Security technology during the transition of a mobile working world
Exploding property prices, new requirements in the field of work-life balance/integration and the fast-paced technological developments in the field of mobile working: There are already some trends that are making themselves felt in this area. Workplace models such as home office and coworking spaces or shared offices are developing extremely dynamically at the moment. These models are also creating new requirements for reliable locking solutions that can keep up with the rapid developments in Work 4.0.
Many companies discovered the advantages of flexible workplace models a long time ago and are constantly developing them further. The Swiss national railway (SBB), for example, has been giving employees one fixed day working from home per week for several years now, which generates lasting savings in terms of running costs. The shared offices concept is also taking off. For similar reasons, other companies are consciously reducing their own office spaces and doing away with conference rooms completely. Meetings that have to be held in person are moved to coworking spaces offered by commercial providers, which are booked or rented for a short time specifically for this purpose.
Mobile and flexible systems in demand
As simple and appealing as this may sound, it also raises many different questions relating to the security and innovative access management offered. Everything speaks in favour of low-cost, mechatronic or purely electronic locking solutions that can be used extremely flexibly and are easy to operate. Many companies are using a completely keyless approach in this respect, or manage access to their premises using identification media such as badges or app-based via terminal devices such as smartphones.
Check-up for the optimal locking solution
Before an operator or company chooses to convert or upgrade an existing system, or even install a new locking system, however, a careful situation and requirements analysis should be carried out. This is of the utmost importance for secure organisation of coworking areas in particular and makes the final decision process for the optimal security solution significantly easier when faced with the wealth of providers and locking systems available on the market. The analysis should provide clear answers to the following questions:
- Who guarantees that the right person is in the right room at the right time?
- How do these people get a key, an access authorisation?
- How is the key management organised (stationary, mobile)?
- What security-related questions need to be taken into account?
- What is the preferred identification process and why?
- What happens when a person leaves the room again?
- What is the procedure in the event of damage or an emergency situation?
Gregor Süssli, Sales Manager Object Consulting & System Integrators at ASSA ABLOY, will provide insights and concrete examples of different locking solutions in the next part of this blog series.