ACCESS CONTROL
The here and now
of Access Control
Dave Mundy, Managing Director of Delta
Security, a specialist in automated, high-
security solutions, gives his opinion on
what installers and their customers are
looking for in modern access control
systems, and where we’re headed…
» » OUR CLIENTS NOW EXPECT TO
be able to fully manage their access
control systems remotely, quickly
and conveniently. This includes:
the ability to open a door or restrict
access from their phone or tablet;
reliable, real-time and auditable
information on who has accessed
which doors or areas of a site; the
ability to deactivate lost or mis-
used fob/access cards at the touch
of the button; and that installers
can facilitate the necessary data-
provision.
There was a time when I would
genuinely tell my clients proposing
this wish list that they had been
watching too much Crime Scene
Investigation, but nowadays, all of
these aspects of access control are
a reality with cloud-based systems.
A go-to manufacturer for us when it
comes to data-driven access control
services is Intratone, as its systems
are highly secure, straight-forward
to install and extremely user-
friendly, enabling authorised users
to manage access for residents or
employees efficiently and within
minimal training. To manage the
data-requirements of these systems,
every cloud-based system that
Delta Security sells comes with 10
years’ off-site data.
For sites where there are 30 or
more doors, the amount of data
required to manage an access control
system can become un-economical.
For these installations we would look
to solutions that are not data-driven,
for example SALTO access control
systems that use a client’s broadband
or network. Again, the system’s
easy-to-use software enables housing
managers, for example, to grant and
restrict access to residents and trades
people according to their authorised
area and duration of visit.
With both options, another
significant benefit is that systems
can be expanded to include
additional card/fob readers and
users as and when required. This
means modern access control
systems are fully scalable, and able
to accommodate site extensions,
refurbishments, or even additional
sites as facility or company grows.
The security of access control
systems has vastly improved within
the last five to ten years. Prior
to this, when 125khz proximity
technology was commonplace, it
was possible to take a fob or ID
card to any locksmith and have
an exact duplication created. This
created obvious issues where
a person could be accused of
accessing a building in the middle
of the night only to prove they were
in fact at home. The introduction of
Mifare technology has meant that
access codes are encrypted and not
possible to clone, and this level of
security is now essential.
Another requirement for many
access control systems, especially for
those used in the education sector,
is visitor management. Knowing
exactly who is on site at any time and
being able to pre-register visitors
before they arrive is critical on sites
where the duty of care of occupants
is paramount. There are numerous
VMS systems, such as EntrySign
that provide extremely user-friendly
systems that provide instant
reporting as to who is on site, who
is due to arrive and straightforward
printing of ID cards.
The access control technology
being pitched as our future is
facial recognition and biometrics.
But, despite the excitement that
biometrics first brought about, it
seems we are not quite at the stage
where we can use this technology
reliably and also without privacy
and compliancy issues – the public
are still not keen on submitting
their fingerprints to record.
Facial recognition is further down
the line than biometrics, with largely
successful installations at major
airports and high-profile City Centre
corporate buildings, though we are
still some way off its widespread use.
It will be interesting, also, to see how
a recent case pans out, where the
police are being taken to court by a
member of the public whose image
was taken while shopping. The
allegation is that weak regulation
regarding automated facial
recognition surveillance breaches
human rights. This could well result
in stricter regulations and could
open up a can of worms not just for
future facial recognition use, but
also in CCTV.
www.deltasecurity.co.uk
JUL/AUG 2019
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