GLOBAL ACCESS CONTROL: A QUALITY SOLUTION FOR EVERY NEED

What is an access control for?

Access control is becoming increasingly necessary in today's competitive and aggressive society to provide security to the people who work or live in a place, to protect confidential information and the knowledge of a business (know-how), to restrict access to files and personal databases (in accordance with the data protection law that is mandatory - the LOPD) preventing its loss or theft, ensure the integrity of buildings, property, facilities and their contents (IT, multimedia and laboratory materials, warehouses, etc.).

An access control is not only physical (doors, barriers or turnstiles) but can also be computer-based, in other words, it manages the access to the IT system, to the files, the programs and the data in digital format. It may be of interest to some organisations to also have this type of control (access rights configurable by computer, user, timetable, etc.) as well as a activity history to be able to trace back if necessary, all of this combined with the physical access control, using the same means of identification for both.

And also presence control?

On the other hand, presence (timetable) control of the employees, to record the hours worked and late arrivals, reduces absenteeism and lack of punctuality, improving company productivity and profitability (ROE). In today's business world, this is just as necessary in a large organisation as in any smaller business (shops, offices, factories, workshops, etc.). The greatest asset and the most significant expense of any company is its workforce.

These are solutions to different problems (security and human resources), and therefore only one of the two is usually implemented or this is done independently. However, in the event that they converge, the system must allow for all the information to be centralised in a single database, while making it possible to manage each system independently and in a decentralised manner.

Manufacture and export in Europe: Innovation and total quality.

An access and presence control system manufacturer that not only thinks of its domestic market but also has an international mentality, which is open and with a clear and decided export vocation, must invest its R&D&I resources in developing products and solutions that satisfy all its potential customers and users.

The hardware of the products must be simple, quick to put together and start up (almost plug&play), as the labour cost of an installation is normally the most important item of any work or project. Time saving is always the greatest cost saving.

The reliability and durability of its products is essential, as any small problem is multiplied enormously when there are thousands of kilometres to be travelled, time zone changes as well as different languages and mentalities. The fulfilment of this need for total quality to be successful abroad, is an extra guarantee for the customers in the domestic market.

The customer is king.

However, it is not only a matter of quality, but also of offering a varied range of solutions, capable of catering for the wide variety of customers in the market pyramid, each with their own needs and problems.

Therefore a comprehensive access control system range must envisage equipment that is completely autonomous (without communications or management software, for simple applications such as residential, small offices and shops), as well as designed to work on a network (online and offline) in a scalable, distributed and centralised manner using software (local and remote). There is even the possibility of a mixed system, without cabling (offline) but with centralised management software, for such projects where it is not possible to lay cable or otherwise to drastically reduce the installation and building cost if online management is not required (transformer or communications stations at remote sites or otherwise historical buildings, harbours, universities, museums, etc.).

Concerning the network architecture, Ethernet communication shall ensure the utmost standardisation of the system and take advantage of existing networks. Moreover, communication is not only possible by cable but also by wireless TCP/IP means (WiFi, Wimax, GPRS/3G).

In a network yes, but how?

To confer the utmost security and reliability to the operation of the entire system, the network controller must offer the possibility of working in online mode (in the event that there is a guard or supervisor) and in offline mode, in which each controller acts in an automatic and independent manner on its accesses according to the parameters configured in its memory and it saves the records (events) to be subsequently transferred into the central database. In the event of offline operation, it is most important to take different factors of the controller into account: its capacity for users, its events memory and its fully independent control of each access that depends on it.

From the more technical point of view, system robustness is synonymous with the fact that network controller must work internally with embedded Linux and native communication (without an outside converter). For greater security, communication between the controller and the readers is through an RS-485 bus instead of the classical Wiegand system, as the bus is bidirectional and monitored, also allowing for greater distance and less cabling (more than 1000 metres and using only a twisted pair). The most modern controllers are fitted with an independent RS-485 bus for each reader, without complications in the configuration and reducing the start-up time.

Personal identification.

Another most important aspect to be taken into account when implementing an access control system is to consider the possible different means of identification and to choose the one that is best suited to particular requirements. It is a decision to be made based on the security, the practicality and the budget of each project.

The identification methods are diverse and combinable within a same installation: PIN with keyboard (numeric password), RFID (proximity) cards, key-rings or bracelets using 125 or 13.56 MHz (Mifare), 868 MHz radio controls with a unique code (factory recorded, not repeatable and not reprogrammable), biometrics of personnel (fingerprint reading is the most widespread and cost effective), automatic reading of vehicle licence plates (OCR – optical character recognition) or even the novel BlueKey™ (Bluetooth® to simply identify individuals by their mobile phone). In any event, whichever one is chosen, a comprehensive access control system must allow for all these methods, with the possibility of adding others in the future.

The software links it all.

Finally, the management software is what is going to enable the end user of the system to have full, simple and effective control of all the required functionalities (monitoring, seeking of events, registering of users, configuration of access rights, the importing of external databases, data backup and restoring, etc.). It is important that it allows for client and client-server architecture, that offers centralised management at remote sites or otherwise distributed management (with multi-station computers with a central database on the server). Also it must be able to grow if the user needs growth, and so a good solution is software with combinable modules that can be activated as necessary to add new identification modes and even with the possibility of access and presence (timetable) control in a unique database. Today, it is entirely normal to choose software that can be used in different languages (companies with branches in different countries, the public administration of each regional government, etc.). A manufacturer that exports has surely considered this feature.

Open hardware: A great added value.

Finally, we must underline that an access control system will be truly powerful when the manufacturer has designed completely open hardware (OEM), in other words one that allows quick and easy integration by other companies specialising in software development or integrators, providing them with the necessary IT tools and technical support.

This offers great added value to the product, as it has no limitations when other specialised companies, each one in its sector, can use it to provide specific or tailored solutions. For example: integrated security systems (intrusion, video surveillance, fire and gas detection, technical alarms, logical access control, etc.) or comprehensive building control or in a chain of small connected installations (more efficient security and energy saving).

These solutions provide great value to sectors as important as: hospital centres, banking, public administrations and municipal councils, universities, harbours, airports, military or police premises, car parks, camping sites, hotels, shopping centres, chains of shops, restaurants or for offices, etc.

Lluís Casademunt

Security Division Manager of CIRCONTROL, S.A.