Heard of access control and want to know what it is, why it’s important and the benefits it can have on your business? We’ve explained it all. Keep reading to find out more.
An access control system is used to control when a specific person can enter a certain location within a building or site. The person could be an employee or visitor and could be travelling on foot or by car or bicycle. Access control is therefore a way of increasing the security of a building or site, by controlling who can go where and when.
There are several types of access control methods, but systems usually use access cards, key fobs, or biometric readers to authorise individuals into certain areas within a business premise. These credentials replace traditional physical keys with digital ones, offering a flexible and highly secure method of regulating entry. Modern systems are highly flexible and can be implemented across various entry points, from a single door to a vast, multi-site network, helping businesses manage everything from server rooms to external gates.
Access control is a system that helps you understand how your building or site is being used, by tracking when individuals enter and leave certain rooms and locations, as well as improve the overall security of your site.
It’s important to know who is in your building and when, especially in an event of an emergency, such as a fire. The detailed log provided by a robust access control system is crucial for safety procedures like roll call systems during an evacuation. In addition, an access control system stops unauthorised persons entering your site, which is especially important in environments such as schools and places of care, or sensitive healthcare facilities.
Have dangerous machinery or confidential material onsite? You may not want all your employees to have access to certain areas. Access control can therefore help keep you and your employees safe by implementing Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), ensuring that only personnel with the correct training or clearance can enter restricted zones. This is critical in industries with strict compliance and health & safety regulations, such as in a factory environment.
The importance of robust security has never been clearer. Recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on crime in England and Wales highlights the continuing challenge, with shoplifting offences reaching their highest recorded level in two decades, while robbery of business property has also seen significant increases, demonstrating that businesses continue to be major targets for both opportunistic and organised crime. Implementing high-grade security, including a professional access control installation, is an essential defensive measure against both external intruders and potential internal threats, helping to safeguard your assets and people. For businesses looking at how best to integrate these systems, reviewing managing access control in large commercial premises can provide further insights into system design.
Access control eliminates the need for traditional keys, which can easily and often get lost or mislaid, thus creating a potential security breach. If there are multiple rooms and buildings with restricted access, this also means multiple keys are needed for each individual, which can be bulky to carry around – access control eliminates this issue. A lost key requires an expensive and time-consuming lock change; a lost access card or fob can be deactivated instantly from a central system, mitigating the security risk immediately and cost-effectively.
By tracking who enters and leaves your premises, it allows you to know who is where and when and that everyone is working where they are supposed to be. It also means that if an incident, accident, or theft occurs, you will be able to identify exactly who was in the area or space at that specific time. This detailed audit trail is invaluable for HR management, compliance audits, and internal investigations. The system provides irrefutable data on movement, which can be critical for health and safety compliance, especially in environments like waste management sites where restricted area access is mandatory.
An access control system can protect your staff and visitors by stopping unwanted visitors and non-authorised persons from entering your premises. If someone without access tries to enter the building, they won’t be able to and this significantly increases the security of your site as well as the safety of your employees and visitors. For example, in a critical event, the system can be immediately put into lockdown mode, securing all doors simultaneously to protect occupants from an external threat—a crucial capability for businesses, especially those in the education sector. This ability to initiate an immediate and controlled lockdown system is a key difference between a modern access control solution and old key-based security.
Another benefit of an access control system is that is can reduce your overall costs. This is due to not needing to replace and supply keys, locks and employ security personnel to keep your site secure. This is especially relevant in a large scale company that may have thousands of employees and multiple floors and buildings. Instead, you will need to install one access control system, that can also be integrated with your other systems such as lighting, heating and appliances, to turn off when the room or building is not in use, thus saving on energy bills. Furthermore, modern, smart systems can be integrated with building management systems (BMS) to automate energy usage. For example, lights or heating in a meeting room are only activated when an authorised access card registers occupancy, a key feature in creating a smart building and achieving long-term sustainability goals, as detailed by leading technology analysts at Gartner.
By controlling the building access, no unauthorised individual will be able to enter, meaning intruders will find it much harder to enter and commit a theft. This protection extends beyond external theft. By restricting internal access to high-value areas like data centres, stock rooms, and cash offices, access control systems also act as a powerful deterrent against internal employee theft and fraud, which, according to the Home Office’s Economic Crime Survey 2024, remains a significant financial threat to UK businesses. Restricting access to sensitive areas also helps maintain the confidentiality of critical business information, a key aspect of preventing data breaches.
Employees will not only feel more secure on site, but will have an improved employee experience. They will be able to access different areas of the workplace with ease, without relying on others or security personnel to open and close buildings and rooms. This will give them more flexibility in their ways of work and will improve their overall employee satisfaction. Modern access control, particularly when using mobile credentials (allowing a smartphone to act as the key card), offers a seamless, frictionless entry process, enhancing operational efficiency and promoting a positive, high-tech workplace image.
There are therefore several benefits of access control systems and their importance is key in maintaining a safe and secure environment. For more information on how to build a comprehensive security strategy, read our guide on how to build a security-first culture in your workplace.
BusinessWatch specialises in designing, installing, and maintaining bespoke access control systems for businesses, across multiple industries. Get in touch on 0330 094 7404 to discuss your business’ requirements today.
