Turnstile access

The advantages of integrating turnstiles with access control systems

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Access control systems are more commonly used than ever. Businesses concerns about security are growing. Whether staff are looking to work from home, you want to secure different areas of your site at different levels, or you’re looking for a more modern solution than a set of keys, access control can help.

Access control isn’t just used to get in the front door. You can now integrate it alongside various solutions across your premise. We’ve seen many businesses in a variety of sectors gain value by integrating access control alongside their turnstiles and speed gates. In this blog we’ll explain how strategically placed turnstiles, when integrated alongside access control systems can be valuable in terms of safety, security, and convenience for your staff and guests.

Upgrade your Reception

Your reception area is often the first impression that any visitor has of your organisation. You need to provide a warm welcome and also make sure it’s easy for guests to travel from your reception to where they need to be. A turnstile system, combined with access control can do this in replacement of or alongside a staffed reception.

We’ve seen this arrangement work well in a number of environments. From university libraries to business spaces, event halls and leisure centres. Blocking your main premises using these turnstiles helps the people inside feel safer, but the speed of entry that access control provides means nobody is impeded for long.

It’s more important than ever to reduce congestion in your business’ entrance. Especially when social distancing must be considered, people with all levels of mobility needs need to be able to enter your site quickly and safely. This is why we can offer extra-wide swing gates alongside any of our turnstiles. These can be customised to the aesthetic needs of your building and cater to a range of mobility aids.

Enhance security at short notice

For added site control we know that it can be valuable to install turnstiles on a temporary basis. Instantly control access into any facility, be it a concert, show, building site, or a high security event. We can cater for small venues or large sites and have a large range of turnstiles. Systems can be accompanied with DDA compliant wide access gates, pushchair gates or delivery gates.

This means that even if your requirement for an entry solution is temporary you don’t have to compromise on security. Our solutions are made here in the UK, and we offer quick provisioning and installation times. If you’re struggling to choose an access control solution to integrate with your turnstiles, we can help here too. Our expert team are always on hand to offer their recommendation based on your security needs.

Accurately track attendance

Accurate headcounts are important to a huge variety of industries. Many schools, businesses and other organisations such as hospitals need to track attendance but rely on written forms. Turnstiles combined with access control allows you to speed up this process while improving safety.

Many access control systems, such as swipe cards, access tokens or even biometrics, integrate seamlessly with your database or CRM services. As soon as you use these services to enter your building, or enter different areas within it, it’s automatically logged.

This can be used for a variety of purposes. Safety is the first, in case of an emergency you can clearly understand who is where. It is also convenient; it removes congestion in reception areas, and you can reference an online attendance database whenever needed.

Combine security with safety

While turnstiles are helpful for impeding the entry of any potential intruders, they could create difficulty in the case of an emergency. This is a common worry, and one that can be alleviated quickly with some helpful integrations.

All our access control entrance solutions are designed to be integrated to fire alarm panels. Once the alarm is activated, they will retract and disable the barrier arms to allow for unrestricted travel. This mechanism can also be controlled by a manned reception, meaning that when required your staff can leave your turnstiles open or locked.

In terms of security, turnstiles force entrants to move single file and at a walking pace. This puts them in clear view of security cameras. We normally supply waist-height turnstiles but full height models for higher security areas.

Your access control can notify security personnel or if someone has tried to access a restricted area. This allows you to allocate security resources to the right areas moving forward. You can quickly cross reference this with any CCTV footage and your access control records.

For more information about our automatic doors or access control systems mentioned here, get in touch at +44 (0) 1372 459536.