Keyless Entry System for Commercial Buildings

The important aspects of a keyless entry system

If you’re thinking about getting a keyless entry system for your commercial building then this article answers the most important questions you’ll need to consider:

1. What is a keyless entry system for a commercial building?
2. Why are keyless entry systems popular in commercial buildings?
3. What do office managers and property managers want from a keyless entry system in their commercial building?
4. What do business owners want from a keyless entry system in their commercial building?
5. What do staff and contractors want from a keyless entry system in their commercial building?
6. Which keyless entry systems are best suited to commercial buildings?
7. What to do now

As the name suggests, a keyless entry system is a way to open a lock without the need for a physical key.

Obviously traditional keys are still an effective entry system but keyless entry systems in commercial buildings are now extremely popular.

Commercial buildings, such as offices, retail units, leisure facilities (e.g. pubs) and warehouses, all have slightly different requirements but broadly, they all want to give their staff the right access to the right areas at the right time.

With this in mind, let’s consider whether a keyless entry system is a viable option for your commercial building and, if so, what types of keyless entry systems might be appropriate.

Keyless entry systems in commercial buildings have grown in popularity. To find out why, let’s look through the eyes of three main people who manage, pay for or use the entry system once it’s installed in a commercial property:

1. The Office Manager / Property Manager
2. The Business Owner
3. The Staff and Contractors

Naturally, each of these groups have different perspectives, motivations and areas of focus within the business, and so what they think of the keyless entry system will differ slightly...

When a new person joins the business, it’s important to have a smooth ‘on-boarding’ process. Even though post-Covid, many people work from home for some of their working week, there will often be occasions when they need to be in the office. As a result, you need to be able to conveniently grant access to that person (whether this be access to the entire commercial building or just part) in a timely manner.

With a traditional physical key method, this would involve taking time out to arrange for a set of keys to be cut for each lock that was required by each individual. If a commercial building were to have several hundred people with new people regularly joining the organisation, this can quickly become a time-consuming and painstaking process.

But obviously a traditional key system doesn’t end with just new starters. It can be just as time consuming when staff leave. This is especially true in larger commercial buildings, where it can be virtually impossible to collect every key, whenever someone leaves the business - which has substantial security implications.

Now factor in when staff lose keys or have them stolen (which can lead to the locks then needing to be changed to maintain security, and the associated issues with then having to reissue yet more keys) and it’s clear that traditional keys are not a viable option for the office manager or property manager of commercial buildings.

Step forward, keyless entry systems - which make it easy for the office manager or property manager to assign or revoke digital keys that come with the keyless entry system. This can be done at the touch of a button on a computer desktop dashboard, it’s clear that keyless is a far better, faster and convenient solution for the office manager and property manager of a commercial building.

Clearly it is in the business owners’ interest to ensure that their staff are working at a high level with minimal ‘roadblocks’ to them doing their jobs effectively. As we have seen from the property manager / office manager perspective, this is not possible with traditional keys. The smooth way that keyless entry systems can manage the ongoing assigning and revoking of keys will have been noted by the business owner.

However, physical keys also have a direct financial impact on the efficient running of a commercial operation.

Physical keys often need to be cut to be given to new staff or locks need to be changed when keys are lost or stolen, thereby creating a substantial financial outlay that needs to be accounted for.

As with the introduction of any new systems in commercial organisations, there will be an initial outlay for the installation of the keyless entry system. However, over time, this investment will invariably prove prudent - with business and staff efficiency dramatically improved once the keyless entry system has been implemented.

Equally, a business owner will want to ensure that their staff and contractors have a smooth and productive experience when working at the commercial premises. The next section highlights the impact of keyless entry systems on staff and contractors.

Both staff and contractors want a friction-free experience when it comes to facilities. Ease of use and hassle-free entry systems are important considerations.

With a traditional physical key, staff have to carry them around and need to know what key opens which door. Staff will invariably have concerns over personal wellbeing as a result of Covid, with keys often passed to different people throughout the working day.

For a contractor who may only be in a commercial building sporadically or for a short period of time, a traditional key may not be viable - however, without one, the contractor would experience issues fulfilling their work obligations.

Contrast this with a keyless entry system for commercial buildings and all these challenges simply evaporate. Staff and contractors can easily be assigned access to specific doors or areas of the building by the office manager. Once done, they are then only able to enter their designated areas through a simple keyless solution.

There are several keyless entry systems that organisations can adopt within their commercial buildings.

The traditional key fob and smart card has the benefit of being keyless, however brings with it several disadvantages.

The remote keyless entry system is a popular method. With Klevio installed, office managers easily assign and revoke digital keys to staff, time is saved for everyone and a smooth entry experience is provided to both staff and contractors.

Our team of experts will be happy to advise you on the different keyless entry systems available for commercial property and their respective advantages and disadvantages. So, if you’re considering getting a new system, simply use the web chat at www.klevio.com or call us on +(44) 20 3322 7981.

We look forward to helping you.