Access Control Alarm Systems CCTV Cameras and Equipment

Whether it is in an office, a neighborhood, a building or a home, access control is important. Having an access control framework ensures that you have a firm grip on who can gain access to the premises and who cannot. Whether you use a sophisticated fingerprint access control system or employ traditional methods, an access control system must clearly document the date and time a person enter and exited the building.

This record is often referred to as an audit trail. Audit trails are particularly important for sensitive areas of the building such as computer server rooms and supplies store. With a reliable audit trail, it is much easier to zero in on the perpetrator. Access control systems can also be used to monitor the punctuality of employees so that repeat offenders can be identified and cautioned.

Computer based physical access control systems are fast replacing or complementing physical access control techniques. Computer based access control provides a much greater handle on managing entry in to a restricted area. For instance, through such systems, one can be granted temporary access to certain rooms with details specified down to the exact day and time. The system will thus automatically grant access on the start date and time specified, and also automatically block access once that time frame expires.

An electronic physical access control system also records all unsuccessful entry attempts. For instance, if someone tries to use expired credentials to access a particular part of the building the incident is recorded. The system administrator can then regularly review these records and embark on further investigation where there is suspicion of mischief.

One can opt to either go for a standalone or a networked physical access control system. With a networked access control system, all doors are controlled centrally. In the event of an emergency, all doors can be locked or opened at the press of a button. Since the system runs on the network, the person controlling the doors can be in a completely different location - for instance, the control room for the doors of a Durban branch can be controlled from its head office in Johannesburg.

To prevent the central control room being a single point of failure, organizations must put in place robust business continuity plans. The other type of access control system is the standalone setup. Here, each door is controlled separately. The standalone access control system is best suited for places where there are very few doors that need to be monitored such as the home.

The typical structure of an electronic physical access control system is the controller, electric locks and identification reader. The readers are usually fixed on the outward side of the door but there are instances where the reader may be placed on both sides of the door to track both entry and exit. Magnetic strip cards were the most frequently used form of identification on such systems but more and more clients are moving towards fingerprint access control.