PC Based Access Control Systems

There are so many good reasons for linking your access control system back to a PC. You may just want central administration rather than programming users at the door or you may be interested in generating reports of who went where and at what times? Either way, linking your access control to a PC opens up many extra access control related features that just cant be achieved in a stand alone card system.

Extra benefits would include -

• Full Audit Trail Reporting
• Photo ID Verification
• Time & Attendance
• Roll Call & Muster Reporting
• User Groups
• Time Zones
• Anti Passback
• Remote Sites
• Multiple Access Control Technologies

Controlling the movement of individuals or groups around a site offers enhanced security and this is achieved by connecting sets of doors back to a PC either via a hard wired network or via TCP/IP.

Readers can be common or a mix of technologies. For example, you could mix and match all types of readers depending on the security required in a specific area. You may consider proximity card access onto site, keypad access into office areas and biometric technology for security sensitive areas or for accurate time and attendance reports.

A typical system setup is outlined below -

A major benefit of linking multiple readers back to a PC is the ease of adding and deleting users from the system. Doors are set up individually or as groups and as a user is added to the system, they are given access rights that determine which areas they can pass into and out of and at what time of day, or particular day this can happen on. The information is instantly sent across the network and the system is updated.

When cards are added individually via a PC you can also add notes about the person who is carrying the card. For instance, the database that you are creating within the access control software could hold information such as, name, address, contact telephone number, car registration, phone extension etc. Thus making the system an employee database as well as an access control system. Other features commonly used would be to set up the system to control membership to a leisure or social club. A card can be given an expiry date to ensure renewal of membership.

The system can also go into great depth on employee identification and store images of the person carrying the card. In this way, when a user tries to gain entry to certain areas the system will flag up the action along with the picture of the cardholder. This is a function called "challenging" and is used to verify the identity of an employee. This is especially useful where there is a gatehouse leading onto a site and the ID can be verified before raising a barrier and it is also a useful tool in maintaining security in sensitive locations. To maximize security in this way fully, why not consider integrating this function with biometric access control.

When using a card access system of this type it is possible to use magnetic swipe readers and cards, proximity readers and cards/tokens or to use either type of reading technology in conjunction with a coded keypad to increase security on the system so that a person wishing to enter through a door has to use a PIN (Personal Identification Number) as well as the card/token to gain access through the door. You may also consider increased security using a biometric access control reader in conjunction with the system.

A network is created between door controllers which is linked back to a PC interface that is connected to the serial port of a PC. The PC does not have to be dedicated to the system and the system will operate regardless of if the PC is on or off. As the software is built to be run on a Windows operating system environment, it is common to have the software running in the background of other Windows applications. In the above example, if the network link to the PC was severed then the the doors would still function although additional programming of the doors would not be possible until the network link was repaired.

By utilising a TCP/IP connection it is possible to link several sites from one or many PC's. An IP address is given to an access control interface at the remote site and the details are set up in the access control software. Therefore a single PC can maintain and operate several sites for the same company which in turn unifies the access control on all sites and gives complete central administration. The illustration below gives an example of this.

Full Reporting - A database will let you generate reports of all kinds of transactions that happened on a site over a period of time. Reports can instantly be printed for a group of people or individuals as to where they were located in a building at a given time. Reports can also show where individuals have tried to gain access into areas that they do not have authority to be in.

Roll Call - In the event of a fire on site, whether real or a practice drill, the PC will generate a report as to who is on site at that moment. This can act as a register to ensure that everyone is accounted for. The important factor with this facility is that you must train your employees to use their cards at all times on site and not to tailgate people through doors, otherwise the report will be inaccurate.

Muster Reporting - In the event of a fire on site readers can be set up as Muster Points. In this way, employees evacuate the building and register via their access control token at a safe area. In this way, an exception report can be run on the access control system so that anyone who was logged into the building but has not registered at the safety point can be instantly identified.

Time & Attendance - Access control systems can have designated readers set up to record the time that the employee clocked in and out of work. This report can then be exported to most major payroll packages (Sage, Pegasus etc) to calculate wages. Again if an employee forgets to use their card for this function then they will not be included in the report, and therefore not paid!!! Using Time & Attendance in conjunction with a biometric access control device is an excellent idea to prevent "buddy punching", the practice of taking someone else's card and logging them onto site when they are in fact not there. Biometrics verify the ID of the person using the device and cannot be fooled in this way.

User Groups - Groups of employees are listed, i.e. office workers, managers, cleaners etc. When adding cards into a system the cardholder is defined to a group and instantly has their access rights assigned. This is based on the assumption that when a group is set up that the users of that group all have common access rights.

Time zones - Time zones are set up and applied to user groups. This means that employees only have access through certain doors at certain times. An example would be that an office worker only has access to the main entrance between 08.00 - 18.00 Monday through to Friday. There is no need to gibe an office worker access outside of these hours and therefore security risks are reduced from that group of people.

Anti-passback - This is a function generally used in conjunction with a set of turnstiles where a person will not be allowed through a door that has a reader on both sides of it if their card is used to re-enter the door. The system tracks to see whether the person has logged into or out of the building and will only allow the user to enter if the previous transaction was an exit or exit if the previous transaction was an entry. This function is designed to stop people passing back cards to people who would not have access to the area.

For further information on our range of access control and any product demonstrations, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be more than happy to assist you in selecting the appropriate system based on your requirements.