Construction site access control provision has come a long way in recent years. Manual clocking-in systems are becoming a thing of the past as more is being done to tackle the growing issues of theft, vandalism and unauthorised access on UK construction sites – a problem that is costing the industry up to £800 million a year.
In this post, we look specifically at access control turnstiles. Despite common misconception, turnstiles offer so much more than a ‘gate providing the safe passage of people’ that they were originally intended for.
New technologies have risen to the surface, helping managers secure their construction sites more effectively, whilst making serious long-term savings along the way.
Read on to find out the added benefits that construction site turnstiles can provide for your construction site.
Access Control Turnstiles Reduce Labour On Your Construction Site
Construction site security guards are often utilised as ‘doormen’, monitoring access in and out of a construction site, complete with a clipboard and pen. However, is this the most effective use of their time?
Not only does this leave your site vulnerable to human error (caused by heavy rain, on-site chit-chat, etc.), you’re also driving up unnecessary labour costs, when, in reality, a biometric turnstile will work much more efficiently, for example:
- Time & attendance software functionality providing complete accuracy, whilst also integrating with CCTV, enabling added video evidence of time & attendance events.
- Face recognition scanning is more reliable than ever before, accurately logging and recognising the facial features of authorised personnel via both visual and infrared data.
- Contactless access means that people don’t have to worry about misplacing a key-card or touching any surfaces.
- Thermal temperature checking so that guards or other workers don’t have to manually check worker’s temperature upon arrival.
Wouldn’t your guards be better utilised elsewhere?
Access Control Turnstiles Contribute to COVID-19 Compliance For Your Construction Site
Whilst we seem to have COVID-19 under control – if anything has taught us this year – it’s to not be overly optimistic.
The truth is, we don’t know what’s around the corner.
It stands to reason, therefore, that the impact of the virus will have a lasting impact on the industry – with preventative measures likely to be in place for the foreseeable.
In a recent blog post, we explored how access control turnstiles can help gain COVID-19 compliance, but many of the features highlighted above (contactless access, temperature checking and so on…) can all help to minimise the spread of infection, keeping your site and your workers safe.
Turnstile Pods With Pre-Enrolment Software For Your Construction Site
Perhaps one of the most beneficial features of many turnstiles is the pre-enrolment functionality.
Considering that it takes, on average, an hour a day to complete on-site induction training, you stand to lose 240 hours a year – leading us to question: can you afford not to consider pre-enrolment?
With a pre-enrolment facility, workers can register their details and complete their H&S induction process online – prior to attending site for the first time. They’ll receive an email from the site management team with a link to an enrolment page – this can be accessed by a smartphone, tablet or PC – and upload all their required information ahead of time
Health & Safety, Fire & Emergency For Your Construction Site
With instant muster reporting and fire alarm integration, you’ll ensure safe practices in the event of a fire breaking out on your construction site – an issue which a recent report highlighted as ‘deeply disturbing’ when commenting on the sharp rise in the number of fires on construction sites since 2015.
This, combined with CCTV integration, will allow accurate video evidence of emergency events to mitigate any future problems.
Conclusion
As you can see, access control turnstiles provide so much more than the obvious. With the right system in place, you’ll benefit from:
- Reduced labour
- Increased efficiencies (around induction, health and safety and more)
- COVID-19 compliance, and;
- Significant potential cost savings
If you’d like to talk more about your construction site’s access control provision, don’t hesitate to speak to an expert today.
