Do you have a surveillance system in place to keep an eye on your business 24/7? Is your company up to date on the best access control solutions to protect your physical location, assets, and most importantly, your people?
COVID-19 has brought many security challenges to SMB’s throughout the world. The need for limiting contact between people, requiring a mask for entry, restricting access to certain areas, and screening workers for symptoms has increased the importance of implementing an access control system during this time. Let’s not forget about the workplaces that have been closed and business owners that are doing their best to manage their physical location from home. Wouldn’t it be great to keep tabs on your office from your couch?
A recent survey shows that office workers believe access control is more important in a COVID-19 world: In the survey of 1,264 office workers, 44 percent felt that access control is more important because of the pandemic. It also looked at how many workers enter their offices. Key cards, fobs, or traditional keys are used by 75 percent of the respondents. 41 percent said a smartwatch or smartphone would be their first choice to unlock doors over any other access control measure. More than two-thirds of office managers are also interested or very interested in managing access to their buildings with smartphones.
It’s clear that while there is much out of our control, it’s vital for businesses to control what they can. Learn how you can take preventative measures to protect the health and safety of customers and employees with access control solutions…
Why Does My Business Need an Access Control System?
Protecting your workplace is always important; however it’s even more vital to take precautions during the pandemic. We recommend that all SMB’s add a secure, reliable access control solution to their IT infrastructure – during the pandemic and as a best practice for security moving forward. “Because workplaces, are prime locations for viruses like COVID-19 to spread, we’ve witnessed a major shift in coronavirus office policies. For many businesses who are now operating with minimal staffing or a fully remote workforce, that means drastic changes to who has building access, and how employees are coming and going.” One Path
At Computers Nationwide, we want to help make your workplace safer and help stop the spread of the coronavirus. In addition to being part of your COVID-19 response strategy, these security systems are helpful in general for tracking the whereabouts of people in (and outside) of your facility, guarding authorized areas that hold confidential information, and helping to avoid legal liabilities.
“Access control is a security technique that regulates who or what can view, use or access a place or other resources. It is a fundamental concept in physical security and information security designed to minimize risk. Access control can be split into two groups designed to improve physical security or cybersecurity:
- Physical access control: limits access to campuses, building and other physical assets, e.g. a proximity card to unlock a door.
- Logical access control: limits access to computers, networks, files and other sensitive data, e.g. a username and password.”
The Benefits of an Access Control Solution During COVID-19
As the uncertainty of this pandemic continues, one thing is certain. Every company needs to level up their security practices to continue doing business safely while facing the coronavirus, as well as future-proof your facility for the unknown post-COVID work environment. There are a few main goals during this time: 1) reduce the number of common touchpoints in the workplace such as light switches, door knobs, & locks by installing automatic timed systems and options for touchless unlocking; 2) eliminate the need for employees to be on-site frequently in order to practice social distancing – and if they do enter, your cameras can be programmed to make sure they are wearing a mask; and 3) give business owners a peace of mind by utilizing a remote management system to control their building and keep an eye on things from the safety of their home.
“When you install the automatic door lock for more intelligent access control, you can lock and unlock the doors to your building from almost anywhere you are. Whether it’s for an employee that lost their credentials or an unexpected delivery when you’re not there, you can open the doors without running into the office.” Security Instrument
Our partners at Hikvision offer a lineup of solutions that help organizations get back to business safely. Some of these innovative solutions include density control and social distancing, touch-free entry and exit, temperature screening from a safe distance, and mask detection. Another one of our network affiliates, GeoVision, offer enhanced facial recognition, remote management software, and crowd control solutions.
Genea shares the biggest risk factors for disease spread in a modern office building environment:
- iPads for visitor registration. Hundreds of people handle these on a daily basis.
- Door handles. Another shared object that is touched by hundreds of people daily.
- Keycards. Keycards are tapped onto each reader multiple times throughout the day and can be a vector for spreading diseases.
- Elevators. This may be the hardest thing for buildings and their tenants to change, but they are a major risk factor.
And here’s what they anticipate will change:
- Buildings will have open to install mechanical doors and no-touch turnstiles everywhere possible.
- Registering on an iPad will be replaced with pre-registration and kiosks monitored by building staff to limit the amount of people in contact with shared devices.
- Mobile access will become a primary credential as keycards and touching of readers are phased out.
- Cloud-based access control systems will become required to enable remote management of systems by multiple people with their own laptops and tablets.
Computers Nationwide offers state-of-the art Access Control Systems to help ensure that only the right people have access to the appropriate places. While we use multiple systems depending on our client’s requirements, Hikvision and Geovision are industry leaders providing premier systems for this network environment. Industries that are best served by implementing an access control system are: Office buildings, banks, education communities, warehouse, healthcare facilities, factories, and even employee parking lots. Our Access Control Systems are easy-to-use, video-integrated, and networked access control solution suitable for home, small businesses and even multinational enterprises.
