Lobby security has become increasingly important for small- to medium-sized businesses, where high-profile incidents have proven that organisations simply can’t ensure safety and security using paper logs, writes Spencer Marshall, pictured, Northern Europe Sales Manager at HID Global.
The latest visitor management systems solve these problems, and have become affordable and are very easy to install. Today’s systems automate the entire visitor registration process, including gathering information from the visitor by simply electronically scanning a driver’s license or other ID, screening the visitor against any internal and/or external watch lists, and creating a high-quality badge for the visitor to wear while in the facility. They enable businesses to identify who is in their facilities at any given time, and why, and to keep out unwanted visitors. They also capture detailed, highly accurate visitor information, and provide reporting and analysis capabilities for one location or many facilities operated by the organisation.
Today’s solutions also simplify visitor management by enabling administrators to create and manage all of the user accounts for employees who will be operating the badging software in each building, and to set up and manage an automated, scheduled employee import process. This ensures that the visitor list is always updated. Finally, today’s visitor management software also manages all setting and options on each badging station from the central administrator console, further simplifying the process. In many environments, the primary focus for visitors is safety. For instance, in the event of a fire or other emergency, visitor management systems can be used to very quickly assess who remains in the building so they can be found and evacuated. Organisations should enforce procedures including requiring all visitors to wear a badge issued to them when they check in.
In other cases, businesses face additional security challenges related to crime or regulatory mandates, which can be difficult to meet against the backdrop of economic pressures. In this environment, paper-based systems are quickly being replaced by registration solutions that are capable of screening, badging and tracking all visitors or, at a minimum, only those visiting certain critical areas or time periods, such as after hours when staff is reduced. The visitor management system can flag any individuals or organisations that the organisation has pre-determined should not enter the building.
Some businesses also use their visitor management systems to issue a warning alert to the lobby attendant. Within seconds, the attendant will know whether a visitor who is checking in is listed on a watch list, and an automatic e-mail alert can also optionally be sent to other facility administrators and/or security personnel. Organisations should consider visitor management solutions that integrate directly with their access control system. When visitor management is integrated with an organisation’s access control system, all information entered into the visitor management system during check-in is seamlessly passed to the access control system. A proximity card for the visitor is activated in the access system using the information entered into the visitor software. Then, when the visitor leaves the facility, they are checked out by the visitor lobby system and that card is automatically deactivated.
Those that always escort visitors through their facilities do not necessarily need to integrate their visitor management system with their access control environment. However, when it is desirable and appropriate for guests to have free access to the facility, integration can be extremely valuable, eliminating the need to interface with the access control system; instead, lobby attendants can issue guest badges directly through the visitor management system, which also provides the ability to track and badge both employees and visitors throughout the facility.
Integrating visitor management with access control also eliminates the problems of having a supply of live cards at the reception desk for those who have forgotten their ID badges. The visitor system also has a record of all visitors who have been provided an access card, so there is a complete audit trail, including information about the dates and times when cards were active. Another important consideration is whether the visitor management system supports web-based visitor pre-authorisation so that a company’s employees can alert lobby security officers when they are expecting guests to visit. After the visitor’s identity and credentials are verified, they are then again verified against the Pre-Registered list. At this point, the system can announce the visitor’s arrival to the employee using either e-mail or SMS.
Organisations face many security challenges at their facilities, and managing access by visitors and other authorised personnel is a major concern. Complicating the issue is that vendors, partners, contractors and other guests who visit frequently require and expect certain levels of access to the facility and people within the organisation. A key ingredient for ensuring effective facility security is to replace paper logs and manual processes with a visitor management system that is easy to use and, ideally, is integrated directly with an organisation’s access control system. The result is enhanced security and convenience, and the confidence that all guests are authorised to be in the facility and officially checked in. With the latest visitor management software, businesses also have access to a variety of valuable analysis, reporting, flagging and alerting capabilities, as well.
