By Howard Marson, CEO, EasyLobby, Inc.
Show of hands: how many of you have visited a building where you are asked to sign a paper guest log? OK, now how many of you have signed “Mickey Mouse” to see if anything would happen? Chances are, nobody noticed. And that is one of the biggest security issues with the paper guest log. Yes, it is very inexpensive and very easy to use, but when it comes to security and today’s mandate to keep track of who is in your buildings and why, the old paper and pen method fails miserably. Now, how many of you are still using a paper guest log to track visitors to your own buildings? And what about that generic hand-written badge you ask the visitor to stick on his/her lapel? Not only does it look bad, but it is also very easy to copy, which means just about anyone could create their own “valid” visitor badge and waltz right on in.
In today’s elevated security environment, the paper guest log for visitors and contractors has a number of critical shortcomings:
You can’t always read people’s handwriting
You can’t collect detailed, accurate
information (not enough space)
You can’t capture a photo of the visitor
The information about who is visiting
whom is not confidential; it is sitting there
for any other visitor to look at
People can make up an employee’s name
to get into the building, or just copy the
name of an employee that someone else wrote
In the event of an emergency, you cannot
quickly pull together a list of who is still in
the building (especially if you can’t read
people’s names)
Hand-written, generic badges are too easy
to copy
This method does not instill a sense of
security in either visitors or employees
A better way to manage your visitors
About eight years ago, software companies like ours started developing a computerized way to process visitors more accurately, quickly and easily. The goals of these systems were to improve security, and also to enhance the customers’ image by enabling them to more professionally deal with visitors. With a standard personal computer and an inexpensive label printer, these systems allowed you to fill in a simple visitor form on the screen, then print a high-quality, customized badge for each visitor. Since all visitor information was stored in a database, these early “visitor management systems” also allowed you to do quick searches and print reports with just a few mouse clicks. The information about each visitor was detailed, accurate, and kept confidential (only the guard or receptionist can view the data, not the visitors).
Over time, these systems have continued to evolve and add features, making them even more secure, easier to use, and faster. Today, the leading visitor management systems are integrated with a number of peripheral hardware devices such as passport scanners, driver’s license readers, business card scanners, digital cameras, electronic signature capture pads, and barcode scanners.
Rather than having to type each visitor’s information into the system, you can now scan or read their passport/driver’s license/business card to automatically capture their name, company, title, phone, e-mail, address, license number, expiration date, date of birth, etc. - all within just a few seconds. Some of these devices will even capture the photo off the license or passport, as well as a copy of the ID, and store them in the visitor record. You can even print the visitors photo on the badge,
in full color. |
The use of a camera also allows you to capture the visitor’s photo. And for places of business where visitors are required to read and agree to a Non-Disclosure Agreement or Rules and Regulations statement, or any other document, the more sophisticated visitor management systems also allow you to capture the visitors signature electronically as part of the visitor record, and link that signature to the type of document that was read and agreed to.
The better systems also now enable you to print barcodes on the visitor badge, allowing you to simply “scan” each visitor’s badge on the way out, so the system can track the date and time that they left and keep an accurate record of who is still in the building.
Other value-added features
• Custom Badge Design
• Web-based Pre-registration
• Access Control Integration
• Security Alerts
• Employee List
• Networking to a central database
Summary
Secure visitor management systems are rapidly replacing the outdated and low security paper guest logs found in most buildings today, including K-12 schools, colleges and universities, hospitals and museums, commercial and residential
multi-tenant buildings, and government and corporate offices. With a full-featured visitor management system, whether you have a single building with one entry, or 100+ facilities around the globe, you can process visitors in 10-20 seconds by automatically reading a driver’s license or business card, you can print a professional-looking badge with company logo and visitor photo and any other information, you can run reports and query the database, your employees can
pre-register their visitors via the internet/intranet, and you can keep unwanted people out of your building(s). But perhaps most importantly, your visitors and employees will feel safer, knowing that each visitor is being properly screened before being allowed to enter.
Sound Incorporated is an EasyLobby, Inc. business partner and can provide a free analysis at your facility. If you have an interest in EasyLobby please contact
Security Sales Director, John Strauss (jstrauss@soundinc.com).
About the author
Howard Marson is the CEO of EasyLobby, Inc. With over one thousand systems installed world-wide, EasyLobby is a leading provider of secure visitor management systems to public and private companies and organizations.
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