Sophisticated vehicle access control systems (VACS) are an essential component of any business’ security system. These automatic systems make it extremely easy to give access to approved and pre-checked vehicles into the site and manage traffic flow in and out of parking lots. These systems instantly deny access to vehicles that have not been authorized, keeping the site safe and secure.
Result-oriented vehicle access control systems give your employees, visitors and clients better security, as well as keeping your site and your assets secure. There is can also reduce the number of security staff, meaning lower running costs for the business.
Setting up an Effective Vehicle Access Control System
Implementing an advanced, high-tech vehicle access control system (VACS) is beneficial for your business in a variety of ways. If you have the relevant skills, expertise, and resources, you may be able to install it yourself. On the other hand, many businesses prefer to hire professionals to set up the system on their behalf. Many experts offer free consultations, so it is worth shopping around to find the best deal for your business.
Whichever option you go for, here are the most important features to consider when setting up a VACS:
Top-level security: A vehicle access control system is only as good as the level of security it provides. Short-term or permanent authorizations can be issued with transponders, such as a fob or key card. The highest levels of security can be guaranteed with cryptographic authentication settings. Transponders and their readers use a fortified system key for encryption and the system key cannot be reproduced, meaning unapproved transponder clones cannot be created.
Credentials: There are various kinds of credentials that can be used in advanced VACS. Here are some of the most popular and effective:
- RFID Key Cards and Fobs – These affordable options are widely used in high-tech vehicle access control systems. Both are driven by radio frequency identification technology, better known as RFID. RFID key cards are available in the following formats:
- Contactless Smart Cards: These have an embedded smart card chip and can interact with reader ports using high-frequency fields. The read range can vary from one centimetre to as much as one meter. They can also have optional encryption functionality.
- Proximity Cards: These work by making use of low-frequency fields. They normally use the Wiegand protocol and a relatively lower read range of a maximum of 10 centimetres but offer no form of encryption.
- Swipe Cards: Also known as magstripe cards, these use the same mechanism as regular bank credit cards. They have a magnetic stripe responsible for data storage and a swipe card reader reads the stripe to interpret the information. Swipe cards are not as secure as RFID cards as they have no encryption and can potentially be cloned.
- Biometrics: Biometric devices make use of information such as facial features, fingerprints, vascularisation on the palm, or even retinas to identify unique features of individuals. It is your budget that will determine the sophistication of the biometric reader you can have installed in your business. The simpler and more affordable options include fingerprint scanners, and range to very advanced biometric technology that can process several different data inputs simultaneously. However, before you go ahead and install biometric readers, it is important to consider whether your staff and visitors will be willing to submit their biometric data for verification.
User-friendly: Ease of use is ensured with the hands-free vehicle access control, when using a sensitive RFID entry pass system that is installed in every vehicle. A reader at each entry point will immediately detect vehicles and grant entry to approved or authorized vehicles. Readers are typically very compact and can neatly fit into gate barriers, for example.
These systems run on software that allows for scanning and recognition in less than one second. The reading distance range can vary from one to 30 metres and it can be modified to suit your needs.
Features of the Ideal High-Tech Vehicle Access Control System
Here are some of the key features commonly found in high-tech VACS:
- Automatic access management via licence plate verification which runs the information past a database of as much as 1000 authorized vehicles and an equal number of unapproved vehicles.
- Ease of installation, configuration, and deployment. You should look for a comprehensive and integrated system that can be accessed using an online platform on a computer or even a mobile application.
- The system should be capable of managing every stage of access control. These include vehicle recognition, capturing vehicle images, analysing vehicle list, barrier control, and access decisions.
- Management of vehicle circulation using parameters like licence plates.
- A good system should be able to handle as much as 400 credentials like licence plates, mobile access cards, regular access cards, keypads, PIN (personal identification number), and others. It must also be able to instantly detect unauthorized vehicles and take appropriate action.
