Access control on a construction site is important, and sometimes required, to ensure safety, security, and efficient operations. Access control ensures that only authorized personnel are present in specific work zones and reduces the risk of theft or vandalism from unwanted visitors on site.  

Setting up a dynamic construction site with access control can be tough, but choosing the right partner and following a good plan can make all the difference. There is a lot of value in our Ultimate Guide to Construction Site Access Control, but here is Eyrus’s simple 3 step guide to setting up access control on your construction site that doesn’t get in the way of authorized workers.

Step 1: Plan Access Control That Fits Your Site

Planning access control to fit your construction site is the key to keeping unauthorized people and vehicles out while staying out of the way of authorized workers.

Answer these important questions:

• Is your site fully fenced? Answer to this needs to be yes.
• Where are the people entrances/exits are on your site? Place turnstiles for entry and exit at each of these points.
• How many people per day do you expect per entry/exit point? You can provide multiple turnstile lanes, with tandem or single turnstiles, to accommodate site traffic and shift changes – you don’t want a line to form to access the site.
• Where are the vehicle entry/exit points on your site? Gate arms or security personnel with scan guns can be equipped with integrated access control.
• Which rooms/buildings require certification authorized access? Limit access to rooms, areas, offices, etc. based on worker credentials or trade.
• Which valuable areas of your site do you want to protect? Laydown yards, tool storage, offices, bathrooms – all examples of valuable areas that can be locked down with automated access control that integrates into turnstiles, doors, roll doors, and more.

Draw up your plan:

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Step 2: Source and Install Construction Site Access Control System

Planning was the hard part. Installing will be the fun part. But you must source the access control equipment. The Eyrus construction access control software system and hardware work with any hardware with a maglock. However, we have preferred partners that come with Eyrus pre-installed. Here is the equipment you need to make access control happen quickly and cost-effectively on your site.

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Lightweight, Linkable Turnstiles

Caption: Preferred Partner Secured by MAC (Portable Solutions Group)

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Modular Turnstile Enclosures (other custom modular solutions available).

Caption: Preferred Partner Secured by MAC (Portable Solutions Group)

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Gate Arms and Guard houses

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Offices

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Bathrooms

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Anything with a maglock.

We mean it – we have hardware and easy-to-use guides to integrate any portal with a magnetic lock into the Eyrus access control software system.

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Step 3: Automate Access Control

With the equipment installed – you can now leverage software to automate access control.

• Schedule site access – access can be granted to the site and to specific areas/buildings/rooms on a schedule. Don’t worry about having to arm/disarm the system every night.

• Authorize access based on certification – electrical areas, offices, tool storage, etc – there are many reasons to only allow certain people into certain areas. Whatever your reasons, it is easy to do with the right software.

• Digital worker registration and onboarding – workers can self-register, fill out a worker profile, contact information, upload certifications (OSHA, equipment, trade, etc.), watch trainings, and sign project documents. Get on-site and ready to work faster than ever and with less manual effort.

• Print badges on site – easily assign and print badges on site.

• Automate time and attendance + timesheets – now you know when workers are coming and going, so time tracking is automatic. Track time and automate reports by worker, subcontractor, trade, demographic or any other worker data you have in your workforce database.

• There’s a lot more you can automate with the right worksite intelligence platform.

Bonus Step: Enhance Security with Integrated Video Surveillance and Monitoring

Sometimes you want to enhance security, and sometimes your insurance provider makes you enhance security. Either way, when you integrate access control with video surveillance you get a 24/7, A.I. enhanced security team that can be all places at once (at a fraction of the cost of human guards).

Here’s a few things you can do when you add video to access control:

• AI and Advanced analytics – A.I. combs through data collected from workers badging in and out and pairs it with video footage. This advanced analytics surfaces patterns and identifies potential unsafe behaviors such as buddy-punching, tailgating, and missing PPE.

• 24/7 monitoring covering the full site at once – Video can cover your whole site at once, detecting people and vehicles with A.I., but what about telling them to go away and calling in reinforcements? Video surveillance can now be enhanced with 24/7 human monitoring. A.I. will alert an agent to a potential threat and the agent can use tools to deter the threat: alarms, loud-speakers, floodlights, and alerting security/police to respond to the threat.

• Cost-effective monitoring of valuable zones – bathrooms, laydown yards, offices can have their own cameras integrated into the system. Proven site security at 20% of the cost (or less) of putting a security guard in place.

Caption: Video clip of every entry/exit on site.

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