Access control is not just a matter of managing security, although security of a building and its contents – people, materials, assets, information – is one of the most important elements of facilities management. Access control is also about regulating and managing who is in a building, and increasingly there is also a need to be flexible and progressive with access control, in order to fit in with modern working patterns and the full range of needs of different people.
Managing access is primarily a safety issue in terms of an employer’s duty to protect their employees and protect assets, and insurance companies have their own stipulations also. But access control has developed to become an integrated feature which connects facilities management with human resources management. And because many businesses now operate flexible working patterns, the demands on access control systems have increased, so it is important that your installation is auditable, manageable and able to work in tandem with other systems adopted by the organisation.
At EM-B we have different types of access control systems, and these can be adapted to your business needs to provide a robust and practical working solution. These include:
Hybrid access control
These systems can be integrated with your attendance and ‘clocking-in’ systems so you always know who is on site for safety, insurance and HR reasons. There are many different sophisticated access control systems and you can choose the one your employees are most likely to embrace. These can use a card or key fob to gain entry, or you can set-up a code or password to be punched in using a keypad. For a high level of security you can use biometric parameters, so this would require a fingerprint to gain access or you can use a full face recognition system. Ultimately, you can choose what is sensible and practical to suit the flow of people expected and the location of the access point, but you can choose how your doors are opened and we will do the rest.
Auto doors
Automatic doors operate using a variety of inputs such as push buttons, motions sensors and access control and hence can open, automatically or controlled, as someone approaches. These doors in operation are contactless and very energy efficient. Because the doors only open when someone wishes to go through, this makes heating and temperature control much easier and makes air conditioning much more cost-effective. These systems can also be integrated with the hybrid access control systems, so that a unique security input is still required to be navigated before the door is activated to open in order to regulate access and maintain security as required.
Specialist access systems
At EM-B we recognise that working patterns and systems have changed dramatically in recent years, even before the recent pandemic, and some offices can be largely empty much of the time or are accessed at irregular intervals. Some offices are 24/7 operations and ‘out-of-hours’ access is common when buildings are otherwise empty and unmanned. Sometimes a remote-working employee may only visit an office for a few minutes to collect something, and that could be any time of day, so access to an office isn’t necessary, they just need access to some storage. So we can install lockers, parcel delivery portals and secure mailboxes as a means of restricting access to only employees who have a code or other means of retrieving what they need to collect. This could be a document, parcel or any kind of materials which are vital to their work. This kind of system is far more cost-effective than opening and managing a large office, and increasingly businesses are opening their eyes to this kind of flexible approach.
EM-B access control specialists
We are access control specialists and have experience of working across many different industry sectors such as education, healthcare, residential and retail, always meeting the diverse challenges presented. Our consultancy, design and installation is professional and comprehensive, so contact our sales experts today and we can ensure your access control is managed using the very best solutions available.
