Protecting your premises from unauthorized entry relies on top-tier access control measures. Did you know that even homes and neighborhoods can depend on access control as well? After all, lock-and-key mechanisms, outdoor lighting, and gated communities all exist for a reason. Campus buildings in particular can benefit from upgraded access control systems, whether they need to keep athletic fields safe or just want to keep their students safe. Let’s learn more about this when it comes to using valid data to make important decisions!
Access Control Calls for Collaboration
When it comes to campus safety, it is incredibly important that the administrators take collaboration seriously. Multiple departments and organizations within the college or university setting must work together to make sure that every stakeholder is kept informed and safe, no matter what their role in this microcosm is. Reliable data is the cornerstone of making decisions when it relates to access points. By making the most of this investment, managing a campus, especially a larger one, becomes simpler than ever before. Security, IT, and facilities departments are essential to making this work as it should. Each director must communicate with their counterparts to increase the integrity and viability of other physical safety measures.
Decisions Must Be Based on Accurate Data
All decisions must be based on valid data. Invalid data or spotty information can lead to disasters and slower responses when first responders cannot get a clear idea of what to expect when they arrive on the scene of any incidents that may or may not cause your campus community to initiate lockdown procedures. The location of the campus, and the setting in which it is located, should be influential in deciding what to do next. Each campus has different needs, even if they are in the same general area.
Reasons to Modify Your Access Control Needs
- Safety: Safety, security, and privacy are the key outcomes of providing enhanced access control methods.
- Events: Although most campuses are only sparsely populated during the COVID-19 pandemic, at some point life will return to normal. Larger events such as graduations and sporting events can resume, and that’s when access control becomes even more important.
- Transportation: Students and staff need to be able to get around campus; sometimes, walking or biking is too impractical, and not everyone has access to a reliable vehicle. That’s why shuttle buses are hugely popular. ID cards can make it easier to get on the bus without needing to pay an actual fare. Overall ridership and peak hours can also be monitored this way.
- Dining: Going to the dining hall for meals is a time-honored tradition on many full-scale college campuses (community colleges might be configured differently and have a food court, but not a true cafeteria-style experience); swiping student ID cards makes it easier to get through long lines, reducing wait times, and making sure that everyone can get something to eat.
Trust the Professionals at ARK Systems
Located in Columbia, Maryland, ARK Systems provides unsurpassed quality and excellence in the security industry, from system design through to installation. We handle all aspects of security with local and remote locations. With over 30 years in the industry, ARK Systems is an experienced security contractor. Trust ARK to handle your most sensitive data storage, surveillance, and security solutions. Contact ARK Systems at 1-800-995-0189 or click here today. Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!