Building access control: 10 solutions to protect the company and its employees

IT access control differs from physical access control:

• on the one hand, the company manages user access rights to software, online documents and hardware (such as computers), and protects them with IT security solutions;
• on the other hand, it implements protection solutions to ensure the safety of people, buildings and spaces under its responsibility.

It is only in the latter case that we speak of door access control, biometric access control systems, or stand-alone access control systems. appvizer helps you to better understand your security challenges, and to grasp the benefits of global supervision software for your equipment, securing your assets, as well as your employees and visitors on site:

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Equipment, people and real protection needs

Today, it's unthinkable to leave an industrial site, a bank or a laboratory unprotected. By reading the following, you will become aware of the risks, the feeling of insecurity among French employees, and the many consequences.

Damaging risks for the company

Careless security management and poorly protected assets can have damaging consequences for companies:

• without access control to a building site, a laboratory, a bank or an administration, vandalism leads to operating losses, incurs disaster-related costs, and can bring business to a complete halt;
• the absence of building access control encourages acts of sabotage linked to intrusions into sensitive areas in certain sectors, such as the agri-food industry;
• the theft of materials and equipment, representing a direct additional cost, often accompanied by the loss of potential customers, or even markets, as in the logistics sector;
• the absence of access control to an office can lead to attacks on your employees, work stoppages, unwanted staff turnover, and a deterioration in the social climate;
• the lack of access control in a company exposes the entity to data theft, the worst possible nightmare in the RGPD era.

If you accumulate a series of claims, not only will you suffer financial losses, but your insurance company will also increase the amount of your underwriting. The worst-case scenario is the definitive closure of a site when the profitability of the operation is no longer viable.

Insecurity: consequences for employees

When no access control system is in place, a feeling of insecurity develops and becomes omnipresent in the minds of your employees, but can also be perceived and experienced by your customers and all visitors:

• verbal and physical aggression lead to work stoppages and a general loss of motivation,
• theft of personal belongings degrades the working atmosphere, and everyone becomes suspicious,
• the threat of terrorism looms like a sword of Damocles, disrupting productivity.

37% of employees are assaulted or threatened by intruders on company property.

Source: opinionway survey on employee safety, January 2018

Survey revealing the need for access control in PDF

Download the results of the opinionway survey "Sûreté et sécurité des salariés français, entre sentiment et réalité", January 2018.

You'll see in figures the consequences of the lack of access control in this PDF, as well as the urgency expressed by employees:

48% of employees expect their employer to do more to improve safety!

Source: opinionway survey

In view of the financial losses and problems caused by a feeling of insecurity, it seems more realistic and more advantageous to equip your company with an access control system:

• your employees feel protected, and the peace of mind makes them more productive and strengthens team spirit,
• your customers and on-site visitors enjoy a hospitable welcome, conducive to a relationship of trust,
• in the long term, you make substantial savings.

10 physical access control solutions

Let's take a look at the essential concepts, starting with a clear and simple definition of access control, then look at the possibilities, accompanied by a few examples.

Access control: definition

Physical access control is the term used to describe all solutions used to control and regulate the entry and exit of people, with or without vehicles, and their movements, in a building, in rooms, in a parking lot, on an industrial site or worksite, in an area housing business-critical infrastructures or so-called sensitive areas. The security objective relies on the identification of persons authorized to enter or leave, to prevent any intrusion.

Solution 1: RFID badge access control

Access control using magnetic badges or barcodes, long in use, is virtually non-existent today.

Professionals are now implementing RFID badge-based access control solutions, as this technology offers many advantages:

• Standardized technology, supported by many market players,
• ease of reading for users, who need only present their badge a few centimeters from the reader,
• high durability (no mechanical wear),
• extensive personalization possibilities,
• openness to other internal applications (photocopiers, company canteens, works councils, .....),
• a high level of intrinsic security (Desfire® card for Mifare® technology, for example),
• good resistance to environmental disturbances and constraints.

These RFID badges are read by readers connected to UTLs (Local Processing Units). These UTLs enable several reader heads to be connected to the computer network (acting as a concentrator), and generally have the local intelligence needed to authorize or deny access. This functionality is essential in the event of server or IP network failure, as it ensures continuity of operation.

Solution 2: Access control to a specific door

Door access control is indispensable in many sectors. For this, it is necessary to assign rights to an employee (or visitor).

Rights can specify which door(s) are authorized, at what time (of the week, of the day), and even under what conditions, such as having previously passed through a given door to access it (path control).

The RFID badge given to the person enables the access control system to identify the person and verify his or her access rights to that specific door.

Applied to visitor management in your company, you can prepare visitor badges in advance, with controlled access.

Solution 3: Stand-alone access control

Let's take the example of a hotel: the person who has booked a room is given an RFID badge that allows him or her to open the room door and no other door.

The room door is fitted with a stand-alone lock - also known as an electronic badge lock - capable of recognizing the badge configured to open it for a set period of time, the length of the guest's stay.

This type of system is particularly well-suited to companies wishing to control a large number of doors within a site. These autonomous locks operate without any electrical or computer wiring.

They are battery-powered, and access rights are carried by the badge. This is a cost-effective and efficient solution.

Solution No. 4: Personalized orders

The RFID badge can be configured as a simple key to open a single door, or as a keychain to open several doors.

The University of Paris Descartes, for example, has set up badges and access to its doors according to the people and nature of its rooms.

Students, administrative staff, lecturers and researchers have different access rights according to their roles and responsibilities.

Access to the 13 sites - including 82 laboratories, 10 libraries and 6 research institutes - accommodating 40,000 students and 10,000 professionals is tracked and secured.

Solution 5: Video surveillance

Video surveillance is designed to enhance security:

• at pedestrian and vehicle entrances,
• sensitive areas,
• on the outskirts of your site.

An IP camera, video recorder and file storage system are needed to act as a deterrent to thieves, vandals and other malicious intruders.

Video surveillance also makes it easier to identify the intruder.

3 access control systems are deemed effective for ensuring security:

• 53% of French employees prefer a badge-based access control system,
• 49% a video surveillance system,
• 46% an alarm system

Source: opinionway survey

Solution no. 6: Securing a parking lot

To guarantee secure access to your parking lot, you can complement your video surveillance measures by controlling motorists' access.

You can authorize access to the parking lot for cars and vans by badge, long-range badge or simply by reading the license plate.

The barrier lifts automatically for drivers who are authorized to enter. A gate is sometimes preferred as a reinforced security measure.

You can also restrict access at certain times and optimize management of your parking lot by intelligently allocating spaces according to vehicle type or employee disability, for example.

It is also advisable to install speed bumps or retractable bollards on the path leading to the parking lot entrance.

Solution 7: Obstacles to secure pedestrian routes

You can force people to pass obstacles - such as gates, drums, fast lanes or tripods - to establish a compulsory route.

This makes it possible to trace accesses, guarantee uninterrupted passage and comply with the rules of your business.

These installations are very useful, even essential, in certain locations where business is regulated, where valuable equipment is stored, such as company servers, or in sensitive areas.

Les Délices de Saint Léonard, an agri-food company subject to compliance with the IFS agri-food standard, has set up an access control system to quarantine its sensitive production area.

To comply with health and safety standards, employees can only move in one direction.

Access control to the checkroom and a dual-control turnstile make this one-way traffic system possible.

Solution 8: Biometric access control system

Biometric access control makes it possible to identify a person on the basis of their physical characteristics.

The most commonly used body parts are the eye for optical iris recognition, and the fingers for fingerprint recognition.

To install a biometric access control system, you need to apply to the CNIL for authorization, and demonstrate that its use is proportional to the degree of risk involved.

This type of system can be found in banks, sensitive areas, and particularly in places where only people with high-level professional clearance are authorized to handle hazardous products or manipulate electrical installations.

Solution no. 9: An alarm system to detect intrusions

There are several types of alarm:

• conventional sirens, which emit a very strong audio signal,
• fog generators or stroboscopes to destabilize intruders,
• Silent alarms, to make it easier for security guards to intervene discreetly,
• the technical alarm, used for goods in particular, is triggered when a deviation from reference data occurs,
• technical intrusion alarms detect the presence of unauthorized persons.

An alarm system includes detectors to be installed at strategic points, which must remain discreet and out of reach of intruders to prevent them from neutralizing them.

Detectors operate by infrared, microwave, laser or motion detection, thanks to an electronic security device.

When the detectors are triggered, they automatically send a signal to your access control solution.

Solution 10: "Physical" IT access control

As stated in the introduction, the term IT access control is all too often misused when looking for an IT security solution designed to protect software, data shared in the cloud, the internet network and all related user access rights.

There is, however, a solution for controlling physical access to a computer: that of the configurable badge, associated with a person for access to a specific computer, for example.

The badge can be used as a login and password, or as a login only, depending on the level of security required.

See all software Security Guard

Supervision of security equipment

The first step in any security project is to draw up an access control specification.

To simplify the task, you can call on an access control installation company, access system suppliers or simply your usual electrician.

Wherever possible and within the scope of their expertise, they can provide you with the products you need, and advise you in advance of your project on :

• choice of manufacturer,
• electrical boxes, cabinets and outlets, if required,
• differential switches, circuit breakers, transformers,
• connectors, badge readers,
• power requirements,
• home automation and interoperability with your IT system,
• choice of box and optical fiber,
• plastic or metal accessories, suction cups,
• mounting,
• lighting and safety issues in relation to electrical current,
• equipment distribution according to the routes envisaged,
• corresponding signage,
• etc.

You'll need to be selective in your choice.

The advantages of a global management solution

If you're not a technical specialist, it's hard to make the best choices.

To make sure you're implementing the best possible security system, it's best to choose a global solution, as it offers a number of advantages:

• it considers and organizes your access control system as a whole,
• it identifies all fragile elements and possible interactions that could lead to security breaches,
• it covers all potential risks on your site,
• it provides a degree of security adapted to each identified weak link,
• allows you to install, coordinate and control all equipment (readers, cameras, locks, perimeter protection, etc.).

Protecsys 2 Suite: comprehensive software and customized protection

Horoquartz manufactures and installs security equipment and supervises your access control system with its Protecsys 2 Suite software.

Discover this comprehensive security solution on video:

The solution helps to reduce the costs generated by insecurity by providing a range of answers to a number of problems.

Let's take a look at the benefits of the solution already implemented in the following organizations, SMEs and companies: Université Paris Descartes, Institut Imagine - Hopital Necker, Fibre Excellence (Seveso site), Les Delices de Saint-Leonard (food industry), La Préfecture des hautes alpes (a project supported by the IP network), Alstom, Arkema, Ifremer, CIC, Groupama, Danone, and AT Internet.

Identifying risks and safety measures

A toy factory will not have the same safety equipment requirements as a Seveso site or an OIV, the latter two being subject to very strict safety obligations and standards. The risks are not the same for all entities.

What is an OIV?

An OIV is an Operator of Vital Importance: a public or private organization or company identified by government authorities as producing products or services essential to the nation, and for which certain hazardous products are used. These entities are subject to stringent safety requirements. The list of OIVs is kept by the State and not divulged to the public for obvious security reasons.

What is a Seveso-classified site?

Seveso-classified sites are usually industrial infrastructures presenting a potential danger to the environment or the population. There are two danger thresholds: the low threshold presenting a significant risk, and the high threshold presenting a major risk. These sites are placed under close surveillance by the public authorities, and must meet strict safety obligations.

The modularity of Protecsys 2 Suite enables you to draw up specifications for access control adapted to the risks, and which meet the security measures required or demanded by law.

Choosing the right modules

By way of example, Horoquartz has deployed an access control system on the 15 sites of TIGF (Transport et Infrastructures Gaz France), all of which are subject to the stringent safety requirements of the Seveso 2 standard, due to the PIV (Point d'Importance Vitale) category of certain sites.

Horoquartz's global solution can be adapted to any situation, in terms of both technical architecture and software.

So you can implement the modules you need or want to cover the risks specific to your business:

• video surveillance for the most exposed areas, particularly those open to the public,
• intrusion detection to detect attempted intrusions,
• visitor management to integrate visitors into the access control system,
• supervision to control all security system equipment,
• biometric readers, readers with keypad (access control with digicode),
• etc.

To meet the most stringent security regulations, such as those required by the military for screening and physical circulation, Horoquartz can also install obstacle courses: the person must first pass through point A, then B, then C. And if they try to access C without having passed through B, they are blocked.

Mastering IP networks, technologies and IT services

Horoquartz offers a key advantage that makes all the difference in the security market: control over IT integration, with no risk to IT infrastructure.

It's the ideal solution for CIOs and IT security managers:

• Horoquartz masters the IP network to which security equipment such as cameras, detectors, sensors (...) are connected,
• perfect interoperability with servers, LDAP directories or time management software.

Horoquartz is well ahead of security companies, which are less familiar with integration and communication issues related to IT and IP networks.

For example, Horoquartz helped the Hautes Alpes Prefecture set up a secure system based on the IP network, integrating the national directives of the ANSSI (Agence Nationale de Sécurité des Systèmes d'Information).

Standards and certifications for a professional control system

Legal standards

As we mentioned earlier in connection with OIVs and Seveso-classified sites, this is a very wide-ranging subject! Legal standards and obligations vary from one sector to another, whether it be food, airports, etc.

Protecsys 2 Suite proves its ability to provide concrete answers to high safety standards. Horoquartz is also fully aware of the obligations imposed by the CNIL and the RGPD concerning the implementation of video surveillance and biometric access control systems .

You're not free to install whatever you want, however you want.

2 important certifications

Horoquartz has obtained 3 certifications testifying to its professionalism:

• APSAD certification, attesting that the supplier has the skills, resources and services to reduce the risks associated with fire and malicious acts;
• MASE certification , which attests to the company's skills in organizing and securing customer intervention procedures, according to a reference framework that requires suppliers to continually update their safety measures.

Testimonial from an SME: AT Internet

AT Internet is an SME based in Bordeaux, with offices in Germany, Singapore, the United States and other countries around the world. Initially a simple digital agency, it has changed its activity to specialize in website audience measurement.

The SME's security issues:

• The head office is a 2,530 m2 building on 3 levels;
• 2 floors are reserved for company employees;
• The top floor is a shared space with a break room and restaurant, accessible to 4 other companies and their employees;
• Approximately 450 people will have access to the site.

The aim is to secure the entire site with an access control system, taking into account :

• multi-company access management,
• parking lot access control,
• management of visitor and personnel access at the entrance,
• the need to protect machines, which are essential to the company's operations,
• securing landing doors on upper floors,
• the unauthorized presence of former employees in the offices.

The balance tipped in favor of Protecsys 2 Suite. Although slightly more expensive, Horoquartz's offer was able to provide a global response to our problem that the other service providers we consulted didn't offer. And in the end, in a multi-million euro building project, the cost of access control is not significant.

Cyril Mazeau, At Internet's CFO and project manager for the security project

Horoquartz provided the enhanced security solutions required:

• badge settings for each employee of each company, including authorized time slots and access to the parking lot,
• specific badges for cleaning teams,
• temporary badges for visitors, giving them access only to a specific passageway,
• badge readers on doors,
• an anti-intrusion system with motion detectors,
• an alarm system.

In terms of traceability, we have an event log that enables us to track access, monitor alarms and see what has happened.

Cyril Mazeau, Protecsys 2 Suite user

The supervision solution also enables badge authorizations to be changed in just a few clicks. Another appreciated quality, which makes life easier for the security manager...