Basics

The Physical Access Control Project Planner

A well planned access control project provides appropriate protection at a reasonable cost with minimum disruption. And if it's poorly run? Expect cost overruns, permitting delays, and a very, very annoyed workforce. An experienced system designer's guide to avoiding common access control errors.

By Jason Cowling

6. Who will manage the access control database (and how)? In the planning stage you should put together your list of employees who will need access to the facility. You should give particular thought to the organizing of this database. Almost all access control systems will have a very granular ability to manage your employees' ability to pass through the various controlled doors in your facility. It is practical to set up employees' facility access in accordance with their schedules, and also take holidays into account. Whatever schedules your facility operates under should be taken into account. Also consider temporary employees, janitorial services, and any other non-employees who may need access to your facility. Having as much detail as you can available during the planning stage will save significant time later when you program the system. If you are switching to a new access control system, be sure to save the databases in existing systems for the transition. Some contractors may even program your database prior to installation; this can be a major time saver! Why not have your cards and users programmed in and ready the system to go online as soon as it's powered up?

Stage Two: Procurement

By now you should have assigned all key personnel attached to the project, consulted with the relevant building codes mentioned above, obtained and made copies of your blueprints.Now you are ready to begin making contact with access control vendors.

Good vendors are hard to find. There are security companies of every size and scale, from global to local, available to install your access control system. Though most all of them are capable of installing your system, honing in on the "right" one is more difficult. 

1. A good starting point is to obtain quotations from at least three vendors.
2. I also encourage you to set up an initial walkthrough inclusive of all your potential vendors. By doing this you'll be more likely to get quotations from your vendors with minimum differences. Comparing disparate scopes of work is confusing and not usually viable from a financial analysis standpoint. Differing equipment, software features, and system interpretations by vendors can quickly dismantle the ability to compare your quotations. Try to find three vendors who can provide quotations on the same system. By standardizing on a particular system you'll eliminate much of the difficulty of analyzing the hardware aspect of your bid.
3. In deciding on a standard system, you should consider whether you want to select from an open-architecture platform, or a proprietary system.  This is especially relevant if you plan to use a single platform to manage multiple facilities. Certain geographical areas may not have suitable support for a proprietary system. This is another good time to liaison with your IT personnel, who may need a system that can operate under varying network architectures.
Here are some other helpful vendor qualifying questions you can ask during the procurement stage:

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