Who Goes There? A Guide to Access Control for Serviced Offices

Whether you’re a tenant or the manager/owner, managing security for your serviced office block involves a balancing act. You need to achieve both straightforward access for those you want to let in and stringent security to prevent unauthorised entry.

At Spire, we specialise in systems that solve major fire and security challenges including:

Systems suitable for all types of flexible working spaces including shared spaces, hubs, daily/hourly rental spaces and short-term lets.

Effective and efficient ways to manage the daily flow of tenants, visitors, deliveries and contractors.

Seamless entry and exits for you or your tenants, without compromising on security.

Go digital and ditch the physical keys

Physical keys are a security risk. They can be mislaid, lost, shared, duplicated and not returned by departing tenants or retiring keyholding staff. Any missing key presents a security threat, not to mention the associated expense and inconvenience of replacing locks and distributing new sets of keys.

Switch to a cloud-based system using digital credentials for access, and you’ll know precisely who is in, and when they exit. Serviced offices and buildings with digital systems can be accessed by your choice of coded fobs, swipe cards, or mobile apps, linked to electronic door release systems for keyless access. 

In addition, choosing a system with BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) or NFC capability allows tenants, one time visitors like staff from other offices or contractors and temporary staff to use their own phones as “keys”. 

Set your own access privileges

Access privileges can be individually customised at either a tenant, buildings manager or owner level. You can allow access to specific locations and even at specific time by creating tiered access levels. For example:

• Your site: Access via your main entrance and into car parks only.
• Communal areas: Access to shared areas such as lobbies, kitchens, and meeting rooms, but not offices.
• Private areas: Access to secure individual tenant offices and sensitive locations such as labs, stock storerooms, and server rooms.

If an employee leaves your company, you can instantly revoke their access. Equally as a landlord, when a tenant’s lease comes to an end and they leave, their entire access can be revoked instantly. 

We see you…

The addition of smart CCTV can be a game-changer. Building managers can view the person trying to gain entry, and grant access remotely. This is essential for shared spaces or those forgetful employees whose phone battery has just gone flat. AI-based CCTV can use facial recognition to identify tenants’ workers, and highlight those people it does not have it its database. 

What’s more, linking door events to video footage provides a complete “audit trail” of who entered where and when. These access logs can help you as a site manager or premises owner to better understand your building occupancy patterns, so you can optimise available space and minimise unnecessary energy usage. (For more details, see our article on AI and CCTV cameras).

Integrating security and safety

Any cloud-based access control must interface with your fire alarm systems to make sure that your “fail-safe” door releases work during an emergency, in line with UK British Standards. 

Such systems can also accommodate an integrated Visitor Management Systems (VMS). All-digital sign-ins for guests can instantly notify tenants of their arrival, so you can meet and greet them more quickly. It can also provide an instant, up to date list of people currently in the building in the event of an emergency. 

All Spire-installed systems meet the latest UK security regulations and GDPR requirements regarding data privacy. 

Rapid help when you need it

Cloud-based systems are great – when they work. At Spire, we install, maintain and monitor cloud security and fire systems linked to our response centre. If there’s a fault, or a false alarm is triggered, we may be able to diagnose and even fix it remotely. If not, the information we receive means that when our rapid response engineers arrive on site, they already have a good idea of the nature and locations of the issues. That ensures they bring any specialist tools and replacement parts as required.

Our pro-active approach and PPM plan ensure that all our installed systems are regularly inspected, serviced and working for you 24/7/365.

Interested?

Whether you want a new keyless entry system, a security upgrade to your current one, or are moving into premises with an existing system that doesn’t suit your needs, contact us for a site survey and bespoke security audit in the Midlands, London and the Home Counties.

• Call us on 0800 112 3551
• Email us
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About the author

David Whiteside is both Founder and Managing Director of Spire. David has been involved in the Fire & Security industry for over 15 years, experiencing the services at all technical and project levels. With a keen eye for detail, a passion for quality of work and unparalleled customer service, David ensures Spire F&D delivers a service that meets and exceeds to the demands of any industry and sector.