Comply with the Help of Access Control Software

Rafael Schrijvers, Access Control Product Marketing Manager of the Security Products Building Technologies & Solutions division of Johnson Controls explains how the latest generation of access control platforms can help companies with their compliance obligations.

Compliance with industry standards, health & safety policies and government regulations is an important issue for many companies which have a duty of care to the general public.

This is particularly so for those involved in the production sector. Let’s consider, for example, the requirements of a food processing plant where it is essential to ensure compliance with hygiene regulations, as the consequences of anyone with an expired certificate being allowed to work in a food processing plant could be huge. An inspector making a random visit could insist that all on site food stuff is put on the rubbish tip and all machinery cleaned to avoid the slightest risk of contamination if they find someone onsite who has not has the appropriate level of training on hygiene issues.

It is equally for pharmaceutical companies who wish to export their products around the world to prove compliance with US Food & Drug Administration regulations. To do so they must be able to provide an audit trail of electronic signatures associated with any changes made during our research, development, manufacturing or QA Assurance activities.

The solution

Advances in technology now enable access control systems to deliver far more than the ability to control who can enter a building. As a result, in addition to security managers being responsible for the security of people, property and assets, there is likely to be a number of other stakeholders involved in the decision to fund the installation of an access control system and these could include, health & safety, operations and human resources management. The reason for this is that the same smart access control cards which enable staff or visitors to gain access to sensitive areas, can now hold data relating to the card holder and as such assist with compliance issues.

C-CURE 9000 has exceptional reporting abilities and as such can play a significant role in helping users monitor and prove compliance with their internal procedures, as well as their legal obligations. Integration with Microsoft’s active directory functionality means C-CURE 9000 has the ability to effortlessly generate a report that lists, fox example, staff who are in need of refresher training or whose hygiene certificate is due to be renewed.