security & tenant safety


Effective access control: shared buildings


Neil Thomas, national sales manager at Videx – who has been providing door entry and access control systems to housing associations for almost 30 years –addresses the key issues that need to be considered when choosing door entry systems for shared buildings


access control is achieved by preventing unwanted access to buildings. In residential developments, where a constant flow of visitors need access to different locations within the building on a 24/7 basis, this is best achieved with a combination of door entry and access control systems to communal and internal doors.


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“Access control systems with effective key management capabilities can provide useful information to identify individuals and to ensure they can only access certain parts of the building”


Identifying an individual, whether resident or


visitor, is key to ensuring that only those authorised can gain access to particular areas of the building. When residents and staff have traditional keys to gain entry it can be difficult to manage the number of keys issued. If keys are lost, or taken by residents when they leave, new keys need to be issued. This can incur significant costs and often results in the need to change locks to prevent unwanted entry. Access control


ccess control is pivotal to any building and getting it right is especially critical for shared buildings. Essentially, effective


systems with effective key management capabilities can provide useful information to identify individuals and to ensure they can only access certain parts of the building. To help prevent unauthorised entry by visitors,


video entry systems offer residents the opportunity to view callers on a colour videophone before deciding whether to speak to them or allow them entry into the building. Access control and door entry systems are now


available to help overcome common issues including anti-social behaviour (such as noise, intimidation and assault) and benefit fraud. Reports can be prepared showing fob activity and logging which flats visitors call at, when a conversation starts and ends and when exit buttons are pressed to leave the building. When used in conjunction with CCTV, these reports can provide useful information which can aid in any investigations helping to improve resident’s safety and security. Many housing blocks are used as shortcuts and


hangouts by non-residents especially estates that have a multiple entrance layout. Residential developments without adequate security are potential magnets for disruptive and criminal behaviour. This, in turn, can affect the quality of life for residents and often results in buildings becoming a popular place for criminal behaviour such as drug use and associated crime. Without adequate access control, vandals can


easily access a building often resulting in ongoing repair costs and an unpleasant environment for residents to live in, making them feel unsafe and


48 | HMM March 2016 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


also less likely to respect the property themselves. Before selecting an appropriate access control


system for a specific building, such as an apartment block, a few issues need to be considered which are relevant to that particular type of building. For example, legislation needs to be a key consideration. Building regulations must be followed when putting an appropriate system in place and thought must go into how access control will affect users with disabilities following the Equality Act 2010 guidelines. Secured By Design, the official UK Police


flagship initiative supporting the principles of designing out crime, might also be specified which means only those products that have passed the stringent tests of Secured By Design should be used. Cabling is also another important issue. Most


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