Do I Need an Access Control System if I Already Have an Intruder Alarm System?
When you are ready to enhance security at your commercial property with an access control system, our experts are here to walk you through all the benefits and help you explore your options. Contact them here.
Access control and intruder alarm systems both enhance physical security at residential properties, commercial buildings, and public facilities. They perform these security functions in complementary and, yet, importantly different ways.
Access control systems prevent unauthorized entry to a building or facility, while intruder alarm systems alert the building owner, security company, or local police department to an access breach or unauthorized entry. The two systems enhance each other’s qualities.
Noting the functions of the two systems, there are significant benefits to installing an access control system where you already have an intruder alarm system in place.
Access control system and an intruder alarm system can work together for greater security
How access control systems work is they restrict access to a building to specific people. And even when granted access to the main building people may only access areas of the facility they need to be in.
In essence, your access control system stops intruders in their tracks. Unless they present the right access credentials, the door will simply not open for them. But while the system may log an unsuccessful access attempt, it will not sound an alarm to immediately notify you of the presence of an intruder.
An intruder alarm system on the other hand does not have the capability to separate authorized from unauthorized visitors. It relies on a building’s locks to keep unauthorized people out.
What intruder alarm systems do that access control systems aren’t traditionally designed to do is to immediately sound an alarm the moment an unauthorized person tries to force their way into a building or facility.
If it is an unmonitored alarm system, you will hope that the noise from the alarm will alert someone nearby so they can hopefully inform the police.
A remote monitored intruder alarm system works even better. It will send an alarm right to you, your security company, or the police the moment someone tries to break into your building. So there is a chance a theft can be stopped because you are alerted to an access breach as it’s taking place.
Let your security needs guide you
Ultimately, your security needs determine whether you need both an access control and an intruder alarm system. Intruder alarm systems by their design work best at night when a secured building is unoccupied or closed. Many are in fact triggered by human movement within a building after the alarm system has been activated.
If yours is a large industrial or storage facility where you keep high-value assets and equipment, you will likely already have an intruder alarm system.
During business operating hours when the alarm system is deactivated and you have a lot of people coming and going, an access control system allows you to restrict access and determine parts of the facility people can proceed to once inside.
More than just security
Even where your security needs are minimal, an access control system has other benefits. Besides the system itself ensuring them more convenient access, knowing that random people can’t freely access the building will reassure your staff of their safety, allowing them to focus on their work.
Among other benefits that intruder alarm systems do not offer, an access control system removes the need for keys and security guards, which lowers your costs. Still on costs, by integrating with other systems you use at your business, including your HVAC and payroll systems, you improve operational and energy efficiency, again lowering your costs.
Access control systems can also save your business from thefts by your own employees by restricting where they can go within the facility. Workers that have no business being in the server room or the warehouse simply can’t access those areas. An intruder alarm system cannot give you these benefits.
Whether or not you have an intruder alarm system installed, an access control system benefits your business in very important ways.
When you are ready to enhance security at your commercial property with an access control system, our experts are here to walk you through all the benefits and help you explore your options. Contact them here.
