When you lock up your house, you generally use a key. When you go to your office, you generally have a key card or another method of entry. So why do we use technology that is hundreds of years old for our homes and modern technology at our places of work. Keyless access control systems are superior in a number of ways.

Losing A Key Card Is Not As Bad As Losing A Key

Firstly, it comes down to practicality. In your house, there may be four or five people who actually need a set of keys. At a place of work, there could be hundreds. If you lose your house key, then the chances are that you will just get a replacement, cur from one of your friends or family with a spare (not that this is the safest way to go about things). In the worst case scenario, you will have to get a replacement lock with some extra spare keys.

If you have a key lock in an office, not only may you need hundreds of keys – the whole system may have to be replaced if just one is lost. Although we keep valuables in our home, there is a greater collection of valuables in the workplace, whether that’s computers or stealable assets, or other more important things like information.

Key Cards Let People Work Longer Hours

Of course, there is the traditional method of having a gatekeeper at reception. There are limitations to this – namely human error and misunderstanding. People could be allowed access or even sneak in without being noticed. A locked door is still a locked door. Also, the use of keyless access systems means that people can leave later and get in earlier without having to have their passage monitored.

Previously, combination access locks have been used – but they are easy to observe, and codes get passed around. Some people can even see the worn buttons, and then after four or five combinations – they have gained access. Any device that may incur thousands of hard button presses every day will also be prone to damage and breaking over time, in the way that a swipe card system isn’t.

A better alternative to the metal entry codes is an access control keypad, which has easily shielded numeric keys and gives a different ID number to each person that uses it. This means that they are not easy to crack, and can also be used to track which people are using the access control pad at each time.

Key Cards Can Be A Form Of ID

The fact that key cards are also used as ID mean that people are likely to report them as lost sooner – especially as they will be culpable if their keycard is used erroneously. Key card systems can also create new cards easily and much more cheaply than having an additional set of keys cut. They can also allow access to certain parts of the building and not others. Key cards can also be deactivated if they are reported missing – and reactivated if they turn up again.

Key Cards Can Track Productivity

Key cards linked to an access control server computer are also a great way to keep track of people. You don’t need to have a clock in and clock out system if you can track when people come into the building and when they leave it. In terms of tracking data, key fobs are more useful than key cards – as some people will open the doors for others with their card, which will obfuscate entry and exit data, but this can be collected from a key fob with an RFID or similar chip.

Key Cards Aren’t The Only Keyless Access Control Method

Coupling CCTV and digital video with keyless systems at points of entry can also help to find out how something happened in unfortunate circumstances. If people know that they are likely to get caught, they are less likely to get out of line in the first place. In particularly sensitive areas, biometric scans can be used. Although people may forget and lose key cards and phones, they don’t forget parts of their body.

For the highest security areas, you can combine these various levels of security. Someone who has a key-card, access panel code and biometric scans whilst being tracked and having their movements recorded will be able to access their work with minimum disruption. It will be very difficult for an unauthorised person to access that area unobserved.

Keyless Access For Every Workplace

Every workplace is different, in terms of the level of security that you need, the number of employees you have and the specifics that relate to your business. No matter what your business is, or what your security needs are, you can benefit from a keyless access control system. Firstly, it’s cost effective. Although the price may be higher in the short-term, over the long-term the cost of new IDs and removing the need to replace the whole system every time a key is lost means the system pays for itself.

It is also much more adaptable, from being able to provide a photo ID, quickly disable and re-enable access to being able to track when people enter and exit a building. It also allows people to work beyond office hours – coupled with CCTV, it means that the boss doesn’t have to be the first to get there or the last to leave. Electric locks, electric strikes, electromagnetic locks and other electric exit devices are just as robust and secure as traditional locks – and offer a keyless solution to any type of door construction.

A keyless access system is a great investment to help your company grow, adapt and seem more professional. They are a modern response to commercial needs – and while keys may be classic, they are technology that is based on the same principle that was first used over a thousand years ago.