Access control answers a question a lock cannot: not just whether a door is locked, but who is allowed through it, when they are allowed through it, and what happened at that door last Tuesday at 6pm. We can custom tailor a system with key fobs, keypads, cards and other integration options to fit how your workplace actually operates.
The practical case for it is usually simpler than the technology suggests. Somebody leaves and takes a key with them. A contractor needs access for three weeks and no longer. Two departments should not have the same reach into a building. A claim depends on knowing who opened a door. Every one of those is a rekeying job and a guessing game with mechanical keys, and a two-minute change with access control.
Serving Polk County: Lake Wales, Winter Haven, Bartow, Haines City, Lakeland, Dundee, Frostproof, Auburndale, Polk City, Davenport, Fort Meade, Lake Alfred, and the surrounding Central Florida communities. Call (863) 223-8324 for a free assessment.
Signs a building has outgrown keys
- Somebody left and nobody is certain every key came back
- You have rekeyed the building more than once in the last few years
- One code or one key opens everything, for everyone
- Contractors and vendors need access on a schedule nobody can enforce
- There is no way to answer who opened a particular door and when
- Areas that should be restricted, like a server room, a stock room or a records room, are protected by the same key as the front door
- Staff prop a door open because getting in the proper way is inconvenient
How we scope an access control system
- 1
Map the doors and the people
We walk the building and work out which doors actually need control and which are fine on a key, then map the groups of people and where each group should reach. Most sites need far fewer controlled doors than they first assume, which is where the budget is saved.
- 2
Choose the credential
Fobs, cards, keypad codes or mobile. This is decided by how your staff work rather than by what is newest. A yard crew in gloves and a medical office have different right answers.
- 3
Install and integrate
Readers, locking hardware, power and controllers installed and tied into the alarm, video and fire systems where that makes sense. Fire release is not optional, and we handle it as part of the design.
- 4
Set up, train and hand over administration
We load the people, set the schedules and permissions, and train whoever administers it day to day, because the value of the system is entirely in whether somebody can actually add and remove a person in two minutes.
What a system can include
Credentials
- Key fobs on a keyring
- Proximity cards, which can double as ID badges
- Keypad codes where a credential would be lost or shared
- Mobile credentials on a phone
- Combinations, such as a card plus a PIN for a restricted area
Control and rules
- Per-person permissions across doors and areas
- Time schedules so a credential works during a shift and not at midnight
- Instant removal of a credential when someone leaves
- Temporary access for contractors and vendors with an end date
- Automatic unlock and lock schedules for public entrances
Doors and hardware
- Main entrances, staff doors and rear service entries
- Interior doors into restricted areas
- Gates, roll-up doors and yard access
- Elevator and stairwell control in multi-tenant buildings
- Door position and forced-open monitoring
Integration
- Tied to the intrusion alarm, so a valid credential can disarm on entry
- Tied to video, so a door event and the footage of it line up
- Fire alarm release, so controlled doors unlock on a fire condition as code requires
- Reporting and audit trail export for insurers, auditors and investigations
Ready to book access control?
Licensed, family owned, and working out of Lake Wales since 1973. Upfront pricing, and a real person on the phone.
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Access Control Across Polk County
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Access Control FAQs
Do we need to control every door?
Almost never. Most buildings need control on the entrances staff use, the doors into genuinely restricted areas, and any door where you need a record. Everything else can stay mechanical. Working that out honestly is how a project stays affordable.
What happens when an employee leaves?
You remove their credential and it stops working immediately, at every door, without touching a lock. That single fact is the reason most of our access control customers made the change.
Can access control work with our alarm system?
Yes, and it is worth doing. A valid credential at the front door can disarm the intrusion system for that person, which removes the awkward window where an employee is inside the building with thirty seconds to reach a keypad. It also means one company is accountable for both systems.
What happens in a fire, or a power cut?
Controlled doors on egress paths release on a fire alarm condition, which is a code requirement and part of how we design the system rather than an option. Power failure behaviour is specified per door: some fail secure, some fail safe, and which is correct depends on the door and the code that applies to it.
Can we see who went through a door?
Yes. Every credential event is logged with the person, the door and the time, and it can be exported. Tied to video, you also get the footage of who actually walked through, which is not always the person whose card was used.
How much does access control cost?
It is driven by the number of controlled doors and the state of the existing door hardware, which is the variable that surprises people: an old door with no strike preparation costs more than the reader on it. We price it in writing after walking the building.
Can you work with the badges we already issue?
Sometimes, depending on the credential technology in use. Bring us one of your existing cards and we can tell you whether it can be read by the system we would install, which occasionally saves reissuing credentials to an entire staff.
How long does an access control installation take?
It depends far more on the doors than on the electronics. A door already prepared for an electric strike is quick. An old door with no preparation, or a frame that needs work, is the part that takes time. We tell you which doors are which at the survey so the schedule is realistic.