The issue of room safety in the modern world is very important. All sorts of criminals, unscrupulous competitors, overly curious colleagues or employees - these are just some of the possible problems that can be eliminated using the access control system in the room.
What it is
This device is part of the protective mechanism of the room, installed if necessary by decision of the manual. Direct access control in the room is ensured by using all kinds of devices: a retina or fingerprint scanner, access card, embedded chips, etc. In the vast majority of cases, the system is directly connected to other devices that limit the penetration of unwanted persons into the protected area. For example, without the presence of fingerprints in the database, it will not be possible to open the lock on the door, which will prevent outsiders from entering, say, a warehouse. In addition, an unauthorized access attempt may send an alarm to the security control panel. At military facilities, such an incident could cause the activation of an automatic security system that can aggressively prevent intruders from entering the facility.
System Composition
There is no basic set or composition of a room access control system, because they are all very different and may have their own unique features. However, it is possible to highlight the main elements that are present in any such device always or almost always.
- Blocking devices. This includes an electric lock, a turnstile, a barrier and other similar mechanisms. They are designed to prevent access to the object after the corresponding signal (or to prevent access without a signal). In some cases, they are used only to detain a person. In others, they can block the room tightly, preventing them from exiting or entering without special access codes.
- Identification devices. This is a special equipment that determines whether a certain person has access to the premises. In the simplest and cheapest cases, conventional electromagnetic cards are used. Less commonly used is the system for determining fingerprints, retina patterns, and blood types. Such "miracles" most people saw only in science fiction films.
- Sensors They are needed for the timely transmission of an alarm to the control panel. Less often, the system works from the opposite, and sensors block the room only when an unidentified person tries to penetrate them. In all other cases, they simply read information from access cards and in no way limit the movement of people.
- Hardware, database and software. Not the last role in the system of access control to the premises is played by the servers on which all the necessary information is located. There is a database of persons who have (or do not have) access, statistics of all movements and a lot of other information. Usually a unique program shell or even a completely written program is used from scratch, which significantly complicates the work of potential hackers.
Varieties
Often, only one type of access control system is used based on a particular type of identification. But there are a lot of such devices themselves.
- Electromagnetic cards and chips.
- Fingerprint reader.
- Retina scanner.
- A device for conducting a blood test.
- Reading information from a chip sewn under the skin.
- Voice recognition
- Entering an access code and so on.
The simplest, cheapest and most common is access control to the premises by card. They are easy to produce, you can easily change and give extra to new employees. The remaining varieties are used less frequently, and only in extreme cases, several types of control can be used at once on one object.
Functioning
The principle of operation of any system is very simple (which absolutely does not mean that it can be easily cracked). So, each person with the right of access receives an electromagnetic card, leaves his fingerprint, recognizes the desired code, and so on. Data on this is entered into the database, which subsequently makes it possible to clearly determine what a person is busy with and where.
Using the example of an access control system in hotel rooms, where special cards are used instead of keys, several basic types of protection work can be distinguished. So, in rooms where all people have access, you can enter without any additional control. Only a person who paid for it or a servant can enter the hotel room directly. But servant access is limited to a certain time. The guest cannot get into the office space. In any hotel there is a staff that is located outside the customer area. These employees do not have access to public places, and even less to rooms. In some cases, such a control system also determines the privileges of a person. For example, unlimited and free access to the bar, so actively used in Turkish hotels, or the ability to eat at any time of the day.
Basic benefits
Access control in the premises of an office, industrial enterprise, hotel, military facility, and so on provides management with a number of certain advantages:
- facilitation of work on fixing the movement of employees and customers;
- reduction of security staff;
- increased security;
- control of working hours.
Summary
Any, even the cheapest such system, used mainly "for show", already greatly simplifies the work of the enterprise. Lack of access to individual rooms allows you to work without being distracted by outsiders, and understanding that management has the ability to control increases discipline.