Gone are the days when disgruntled-fired employees were asked to return their company key. Today, accessibility to a company's building and privileged areas require photo ID cards, remote control CCTVs and biometrics which can include a thumb print scanner, a palm scanner or an iris scanner which are all unique characteristics to every individual. New to the arena of access control devices is the smart card, which contains a tiny computer chip loaded with an employee's personal information including emergency numbers, special medical needs, height, weight, license and plate numbers, fingerprint and any other information the company may deem necessary to properly identify an employee. In addition, terminated employees who don't return their employee ID cards can simply be deleted from the system and future access is denied. Any attempt by the employee can generate an alarm condition as well.
Asset control is largely a bigger issue than entry.
Each year millions of dollars are lost due to theft and pilfering by some of the company's most trusted employees. Once an access control systems is in place, an additional asset security measure can be implemented by integrating the system with an asset transceiver. By tagging expensive products like laptop computers, surgical equipment and industrial tools, any attempt at leaving the premises by an unauthorized person will be thwarted because the tagged item will trigger an alarm and the thief will be identified. Technology has also provided the ability for CCTVs to pan, tilt and zoom toward the perimeter where the asset is being taken out. Security management needs to do little more than keep an eye on the monitor and identify the intruder.