ASSA ABLOY highlights the three ways in which businesses benefit when they free their access control systems from cables

An access control system is familiar technology to organisations of every size and structure. Access control may operate as a standalone electronic locking system. It can also integrate with complementary business systems, such as HVAC, time-and-attendance, in-house payments and more.

What many businesses may not know is that by restricting their access system with wires, they are not using the full potential of the electronic access control system.

High expense of wiring doors

In many companies’ access control systems, only the most important doors and locks are wired to main electricity

In many companies’ access control systems, only the most important doors and locks are wired to the main electricity. The software then filters and monitors traffic. It is a tried-and-trusted way to let the right people in and keep everyone else out, who is unauthorised to enter the building.

Yet, the expense and disruption of wiring doors can stop electronic access control in its tracks, at the front entrance of the building. This leaves building door control in the hands of mechanical locking, which limits the flexibility and control of security, and its potential contribution to the business success.

Unleash access control from its cables

The answer to this problem is to unleash access control from its cables. Extending security with wireless devices and managing access around a building’s interior will benefit a business in at least three ways. These include:

• Make sure only authorised personnel open sensitive doors

Not everyone should be able to walk into the Chief Executive Officer’s office or open the server room. In real-world situations, where staff is busy, relying on manual lock-and-key technology often leaves doors unguarded and open to unauthorised access.

If a lock is somehow breached, a security manager will have no idea when it has occurred and nor will they be able to identify the last person to open the door.

Cable-free electronic locking devices

Cable-free electronic locking devices are available for all kinds of internal doors, of every size and any material

Cable-free electronic locking devices are available for all kinds of internal doors, of every size and any material. At Luminy University, based in Marseille, France, for example, wireless devices ensure only qualified and authorised staff open restricted entry rooms, where hazardous materials are stored. They are controlled and monitored from the same system, as the university’s wired doors.

Businesses can filter and track access to more than just rooms as well. Wireless cabinet locks add security to cupboards, cabinets and drawers — for employee personal items, controlled medicines or almost anything else. A wired system may find it difficult to reach these openings.

Battery-powered locks offer real-time control

Battery-powered locks can add real-time control and monitoring to server racks, in order to alert the IT staff right away, in the case if unauthorised access has been attempted.

With the cost of a typical data breach estimated to reach approximately US$ 4.24 million (€ 3.7 million), an investment in wireless Aperio server rack locking solution could repay itself many times over for businesses.

• Convenience for employees, peace of mind for facilities teams

Wireless devices can bring access control much deeper into a building. With wireless access control devices, employees feel safer at work, facilities and security managers can relax, because important openings beyond the front door are secured and monitored, without any time wasted in tracking bunches (or hundreds) of physical keys.

Aperio wireless locks

Wireless devices contribute to an energy-efficiency strategy, as the installation is less invasive and less energy-intensive

The workload to maintain a network of wireless devices is also minimal. For example, Aperio wireless locks by ASSA ABLOY only need a change of battery every two years, on average and no additional installation or maintenance costs is incurred.

Battery operation is energy and therefore, cost-efficient as well. Compared to traditional wired locking, wireless devices contribute to an energy-efficiency strategy, as the installation is less invasive and less energy-intensive, and it uses fewer materials, such as cabling.

Single credential authorisation

For visitors and employees, a single credential still opens all their authorised locks and doors. No one carries large and inconvenient key bunches or wastes time in hunting for the right key. Time saved can have a real impact on service delivery, as nurses at the Centre Hospitalier Métropole Savoie in France have discovered.

• Understand building use (and users)

With the exception of designated ‘high security doors’, wired access control often stops at the front entrance. Once employees and visitors are inside the building, the system loses track of them. This leaves valuable business data un-gathered.

Extending access control with wireless digital devices

Extending access control with wireless digital devices can help collect this data and put it to work in the right way

Extending access control with wireless digital devices can help collect this data and put it to work in the right way. Technology protocols and standards, such as OSDP and LDAP ensure the data is interoperable with complementary systems, both now and in the future.

For example, a better understanding of building use enables more efficient energy management. If no one is occupying a suite of offices, why heat or air-condition them? Data from a more comprehensive access system could help automated systems make intelligent and cost-saving decisions in real-time.

Granular access control

Granular access control can also help inform decisions about leasing office space — and of what type — or whether to let leases expire. This type of data will only grow in importance as work patterns become fluid.

IBM estimates the global mobile workforce will soon number 1.87 billion people. Understanding how these workers use space will be critical — and could directly influence business success.