By Tony Gallo

To be exact, having real and immediate data of who opened that door is king. Any meaningful investigation will begin with a list of probable “persons of interest”. Imagine after a breech in your security resulting in a mysterious disappearance of an asset having the information available as to who, when and how long each authorized person entered the premises. Your investigations could be short and conclusive. This type of intelligence for your entry doors is now affordable and simple to install, with the introduction of a logic smart lock cylinder. A logic smart lock cylinder is a complete electronic locking system providing controlled access, accountability, physical security, and effective system management. They are also, more than just a way to protect your property, equipment and assets, logic smart lock cylinders also are a business tool that can lead to a substantial return on investment.

Our core competency at Sapphire Risk Advisory Group is to identify risk or crime opportunities and prevent them before they occur. Internal or employee theft is by far the most threatening simply because most of the time you never see it coming your way. We all want to believe that our staff is honest, dependable and trustworthy, but history as not proven as such. As business owners and managers, we need to constantly trust, but verify all actions. The value of an access control system is that it provides the verification of who entered, when and how long an employee entered the building. The value of a logic smart lock cylinder is that they fit in to your existing lock, can be installed in a matter of minutes, and can offer you the same time and attendance data that you would get from a full system-wide access control device.

As I have written in other articles, a well-defined security program is about forming “layers” to prevent the bad guys from stealing your assets. A weak security program enables criminals to easily steal from you. Keep in mind, the most valuable items in your building are often stored in the most difficult places to secure. Having a well-defined key access control management system is an essential tool in every security program.

I want to thank door access control expert Brandon Douglas for helping me write this article. Brandon is Director of Operations for Rolland Safe & Lock (www.rslc.net). He has consulted with hundreds of Cannabis, Jewelers, Restaurants and Banks and Entrepreneurs in protecting millions of dollars in company assets.