Biometric Access Control Systems

An access control system is any security system that limits access to a building, area, or room. These range from mechanical locks to electronic systems. Some require physical metal keys, some require a magnetic card, others require a PIN number be entered into a keypad, and others require a thumb print or retinal scan. A proper access control system ensures that the building’s owner or manager knows exactly who has access to a building or area, when they have that access, and even when they leave.

At Lineup Security, we are access control specialists and can show you how a biometric or other access control system in New York can be essential (and affordable) for your security needs. Call us today for a no-hassle, no cost, on-site consultation today.

Biometric Access Control – How it works?

A biometric access control system is simply a way to identify a person in order to grant or deny access to a building, area, or room. Like all access control systems, these systems are electronically controlled and give full power of control to the building’s owner or manager.

Unlike most access control systems, biometric systems require only the physical presence of the person who wishes to open the door – no cards, key fobs, or metal keys are needed.

You have likely seen a biometric system portrayed in the movies. The person presses their thumb, finger, or hand to a pad and is scanned before being allowed entrance. Sometimes an eye (“retinal scan”) is used to identify them. While usually portrayed in a more dramatic way than is the reality, this is the basic way that biometric identification is made to allow or disallow access.

NYC Biometric access systems are considered the state-of-the-art and in New York they are commonly used with either fingerprint or facial recognition to provide security that cannot be duplicated by any other method. Key fobs, identification cards, physical keys, and PINs can be stolen. Guards at each door to check identification can be unreliable and are always expensive.

The biometric system uses a person’s unique physical traits, such as fingerprints, to identify them. These traits are gathered and stored in a database, which is controlled by the building’s manager or security personnel, and the person is granted access based on those traits. Logs are kept of each entry (and sometimes exit) of a building and often of individual areas within the building as well. Both large and small companies in NYC can benefit from the solid security that biometric access control can provide.

Advantages

The greatest advantage to biometric identification for access control is its extremely high security. As mentioned, there are no keys or other devices to carry, be forgotten, or have stolen, compromising the security of access. Only the person’s physical presence is needed and the characteristics being scanned cannot be duplicated.

The most common places that biometric security is found in the NYC area are financial institutions, government buildings, secure server farms, and similar locations. They can, however, be used in any location in New York where security is paramount.