These days, getting the balance between enough security and a great visitor experience doesn’t have to be difficult.
With a huge variety of innovative access control solutions on the market, the options are endless for creating a controlled space that offers an improved people flow throughout your building.
Let’s take a look at what access control is, what types are out there, and how you can use it to create a better experience for your visitors.
What is Access control?
Simply put, access control is a means of controlling who can enter a location and when. This could be an employee or visitor and could be by car or on foot.
Effective access control makes life easier for your reception team. It can be integrated with your directory for easy check-in of members, guests, and deliveries, and can also be used to manage shift work for employees.
Types of access control
Access control solutions are made up of three categories:
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- Barrier types
- Authentication methods
- Supporting software and hardware
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Barrier types
This is what most people imagine when thinking of access control solutions; physical barriers which prompt you to present a physical or digital token to pass through.
Access control barriers come in many shapes and sizes. A few of the main types you might come across are:
Access lanes and speed gates
These lanes are often sleek and create a premium feel, usually comprising of two panels and a fortified glass ‘obstacle’. The barriers offer high throughput with fast opening and closing rates and often allow bi-directional people-flow.
Access lanes and speed gates are ideal for office buildings, gyms, schools, and universities.
Tripod turnstiles
Tripod turnstiles are robust barriers often compatible with indoor and outdoor use. When the access token is presented, the rotating tripod barrier releases and allows one person to pass through.
This technology is one of the more traditional and economical solutions available. Due to its simplicity, it offers flexibility and opportunities for bespoke integrations.
Full-height turnstiles
Full-height turnstiles offer a high-security solution to lock down the perimeters of enclosed outdoor areas.
These types of doors are mostly used in industrial sites, company car parks, sports complexes, harbours, and airports.
Swing gates
These gates are usually used alongside access lanes in spaces that require wider access. They comprise of one or two reinforced glass gates that swing open to accommodate mobility-impaired visitors, deliveries, or bulky objects.
Vehicle barriers
As the name suggests, these barriers are specifically designed to control the flow of vehicles. They come in many varieties for a range of situations.
Boom arm barriers are ideal for tolls and parking facilities while rising barriers and bollards offer more robust protection to your facility.
Authentication methods
Choosing the right authentication method for access control can make or break your customer journey. They can be as simple as a barcode scanner right through to a bespoke phone application. Find the right option for your visitors to ensure a smooth journey as they move around your facility.
Smart tech
In our modern world, the number of available smart access options grows every day.
Create bespoke smart cards, so your visitors carry your brand everywhere they go. These cards use near field communication (NFC) to unlock linked barriers simply by holding the card close to the reader.
Alternatively, give your visitors smart wearables such as wristbands or key fobs. These are best used for regular visitors as they can be used for access and linked to payment accounts for quick and easy transactions in-house.
Connecting your system to a phone app truly brings your access solution into the modern age. Visitors use their phones to store digital access tokens or even a tailored app, which can be used to access the facility. This gives an additional edge of linking to a personal account where they can book classes, link to the company’s employee intranet, or view previous purchases, depending on the type of facility you run.
Facial recognition
Facial recognition solutions are ideal in settings like offices and residential buildings where people come in and out daily. They offer a very secure way to ensure only the right people have immediate access to the building.
Most facial recognition hardware also supports temperature screening and can detect if visitors are wearing a mask or not, a great advantage for facilities with high footfall.
Fingerprint scanners
Another biometric solution that ensures only designated people can access the facility. People have become accustomed to opening their phones using similar software so it’s an easy solution for visitors to buy into.
Behind the scenes control
All the above solutions can be supported by control hardware and software which gives you complete control of capacity levels, access timings and much more.
How to integrate access control technologies into your visitor experience
There are endless ways access control solutions can positively impact your visitor experience.
Touch-free access for a more hygienic experience
Hygiene is front and centre in today’s world. Leveraging touch-free access solutions ensures you stay in control of your people flow while giving your visitors peace of mind.
Face recognition devices or location triggered access points (see below) keep people moving quickly and purposefully around your space.
Location triggered notifications
Location triggered notification pods give your brand an up-to-date and modern feel. Visitors are notified through their phone via an app or digital wallet at predetermined points with location-relevant notifications.
This could be as they are approaching the facility, where their digital entry card would be pulled from their phone’s wallet. Or it could be as they walk near your café, highlighting a current promotion. The flexibility offered with these solutions make nearly any notification opportunity possible and give your visitors a next level custom experience.
Clear communications
If your facility has number limitations, consider how can you share that information clearly but in a non-intrusive way.
Digital signage can be used in conjunction with your access barriers to show capacity status or remaining time to your next event. Lighting is another intuitive way to deliver information, such as through a traffic light system.
These visual cues can be placed directly alongside, or even leading up to the barriers. Think about how your visitors move around your facility and add clear information where makes the most sense for their journey.
Done well, access control should make accessing your space simple and reliable for your victors. At Hutchison Technologies, we specialise in the design, installation, and service of integrated access control solutions, creating frictionless flow throughout your space.
If you’re looking to improve the access experience at your facility, download our access control brochure or get in touch with our experienced team today. We’ll happily talk you through the best options for you and your visitors.