Security
Access Control
Also called: electronic access control, door access system
A system that decides electronically who may open which door, when, and records every attempt — replacing mechanical keys with credentials and policy.
The operational win is not the lock; it is revocation and audit. A lost credential is disabled in seconds instead of triggering a re-key, schedules can restrict a contractor to one door on weekdays, and every grant and denial is logged for incident review. That log is why insurers and auditors ask about access control at all.
A system is a chain: credential, reader, controller, door hardware, power supply, and software. Weakness anywhere defeats the rest — a strong reader on a door with a bypassable strike, or a controller on a flat battery, is theatre. Door hardware and power get specified with the same care as the software.
Support305 designs and installs these systems across South Florida.
Access control systemsRelated terms
- OSDP vs Wiegand
- Two reader-to-controller protocols. Wiegand is legacy, one-way, and unencrypted; OSDP is bidirectional, supports encryption, and reports reader tampering and health.
- Fail-Safe vs Fail-Secure
- Two electric lock behaviours on power loss: fail-safe unlocks, fail-secure stays locked. Which is correct depends on egress code and the door's role.
- Mobile Credential
- A door credential held in a phone's wallet or an app and presented over Bluetooth or NFC, replacing a plastic card or fob.
- Request to Exit
- A device — motion sensor, push bar, or button — that signals the access control system of a legitimate exit so leaving does not register as a forced door.
More Security terms
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