Access Doors: Security and Managing Risk

Think about the last time someone left your organization. Did their access get revoked the same day? What about the HVAC contractor who came through six months ago? Or the property manager at one of your buildings who left in the spring?

Former employees, contractors, or vendors might still have access to your building without your knowledge. It isn’t malicious, but this security issue is an avoidable safety risk. You won’t want to wait until you experience a security breach to make it a priority.

This post can help you think through door access before that moment arrives. We'll cover what makes a strong access system, which industries face the most unique challenges, and what questions you should be asking as you evaluate or update your approach.

Why Is Door Access Control So Important for Property Managers?

Door access control matters because property managers are responsible for the safety of their buildings. Minnesota building codes set requirements for how doors are built, how they function in an emergency, and how they meet accessibility standards. But they don't tell you what kind of access control system to use or how to manage credentials. That part is up to you.

A well-run access system keeps a clear log of who entered which area and when. It also allows you to act quickly: if a credential is compromised, lost, or no longer needed, you can deactivate it immediately without a locksmith or a hardware replacement.

Without a clear process in place, shared codes make their way to people who shouldn't have them, lost cards stay active, and contractor credentials pile up long after the job is done. Over time, you lose visibility into who is in your buildings and the ability to respond when concerns arise.

For property managers overseeing multiple locations, this is even harder to manage. Each new building, new tenant, and new vendor relationship is another thread to track. A centralized access system helps make this manageable.

What Should You Ask Before Evaluating a Door Access System?

Before selecting or updating an access system, review your current situation. Walk through each facility with these questions in mind:

• Who are the doors for? Identify every category of person who needs access , such as employees, tenants, vendors, contractors, seasonal staff, and emergency services.
• Are the doors functioning correctly? Test each exterior and interior door to make sure they latch properly, trigger alarms when needed, and open fully in an emergency.
• Are doors well-lit? Poor lighting creates blind spots for cameras and makes it harder to identify people entering or exiting, especially in parking areas and stairwells.
• What credential type fits your needs? Keypads, keycards, key fobs, or mobile credentials each come with different tradeoffs for security and day-to-day management.
• Will new doors need to be installed, or can existing ones be updated? Updating existing doors is often possible and more cost-effective for established buildings.
• Will exit doors open in an emergency? Life safety requires that emergency exits are never blocked by an access system failure.

Once you have answers, build or update your access management plan. Here's where to start:

1. Set up a clear onboarding and offboarding process for employees, with credential deactivation happening on the day someone leaves.
2. Create a system for vendor and contractor access, including how it gets granted, how it gets monitored, and when it expires.
3. Put a policy in place for reporting lost or stolen credentials, and make sure everyone knows what it is.
4. Build a response plan for access breaches, such as who gets notified, how quickly, and what steps follow.
5. Schedule annual door testing to confirm alarms and locks are working as expected.
6. Loop in your door provider any time you're adding new doors or updating existing ones.

How Do Door Access Needs Vary Across Different Facility Types?

Different building types have different access needs. You’ll want to match the right solution to the right property, even when you're managing all of them from the same desk.

Senior Living and Memory Care

In senior living communities, access is usually set up in layers based on the type of care and where someone lives on the property. Independent living residents may come and go fairly freely, while memory care units need tighter control. Exterior doors stay locked to prevent residents from wandering, and staff access is limited based on their role, shift, and area of responsibility.

Fire safety adds another layer of complexity. In a memory care unit, doors need to automatically unlock during a fire so residents can get out safely. But that also means staff need a plan for keeping residents from wandering out through those same doors during an emergency. The fire system and the access system need to be set up to work together.

Multi-Family and Mixed-Use Residential

In apartment buildings and mixed-use properties, the challenge is sheer volume. There may be hundreds of residents, frequent move-ins and move-outs, and a steady stream of service vendors coming through. Each area of the building — entry doors, laundry rooms, parking garages, package rooms, amenity spaces — needs its own set of access rules.

Keycards and key fobs are standard, but keeping credentials current takes real administrative effort. When a tenant moves out, their access needs to be turned off right away. When a new tenant moves in, their access needs to be ready before move-in day. A system that lets you manage all of this from one place makes a big difference, especially when you're overseeing multiple buildings at once.

Schools and Educational Facilities

Public schools are generally open during school hours, but that doesn't mean every door should be accessible to every visitor at all times. Evening events, sports programs, and facility rentals create situations where parts of the building need to stay open while others stay locked. Access schedules need to reflect that.

Private schools often keep doors locked during the school day, using shared codes or individual cards and fobs. Shared codes are a real vulnerability because they often spread quickly and are hard to take back once they're out there. Individual cards and fobs are more secure, but they can be lost. If a lost credential isn't reported and deactivated quickly, anyone who finds it can walk right in.

One detail that's easy to miss: floating holidays. Thanksgiving, MLK Day, and similar holidays fall on different dates each year and need to be manually updated in the access system. If the calendar doesn't get updated, doors that should be locked may stay open, or staff may show up and find themselves locked out.

High-Traffic Commercial Facilities

High-traffic commercial facilities, like airports, have tens of thousands of employees with credentials for different areas of the property. The bigger the credentialed population, the harder it is to keep track of who still needs access and who doesn't. Lost or outdated badges often go unreported, and over time the number of active credentials that shouldn't be active quietly grows.

Don't wait for someone to leave before reviewing access. A regular audit of who has access to what, and whether that access still makes sense, is one of the lowest-cost ways to reduce risk across your properties.

Final Thoughts on Door Access

Any breach in access can put the people and places you're responsible for in a vulnerable position. Keycards, key fobs, and codes are only as reliable as the people using them and the processes behind them.

Breaches will happen eventually, so the goal is to be ready when they do. People are supposed to report lost or stolen credentials right away, but in practice they often don't. That means there are active credentials out there that nobody is accounting for. Having a plan in place — and acting on it quickly — is what separates a manageable situation from a serious one.

If you're not sure where to start, Brothers Fire & Security can help you work through your access needs, policies, and options. Give us a call at 800-607-2767 and we'll set up a free evaluation.