Granular Access Control Maximises Physical Security Of Your Site

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Elementary and middle schools in Georgia, USA, are undergoing security upgrades over the summer as part of a 1.9m project to physically secure the campuses with enhanced access control.

For example, many areas in the schools now serve as “visitor traps” which restrict people’s access to only the lobby until they are signed in and can be accompanied by an authorised staff member to their designated location.

“We’ve been gradually adding security modifications for the past few years,” said Dean Jackson, public information officer for Coweta County Schools. “This particular project involved securing vestibules and adding security measures at entrances.

“We were doing entrance improvements and additional security measures at all elementary and middle schools,” Jackson said. “That includes enhanced electronic access control.”

“With the work completed this summer, all elementary and middle schools will have a secured lobby area with restricted access,” he said.

In addition to approving the modification of entrances and the addition of high-tech lockdown and monitoring systems, the Coweta County Board of Education green-lighted additional security cameras throughout the school system.

The board also approved funding for 14 additional school resource officers and supervisors to ensure law enforcement presence at every school.

Jackson said, “This summer represented an enormous step – a very big push for the school system – in making our schools secure.”

Access Control UK – specialising in deploying advanced systems tailored to your specific requirements

Controlling who can walk into areas of your premises is a vital element of building security. At Access Control UK, we can offer you physical barriers and turnstiles as well as door access which is controlled to a very high degree by our WinAC.NET system.

The amount of control that our system can exert over who gets through your doors is market-leading. Described as “truly granular” by customers, it can set up numerous detailed rules for individual profiles such as:

  • What day are they trying to enter on? Are they allowed on this day? (For example, you might be closed on the weekend, or on Bank Holidays)
  • What time of day is it? (For example, a cleaner might only have access during the time of her agreed shift, or workers might only be allowed into the canteen on their assigned lunch break)

These kinds of rules combine to make a user access pattern. These can be individual to the worker, or per department – whatever works best for you. Template access patterns on our access control system can be altered to meet your requirements.

All patterns can be changed throughout the day – on a minute by minute basis if that is what you need.

Other ways that you can restrict access:

  • Have they followed access procedures fully? (For example, they can’t clock in at their work-space if they didn’t identify themselves at the entrance barrier. This can even be extended to computer usage, so that they cannot log in if they missed a step somewhere further back)
  • This door only requires a smartcard, but to get through this door requires biometrics (This is a good way to ensure security in the rooms where it matters most)

A particularly important element of our access control, which would be very useful to schools in the USA, is the “Under Duress” feature. If an employee has been forced to open a door due to being threatened or coerced in some way, they can enter a special code. Outwardly the system reacts as normal so the employee is safe from the immediate retribution which might come if alarms started blaring. In reality, the duress code has set off silent alarms and email notifications so that your management and security can know exactly what has happened and where.


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