to look at using mobile credentials that rely on users to simply swipe their phones. There are even contact-free biometric options to consider, including FaceID and fingerprint credentials that users can authenticate with their phones rather than making contact with the door.
A new era is the time to test out new practices for better building security, and cloud-based access control is a great technology to implement. To learn more about cloud-based access control, contact Security Instrument. We will be glad to answer your questions.
About Security Instrument
From Fortune 500 to local SMB’s throughout the Tri-State area, Security Instrument integrates custom security systems to meet the needs of commercial clients.
