Access Control Systems - Benefits for Retail Store Security - Tulsa and OKC Security Companies

Access control systems afford Oklahoma City and Tulsa businesses the ability to monitor and regulate who gains entry into a particular area, site, or building. You may often think of access control used in government, banking or healthcare sectors. But are access control systems effective for businesses in the retail industry? What are the advantages of having access control systems in the retail market?

“The benefits of access control systems in this sector are vast. Retail environments have a number of factors to consider when securing their premises – including valuable stock, cash, and a number of employees working varied shift patterns,” Mike Sussman, Chairman of the British Security Industry Association’s (BSIA) Access Control Section, noted in an article last year. “Access control systems can provide reliable and cost effective solutions to ensure that these goods and people are kept secure.”

As the BSIA reported, retail stores have many security factors to consider and an array of threats – everything from shoplifting and employee theft to even organized retail crime. These threats can also increase during holiday shopping seasons. Access control systems are central in protecting valuable merchandise by restraining and monitoring access to particular areas such as the stock rooms and cash offices. Store entrances can be safer for employees during opening and closing times. Delivery areas can be safer and more secure, even after-hours, with access control.

Many access control systems can be incorporated with the company’s time and attendance as well as payroll programs. Especially when you have an abundance of temporary and permanent employees working various shifts, access control systems that correctly record employee hours can be very beneficial and can save your company significantly by reducing manual data-entry errors, “buddy-punching,” and increase payroll division productivity.

Retail stores often have more temporary employees during holiday seasons and commonly often have a higher employee turn-over rate than businesses in other industries. Access control systems can make it easy to grant and revoke access to employees as well as remove the need for re-keying locks or dealing with keys.

Also, these systems can be easily integrated with intrusion alarm and video surveillance systems that can record activity and with wireless IP technology even a variety of sites can be monitored and controlled remotely from almost anywhere. This gives retail managers and owners the freedom to monitor their stores while not actually having to be there. Integrating access control with various alarm, fire, and building management systems can reduce false alarms with each system communicating with the other.

“Alarm zones can be armed and disarmed by reading a card – this can reduce false alarms and dynamically notifies security that the individual is in an access control zone,” BSIA noted in one case study. “Cardholders can be managed across multiple locations and in the event of an incident, manual overrides like ‘lock and unlock doors’ can be administered from the system.”

This access control incorporation can also save businesses money by reducing energy expenses. Access control systems know when areas are empty and can send that information to the building management system to reduce heating/cooling as well as turn off unnecessary lighting in those areas.

The scalability and easy of management from even remote areas over wireless networks makes access control systems ideal for the retail market where employee theft and shoplifting continues to be a serious threat. Access control systems can reduce the stress of management and increase loss prevention for Oklahoma retail stores.