The Ron Barron Company

One of the most asked questions is what type of access control should I use and which product is best for me? Well, its hard for me to determine that without having asked a few questions first. I guess it would serve you best to think about the long term of what you are really trying to accomplish with a very expensive piece of hardware. Traffic control is one of the main purposes of using these type of products since you can easily accomplish this with pretty simple products. Traffic control is being able to secure a doorway for the purpose of keeping those out of the area (building or room) with just average concern for security. Similar to that of physical keys, the locks ability is just to provide ingress and egress from a specific door without having to issue keys to everyone. The advantage is that all you have to do is change the combination of the lock and issue a note saying what the new code is. Cost effective and practical since you don’t have to issue a physical key to every person that needs to have access when you have to change the locks periodically.
Products that fit this criteria are the Trilogy T2 and the Simplex Unican L1000 series mechanical lock. Both of these locks come ADA compliant and work very well as a primary locking device that perform well and if not better than a keyed level lock. As explained before, you don’t have to worry about keys since a code is all you need to issue via text or email when you make the change. You no longer need physical contact with your employees or customers simplifying the process to merely a broadcast message.
The next level of security that concerns many businesses is being able to track users with an audit trail. Who is going in that door and when? An audit trail is a permanent record of each individual user codes activity concerning that access point. Generally, most computer rooms, pharmacies, medical records, supply storage and anywhere security and accountability is required is where this type of lock would be used. Pharmacies and medical records are the most likely candidates since they are required by law to maintain a record of everyone that enters the area. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act) requires that all documents concerning patients must be secured and access restricted by lock and key or pass code and limiting access to said keys and pass codes. Now with keys, this means high security keys and locks that cannot be easily duplicated. Schlage Primus, Medeco and ASSA keys are not only expensive to get into, very expensive if you want to change the locks periodically. Even with this you still have to have some way of keeping track of who is entering the area. A log of some type is still required above and beyond the keys. Pass code means a code that you can issue or a badge card that keeps track for you every time someone enters the area. A log is automatically maintained and accessible when the need arises. Changing and deleting codes is also easily accomplished simply by a short process that continues to maintain the integrity of the lock and all of its content, such as other codes and pin numbers, but allows for immediate changes and deletions at a moments notice. With physical high security keys you would have to change the locks and issue new keys to every individual. Not as cost effective as using pass codes or pin numbers would be.
Of course, there are much more elaborate systems out there for multiple doors, elevator control and site to site communications via Ethernet, but when it comes to just a couple of doors, the stand alone, this is the most cost effective type of product that will serve your needs quite adequately. Just remember to determine what you are trying to do first before you buy a product, you may realize that you can spend less if you really determine what your requirements are first before you decide on a product.
If you have any further questions or would like me to make some recommendations for you concerning your access control requirements, just send me a note at: support@ronbarronco.com and I will be more than happy to assist you in any way I can. Not only can I save you money in the long run, I know that you will be more than satisfied with the products that really can fit your needs.
Ron Barron / Owner
The Ron Barron Company
support@ronbarronco.com