Think your business is too small for access control systems?
The truth is, security is an issue for companies of all sizes. Even small companies benefit from controlling access to certain parts of facilities.
From protecting your assets to making your employees feel safe, these systems can improve your business.
Keep reading to learn about nine key benefits of access control systems.
1. Reduce the Risk of Theft
When you work with physical inventory, your business becomes a target for theft. Even office supplies and equipment are potential theft targets.
You may not think your employees would steal from you, but statistics show that U.S. businesses lose $50 billion each year due to employee theft.
With access control security, you make it much more difficult for things to go missing from your business. People who don’t work for your company can’t gain access to steal those items.
If it’s an inside job, you have a record of who entered inventory storage areas at certain times, which can help identify the person responsible. You can also limit who has access to areas with high-value items to reduce the possibility of some employees stealing.
Theft of proprietary information is another possibility. If you have documents or other materials containing secret information about your company, you want to keep those secure. That’s easier with an access control system.
2. Protect Your Employees
An access control system lets employees enter the building quickly, which keeps them safer. They don’t have to stand outside digging for a key or fumble to get the key into the lock and turn it. They can swipe a card or use biometrics to enter the building quickly and reduce the risk of an attack.
Once inside the building, employees feel more secure because only others who are authorized can enter. They can work comfortably knowing they don’t have to worry about outside threats. This can be especially comforting for employees who work evenings or overnights.
3. Restrict Access to Certain Areas
If you work with sensitive data, high-value materials, or dangerous activities, you may want to limit access to certain areas. Not all employees need access to production areas where hazardous chemicals or dangerous equipment is in use.
The system allows programming to restrict access to certain areas for each employee. This ensures everyone has easy access to necessary areas while keeping them out of areas they don’t need to enter.
You may also want to make certain areas employee-only if customers come into your building. Without access control on labs, storage areas, production areas, or office space, customers or other outside people could easily slip into those spaces undetected.
4. Create a Record of Activity
Even with a small company, it’s tough to keep track of who comes and goes. Having an access control system creates a record of everyone who enters and exits each door that’s equipped with the system.
This record comes in handy to track employee attendance and activities. You can see if employees are working where they’re supposed to be working at particular times.
If there’s an incident, such as theft or damage to property, you can review the log to see who was in those areas at the time the incident happened.
5. Get Rid of Key Issues
Handing out keys to employees, even just a few, can be a hassle to manage. If one employee loses a key, you have to rekey your entire building, which can be costly.
When you only give a few employees keys, you have to coordinate those individuals to make sure someone is physically at your building when employees or customers need inside. This can be challenging. If one person with a key forgets to show up, it leaves other employees or customers waiting outside.
If someone loses a key or you get locked out of the building, you’ll have hefty costs for locksmith services. A lost key means you’ll need to rekey the building to be on the safe side.
Commercial locksmith services usually cost more than residential because the locks are stronger and commercial-grade. The cost could range from $75 to $800 or more.
Rekeying a commercial lock usually costs between $50 and $150 per lock. A business lockout service typically ranges from $50 to $200. If you have to call the locksmith too many times, you’ll end up paying large sums for the services.
6. Make Employee Departures Easier
Along the same lines, it’s much easier to end access for an employee who’s no longer with the company when you use an access control system. You can simply deactivate that person in the system.
Traditionally, you’ll have to rekey the building anytime an employee leaves, whether they resign or get fired. Even if you get the key back from the employee, you can’t guarantee they didn’t make a copy. This leaves you at risk for unauthorized access.
7. Automate Limited Access
Sometimes you want to give access to certain areas for a limited time. Say you have office hours from 9 to 3 every day. Your clients need easy access during that time.
You can program your system to open certain doors at that time to allow customers to enter. Other areas of the building can still remain accessible only by authorized personnel.
This can also be effective if you have an outside vendor coming at a certain time. Maybe you have a cleaning crew that comes once per week at night.
You can program the system to only allow the cleaning crew’s credentials to work during those hours. They’ll still need their access card to enter the building, but it’ll only work during the designated hours. That ensures they don’t enter the building when they’re not supposed to be there.
8. Provide Remote Access
Another security perk is the ability to grant access remotely. This might come in handy if you have a contractor or repair person coming to do work while you’re not at the office. You can let the person enter the facility remotely, so you don’t have to make a special trip to the office.
9. Overcome Employee Mistakes
Are your employees responsible for locking up the building? It only takes one mistake or one forgotten lock to put your business at risk. You may even be the person who occasionally forgets.
With access systems, the doors remain locked at all times. They require the correct credentials to get in. That means you never have to worry about a door remaining unlocked.
Choose Access Control Systems
Access control systems provide perks for companies of all sizes. You don’t have to run a large corporation to benefit from the security you get with these systems.
Contact us to learn more about our access control systems and other security options.
