The importance of preventative security system maintenance

It’s a good feeling, knowing that your building has the most cutting-edge access control system in the world. But if you don’t maintain that system, it could become as ineffective as leaving your doors open to everyone. When an access control system degrades—as they always do—security vulnerabilities are inevitable.

Here are three reasons why Openpath makes regular preventative maintenance of your access control system a top priority:

1. So You Let Only the Right People In

The best access control make it extremely easy for the right people—and exceedingly hard for the wrong people—to enter your building. Nevertheless, security vulnerabilities will add up over time, especially if you don’t maintain your access control solution. Locking mechanisms break. Access control cards end up in the wrong hands. Areas that used to be secure will have propped-open doors. After a while, an unmaintained access control system gets easier and easier to break into over time.

Did you know that, in 2017, nearly 7.7 million property-related crimes occurred in the United States, causing about $15.3 billion that year? Guaranteed, a large percentage of these crimes happened because criminals gained unauthorized access to the wrong places. As your first line of defense against becoming a victim of a property-related crime, make sure you maintain and repair your access control solution, as soon as problems arise. That way, only the right people can enter your property.

2. So You Can Prevent Internal Theft

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a staggering 75 percent of employees admit to stealing from their employers at least once. The Chamber also suspects that 30 percent of business failures happen because of worker theft, abuse and fraud. Worker theft and fraud—often referred to as “shrink”—are especially problematic for businesses with 150 employees or fewer, according to the report.

Unlike large corporations—which know internal theft can cost them millions of dollars each year—smaller firms usually don’t have the right controls in place. Or, if they do have access control systems, they don’t always devote the resources to maintain them. Don’t make this mistake.

When it comes to internal theft prevention, identify the sensitive areas of your premises—like supply rooms, storage areas, data centers and parts of the building where you keep expensive technology, sensitive information, tools and machinery. Lockdown these areas and grant access on a “need-to-enter” basis. Audit the access control system regularly to ensure the components are functioning, and that employees are using the system as intended. Finally, test the locking mechanisms frequently to ensure all property is secure.

3. So You Know Who’s Coming and Going and When

One of the most important elements of a modern access control system is the way you can monitor who is coming and going through every controlled door. By pulling reports—on a daily, weekly or monthly basis—no movement goes untracked. However, the accuracy of this monitoring requires constant maintenance.

Employees trade around their keycards—this always happens. Bob might forget his keycard one day. Someone gives him a spare card without registering it to his name. The system no longer tracks Bob’s movements. And what if Bob gives the card to someone else? As these practices continue, office managers become less sure of what’s going on when they run an access report.

To avoid a situation like this, perform regular audits of your system. Check each employee’s access card to ensure it’s assigned to that employee. Check the system to eliminate any unassigned keycards. Also, consider upgrading to a smartphone-based, access control system to solve the problem of trading keycards once and for all.

Openpath’s smartphone-based, access control solutions take advantage of the built-in biometric scanning capabilities in smartphones. With Openpath, you can require a fingerprint or facial scan through the smartphone before granting access to the most secure areas of your building. This extra layer of security cuts down on shared credentials and unauthorized access.

REMEMBER: Even the Best Access Control Systems Fail Without Regular Maintenance

At Openpath, our access control system technologies include the following and more:

• Real-time monitoring of employee movements

• Instant notifications about failed access attempts

• Warnings when doors are left ajar

• Accurate audit trails for police investigations when required

• Smartphone-based, biometric fingerprint authentication and facial recognition for high-security areas

• Tamper-resistant readers

• Encrypted, end-to-end, cloud communication with mutual authentication

Even with the latest access control technologies, however, our solutions won’t keep your premises secure if you don’t maintain them. That’s why our team will train your staff to perform regular audits and preventative security system maintenance on all the mobile access control systems we design and install. We will show you how to maintain your system, so you can investigate problems as they arise—and prevent security breaches from happening in the first place.

At Openpath, it’s our job to keep you and your property secure with the best technology in the business. Contact us now to learn more about our mobile access control systems.

Additional Resources

• Download our Covid-19 Workplace Place Safety Guide

• Make sure your building is secure with the Security Audit Checklist