While most facilities managers view access control as a security necessity, forward-thinking managers are discovering it’s a powerful operational asset. Today’s smart access control platforms deliver measurable return on investment (ROI) beyond security, from reducing administrative overhead and automating compliance reporting to optimizing space utilization.
Let’s look at three broad capabilities that facilities managers can use beyond locking and unlocking doors toward a long-term strategy of extracting maximum value from their access control systems (ACS).
1. Flow
Modern ACS can help simplify the flow of people within an organization. Solutions can link cardholder data to human resources (HR) databases or doors and other devices to facility information databases. This strategy helps facilities management teams better understand and facilitate day-to-day operations.
For example, contractual employees can be given temporary credentials based on responsibility while providing an audit trail of their time and location. When an employee leaves a company, the offboarding and access can be terminated automatically when the HR system updates. If an employee travels to another facility within the organization, they can easily receive temporary credentials to access those buildings.
The HR and facilities management teams can even set up processes to automatically update credentials based on job role and permissions that should be associated with that role. This seamless integration ensures that employees and visitors have the correct access when needed and reduces the potential for human error in access management. Employee credentials can even be used across the enterprise, linking to point of sale (POS) software such as cafeteria purchases, parking payments, and more.
2. Automation
Aside from flow and reporting opportunities, modern ACS can also turn intelligence into strategic automation, saving time and resources. HVAC systems can go into sleep mode when the last person badges out for the day. Intrusion alarms can automatically disarm when the first employee badges in.
“Threat levels” or event-based scheduling can automate a sequence of actions for a particular function. For example, suppose a school has a sporting event or the office has an evening party. In that case, an operator can program the system to automatically unlock specific doors while restricting access to others. A multi-tenant complex or office building may require badging for elevators after hours. At stadiums, a VIP guest pulling into the parking garage can trigger automatic alerts to a particular stakeholder, simultaneously adjusting lighting and temperature to the VIP’s preferences.
Organizations can simplify compliance and auditing, too, by automating access based on regulatory or legal requirements. Suppose an employee’s clearance or job certificate is not current, or their driver’s license has expired. In that case, compliance requirements may dictate that they’re not allowed in a building or restricted area. Operators can set the ACS to deny access until the license information is updated automatically.
3. Reporting
One of the simplest ways to turn real-time access control data into meaningful information is by leveraging dashboards and reporting tools. The capabilities of reporting tools can save significant time by pulling data and presenting it in an easy-to-follow, easy-to-absorb format.
Reports on space use and work patterns can help inform office layouts and equipment use. If smaller conference rooms are used more often than larger ones, for example, facilities managers can use that knowledge to help plan future renovations or determine if the current office space fits the organization’s needs.
If access control data notes high traffic levels in certain buildings or spaces, facilities managers can better schedule office and communal space cleaning in the highly trafficked areas. They may decide that facilities not in use could be a potential source for energy savings, reducing HVAC and lighting use when no one is in the building. Facilities managers can even view reports to understand staffing needs, possibly adjusting front desk personnel and security staff schedules during lower occupancy periods.
Connecting different systems across the enterprise helps key stakeholders unlock even further insights. Contract employee hours can be cross-referenced with billed hours to ensure accuracy. Cafeteria managers can even use reports detailing when certain foods or beverages are often purchased to help them determine appropriate stocking patterns.
Real-World Example: Cytiva
With a rich heritage in biotech, Cytiva provides technologies and services that advance and accelerate the development and manufacturing of therapeutics. Operating in over 40 countries worldwide, the company drives customer-centric innovation ranging from fundamental biological research to the development of pioneering vaccines, biologic drugs, novel cell, and gene therapies.
When Cytiva was acquired by a new parent company, there was an immediate need to move away from older, disparate access control solutions. As part of the design and build, Cytiva implemented Genetec ClearID, a physical access management solution that not only helped to standardize and streamline processes for employee access requests, but whose higher levels of automation have also saved personnel significant amounts of time.
Before, each facility had specific policies and procedures around how to handle access requests. Most of the time, an employee would reach out to the security team and request access. Once certain criteria were met, the team would grant them access manually by changing cardholder access rights within the old ACS. Now, requesting access can be done by the employee and the entire process is automated. The solution has also helped the Cytiva team strengthen audit quality. When they are audited, they can quickly demonstrate that every step is logged automatically.
Open, Unified Platform, not Patchwork Solutions
Rather than relying on closed ACS, many organizations are realizing the benefits of a more flexible approach: open architecture. This model has proven itself as a reliable and scalable way to design systems. It allows organizations to select software and hardware from different vendors without sacrificing integration or performance. More importantly, it enables teams to tailor systems to specific needs and adapt them over time, without being locked into a single vendor’s ecosystem.
Unified systems allow organizations to create a single, cohesive environment where video, access control, intrusion detection, and other systems seamlessly share data and workflows. Facilities management teams gain a unified interface that supports faster decision-making, reduces training complexity, and enhances overall operational effectiveness. Teams can view all systems in one pane of glass, instead of jumping between systems to verify access control events with a video feed, for example.
With a modern ACS, facilities management teams can gain insights and make improvements to their operational workflows, streamline their day-to-day activities, and support the overall efficiency of their organization.
Marie-Jeanne Sauvé is a manager of product and industry marketing at Genetec, a provider of access control, video surveillance, and other solutions.