Managing a multi-family residence involves many aspects, but nothing is more important than ensuring that residents, employees, and guests enter your property safely. Would you like to use keyless entry to modernize your old access control system? Fingerprint access control is a biometric access control system that uses the tenant’s own fingerprint as a credential.
Discover how fingerprint access control works and what it is. After that, determine the pros and cons of implementing a fingerprint-based access control system in your building. The final step is to determine which access control system is best for your property.
1. What is Fingerprint Access Control?
The fingerprint access control system uses your fingerprint as the door-opening certificate. To do this, the reader will scan your fingerprint and compare it with the fingerprint registered in the system. If it matches, the door will unlock and let you in.
Therefore, biometric access control systems such as fingerprint readers reduce the need for physical keys in your building. But how do they work? Let’s evaluate the key components of the fingerprint access control system:
- Fingerprint identification device. The reader scans your fingerprint and compares it with the fingerprint stored in the system.
- Door control. Control and power the biometric access control device at the door.
- Electronic or magnetic lock. When authorized residents or staff scan their printouts and the system grants access, the electronic or magnetic lock will be released.
- Biometric access control software. The software of the system stores fingerprint data, allows administrators to add and delete residents and records everyone who enters your building.
2. Is Fingerprint Access Control Secure?
Fingerprint access is secure because fingerprints are almost impossible to copy, and they will not be lost or stolen like physical keys. In addition, you don’t have to worry that residents will share their keys, cards, or passwords with unauthorized guests.
Since biometric access control is more secure than most systems, fingerprint access control is the preferred entry method in various high-security buildings. Security facilities using biometric access control include:
- Research laboratory. The entire building’s doors are usually fitted with fingerprint locks in laboratories with high-security needs to protect sensitive material. This technology enhances the safe access of researchers, scientists, and laboratory technicians.
- Datacenter. Fingerprint access control provides secure authentication, so it is often used in data centers that require higher security measures to protect records and documents.
- Industrial facilities. Facilities such as industrial warehouses, manufacturing buildings, and storage facilities usually use biometric access control to protect assets in their properties. For example, one of my clients, he owns a switchgear manufacturing company. He’s got all kinds of switchgear in his warehouse. It is well known that the installation and connection between various components of the switchgear is very important for the subsequent normal work. So he chose fingerprint door locks to protect these devices from damage.
3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Fingerprint Access Control System
In addition to providing a convenient and modern means of granting access to your building, biometrics also has its limitations. Let’s evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of fingerprint reader access control:
1) Benefits of Fingerprint Access Control
It is impossible to lose. Everyone has fingerprints, so this is a convenient credential that can be used to grant access rights to residents and employees. In addition, residents and staff will not have to grope for physical keys. Therefore, this is a quick and convenient way to open the door safely.
The most affordable biometric system. Fingerprint locks are generally more affordable than other types of biometric systems such as iris scanners or voice recognition.
It is not necessary to replace the key. The cost of replacing lost or stolen access cards and physical keys will increase over time, especially in large buildings. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about the residents’ shutdown due to the loss of keys.
2) Disadvantages of Fingerprint Access Control
Not non-contact. Because the fingerprint lock uses your fingerprint as a credential, you must touch the reader to gain access. In large multi-family houses with heavy traffic, this may not be ideal for residents – especially during the flu season. It may not work. Residents or staff with calluses or scars on their fingertips may not be able to use the scanner.
Everyone’s fingerprints must be scanned. You will have to spend time arranging for each resident and staff to enter their fingerprints into the system. This is not ideal for large multi-family residential buildings, because it may need to register hundreds of fingerprints.
Not suitable for tourists. Suppliers, installers, service providers, and visitors will not be able to use their fingerprints as credentials for temporary access. Therefore, they need a key card, password, remote key, or key to enter the building in any case. Not suitable for Gates. Biometric access control is most suitable for doors, so you need to equip a separate access control system for the door of your property.
4. Find out Which Access Control System Will Work Best for Your Property
Assessing the needs of a building is critical to selecting the best access control system for your building. If you want to modernize your property access through keyless access, please consider using an access control system based on mobile devices.
Mobile access control solution allows residents to use smartphones to open the door. In addition, if residents happen to lose their mobile phones, they can use a unique PIN code to open the door. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about dealing with downtime or issuing new keys to residents.
More importantly, if you own or manage a closed community, a video intercom system can simplify access to your property door. This allows guests to initiate two-way video calls with residents to easily request access. In addition, residents can verify the identity of visitors before allowing them to enter your building!
5. Conclusion
Fingerprint access control is a convenient keyless access method. It uses your fingerprint as the door opening certificate. Biometric card readers are very suitable for simplifying door access, but they are not ideal for large multi-family homes or closed communities, and they cannot grant temporary access rights to visitors.
Mobile access control systems (such as video intercom) can provide residents, employees, guests, and service providers with security access rights.
