On-site infrastructure
Access control systems for business premises
Access control that decides who can enter which parts of your premises and when, records it, and removes a leaver's access in seconds, installed and supported by our own engineers.
Who it is for
Businesses in Teesside and the North East with keys that have been copied, codes that everyone knows, a server room or a stores area that should be restricted, and no record of who came in when. Offices, warehouses, workshops, practices, schools and multi-tenant sites, and any business whose insurer, auditor or ISO assessor asks how physical access is controlled.
What you get
Entry by fob, card or code on every door that matters, with access set per person, per door and per time of day, a record of who entered where and when, secure areas restricted to authorised staff, and a leaver's access removed centrally the moment they go, with no lock to change and no key to chase. Surveyed, installed and supported by Odyssey engineers, on the same network and from the same service desk as the rest of your technology.
The problem
Keys get copied, codes get shared and nobody knows who came in when. For offices, sites and secure areas, you need control over entry and a record of it.
A key cannot be revoked. When someone leaves with one, or lends it, the only fix is a new lock and a new key for everyone. A keypad code is worse: it is shared with the delivery driver, written on the wall of the loading bay, and never changed. Neither tells you who opened the server room on Tuesday night, which is the question an insurer, an auditor or an ISO 27001 assessor will ask after an incident.
Access control replaces both with a credential that belongs to a person: a fob, a card, a code of their own, or a phone. Each door decides who may open it and when, the system records every entry, and a leaver is removed centrally in seconds. Secure areas get stricter rules than the front door; contractors get access for a week; the cleaners get the evening.
We install access control as part of the building's technology rather than as a separate trade, alongside the cabling, the network and the CCTV, by the same engineers, so the door controllers sit on a separated, secured network and the records are kept with the care that ISO 27001 expects. Door entry lines that still run on the analogue network also need replacing before the switch-off in January 2027, which is a question we ask on every survey.
To see what still runs on the old phone network, take the PSTN switch-off check: ten questions, and a list of what has to move before the switch-off.
What Odyssey provides
- Entry controlled by fob, card, code or phone, chosen per door and per group of people
- Access set by person, door and time of day, with secure areas restricted to authorised staff
- A record of who entered where and when, kept securely and available after an incident
- Leavers removed and joiners added centrally, with contractor and visitor access for a set period
- Door controllers on a separated, secured network, installed with the cabling and CCTV by the same engineers
- Installation, changes and support by our own engineers, never subcontracted
What is included
| Included | Detail |
|---|---|
| Survey | Every door, gate and entry point assessed, with the groups of people, the secure areas and the hours written down |
| Design | The readers, controllers, locks and credentials per door, the access groups and schedules, and how the system sits on your network |
| Installation | Readers, controllers and locks fitted by our engineers, with the cabling and the network separation done at the same time |
| Set-up | Users, groups, doors and schedules configured, credentials issued, and the records retention set |
| Integration | UniFi Access, working with UniFi Protect CCTV so a door event and its footage sit together, or Paxton Net2 where it suits the site better |
| Training | The people who manage access shown how to add, change and remove users and run a report |
| Support | Changes, new users, lost fobs and faults handled by our team, with the controllers monitored |
Not included, or sold separately
- Locks and doors beyond the system
- A door that needs replacing, a fire-rated door set or a gate motor is specified in the survey and supplied by a door or gate contractor
- Fire alarm integration
- Doors that must release on a fire alarm are wired to the alarm company's panel in agreement with them; the fire alarm itself is theirs
- Intruder alarms
- An alarm system and its monitoring are a separate contract; we coordinate with the alarm company and replace its analogue line before the switch-off
- The network and cabling
- New cabling to doors is installed by the same engineers under networking and cabling, priced with the project
How it is delivered
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Survey the building
Every entry point, who should pass through each and when, which areas are secure, which doors must release on a fire alarm, and whether a door entry line still runs on the analogue network.
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Design and price
Readers, controllers, locks and credentials per door, the access groups and schedules, the network design and records retention, priced as a fixed sum before anything is ordered.
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Install
Readers, controllers and locks fitted and cabled by our engineers, the controllers placed on a separated, secured network, and each door tested, including fire release where it applies.
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Configure and issue credentials
Users, groups, doors and schedules set up, fobs or cards issued, phone credentials where chosen, and the people who will manage it trained.
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Support and change
Joiners, leavers, lost fobs, a contractor for a week, a change of hours: a call to the service desk, answered within three rings, or a change your own administrator makes.
Why trust Odyssey with this
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In-house
Installed and supported by Odyssey engineers, never subcontracted
-
ISO
Certified to ISO 27001 for information security
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3
Calls answered within three rings, and a director is always reachable
- Supporting North East businesses since 1987
Questions people ask
What happens when someone leaves?
Their access is removed centrally at once, so there is no key to recover and no code to change, and the record shows their last entry. Joiners are added the same way, with the right doors and hours from day one.
Can access be limited to certain times?
Yes. Access can be set by person, door and time of day, for example staff-only areas outside office hours, cleaners in the evening, and a contractor for the week of a job.
Do staff use a fob, a card, a code or a phone?
Any of them, chosen per door and per group. Fobs and cards are simple and cheap; a personal code suits a small team; a phone credential suits staff who already carry one for work.
Can we see who has been in the building?
Yes. The system records who entered where and when, so you can check after an incident and show an insurer, an auditor or an ISO assessor who had access to secure areas.
Does it work with our CCTV and fire alarm?
Doors that must release on a fire alarm are wired to the alarm company's panel in agreement with them. CCTV is installed by the same engineers so the camera covering a door and the door's own record can be read together.
Our door entry runs on a phone line. Does the switch-off affect it?
Yes. A door entry panel on an analogue line stops working when the PSTN is retired on 31 January 2027. We check on every survey and replace the line with a digital service as part of the work.
Can we manage it ourselves?
Yes. The people you nominate are trained to add, change and remove users and run reports; anything larger, and any fault, goes to our service desk.
Who installs and supports the system?
Odyssey's own engineers, never subcontractors. The same team installs your cabling, network and CCTV, and supports the access control afterwards.
Challenges this helps with
Related services
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