Are your truck drivers carrying too many keys? Do you know when deliveries are made? Would you like a secure method for moving customers to night-delivery schedules?
Knowing who has been where, and when, can add a whole new dimension to managing unattended deliveries. Effective access management relies on more that just controlling mechanical facility keys. It also requires reducing the number of keys each driver carries, increasing the keys’ security and tracking access activity.
In South Africa, a typical distributor contracts a third-party trucking company to deliver goods to over 200 independent dealers. Each driver is assigned 8 to 10 different keys, one for each access point on the route. Each key is labelled with a dealer code.
Says TCT MD, Malcolm Thomas, “This complex situation raises several questions. What about labels that fall off keys? What happens when a dealer changes locks, and fail to notify the delivery company? How are split routes and special request handled? Can the company verify that a specific delivery has occurred? What if the distribution centre decides to change trucking companies? Will they be able to collect all of the keys? If keys go missing, who’s liable for rekeying facilities? To what extent I security compromised?”
Adds Thomas, “TRACcess is a solution to the problem of unattended delivery.”
Service with a single, intelligent key
TRACcess solves the key control headache. With the intelligent TRACkey, the distributor can replace multiple dealer keys with a single ‘intelligent’ unit assigned to each driver.
Track delivery access transparently
TRACcess does more than control access, it actually tracks access by individual keyholders to each location and locking device. When drivers call the TRACcess Information Manager PC for a TRACkey update, they are prompted to transmit access data over the phone. The information is stored and provided in several report options.
Access to a family of entry devices
Says Thomas, “Many of your customers will provide you with facility keys. Some may use magnetic access cards, whilst others may require gate access to warehouses. TRACcess offers a solution for each solution.” Mechanical keys can be secured in a TRAC-Box. A TRAC-Vault can store magnetic cards and/or multiple keys. For locked-door sites TRAC-Locks can eliminate the need for mechanical keys entirely. Adds Thomas, “A single TRACkey can access all of these devices, so it’s the only key your delivery people ever need.”
They have the key, you have control
“Because the TRACkey allows a user-defined expiration period, you can control when drivers have access to specific sites,” says Thomas. “You can set weekly or monthly schedules; once a key expires, only you can provide re-authorisation for access.” Users can lock-out keyholders, if a TRACkey is lost or a driver doesn’t return it. And, unlike most master keys, an authorised TRACkey always requires the user’s PIN code for operation, so you don’t need to worry about it falling into the wrong hands. Concludes Thomas, “It is no longer necessary to physically lock-out every site and access device.”
The emergence of co-ordinated access control
Delivery operations are continuing to come under added scrutiny. Companies looking to improve delivery efficiency are moving to unattended deliveries, but customers often resist because of security concerns. Traditionally, these situations have been managed with master-key or access control solutions. Unfortunately, master-key systems lack the access control of card-based systems, and a lost key compromises the entire operation. Yet, traditional access control systems are ineffective and cost-prohibitive for multi-site operations.
Concludes Thomas, “TRACcess creates a new, cost effective access standard - combining the benefits of sophisticated access control, access tracking and key control for a complete access management solution. TRACcess ably protects both parties, the distributor and its third-party trucking company.”
For details contact TCT on tel: (011) 888 1210, fax: (011) 888 1625 or e-mail: tct@mweb.co.za.
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