Modern access considerations

The entrance to a building gives a clear statement of a company’s image, which is why choosing the right access solution is so important. Lee Chandler, product marketing manager at Dormakaba, discusses recent innovations within the access solution market and explains the factors that should be considered during the specification process.

The market is now full of innovative and advanced products. As with all industries, advances in technology are playing a key role in the evolution of access solutions.

Access control systems have improved significantly throughout recent years. Most now run on cloud-based systems with a centralised, online platform complete with user friendly UI to manage all user profiles and access privileges.

Due to their flexible nature, cloud-based systems can allow users to set up access rights to different groups or specific people to certain areas of a building, effectively creating a ‘zoned’ security system. Access can also be further controlled at certain times of the day for specific groups.

Furthermore, with a full audit trail function, these systems can record the movements of users to allow complete traceability. One can easily make changes to user’s access profiles, adding, withdrawing or amending profiles to suit business needs. In the event of lost access, media it can be rendered unusable to prevent unauthorised access.

Specifiers now have a huge range of locking solutions at their disposal, from the traditional lock and key products, to technologically advanced smart and hybrid systems. Using Bluetooth technology, traditional methods of identification – such as using key fobs or access cards – can work alongside smartphones and other handheld electronics, with stand-alone digital locking technologies. These are a great way of ensuring a building remains secure as people are more likely to lose, mislay or even share identification methods such as fobs or keys, whereas people are less likely to forget personal mobile devices or loan them to someone else.

VR allows users to immerse themselves within a computer-generated world. According to Statistica, the augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) market has grown substantially in recent years, and by 2011, the market size is predicted to reach £162.05 billion.

VR is expected to boom over the coming years, and many leading providers in the construction industry, such as Dormakaba, are beginning to implement VR. The tool can let specifiers walk through a building even before construction has begun, giving them the opportunity to better ensure that products not only look good, but are also functional.

Employing the latest technologies to any entrance system also helps to improve the way a building is perceived. By specifying solutions that look sleek and modern, a company can improve its image to visitors, and an emerging trend is direct drive systems and control panels for revolving doors that are invisible, which when combined with an all glass design can create an elegant access solution. Often these systems are also better protected against environmental factors such as rain or dirt, and do not have to compromise on space.

Dormakaba is dedicated to keeping up with the latest trends in the industry, and we offer solutions to meet the needs of specifiers. Our new KTV revolving door direct drive series offers stylish options suitable for a wide range of projects and can be adapted to fulfil a variety of access requirements. We offer systems such as Exivo, which incorporate functions that allow customers to deliver access rights to visitors remotely via their mobile devices. We have also created the Virtual Design Centre, which lets customers and partners to explore a virtual city, offering an immersive way of experiencing Dormakaba products.

Innovation is the future of access solutions, and it is crucial for specifiers to keep up to date with the latest trends to provide their clients with entrance systems that combine aesthetics with modernised technology.

www.dormakaba.co.uk