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Card In / Card Out Access Control

October 13, 2018 access control / electric locking / Life Safety Hardware
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“Card-in / Card-out” refers to an access control system that is also an egress control system.  Users are required to present their credential both when they enter and when they exit.  Requiring employees to card in and out can simplify time and attendance tracking,  Requiring a credential to exit a secured space can reduce the risk of theft and help prevent unauthorized visitors from entering and exiting restricted areas.

When card-in/card-out systems are used to track employee hours, employees must present their credential to gain entry to their workplace and again when exiting to record their hours at work.  In this case there is no impediment to egress and life safety code is not affected.  When the purpose of the system is to only allow egress with presentation of a valid credential, this is where complication often sets in.

Frequently life safety codes and building security are seemingly at odds in their hardware requirements, and card-in/card-out systems can be one of those situations due to the ‘card-out’ side of the equation.  Life safety code demands that door hardware provide free egress with one motion with no prior knowledge required.  Therefore, a card-in / card-out system is potentially two violations in one, requiring prior knowledge (knowing that you need to bring your credential) and two motions (1. Present your credential, and 2. Push the door open); so it is a good idea to consult with your local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) before installing a card-in / card-out system that impedes free egress by demanding a credential.

The components necessary to create a card-in / card-out system are:

  1. Access Control Panel
  2. Exterior credential reader
  3. Interior credential reader

If the system will allow free egress this is all you need.  Most existing access control systems can be configured to accommodate card-in / card-out operation.  If the object is to record employee time and attendance, check with your access control company to see how their software can provide your Human Resources department or payroll service with attendance data.

If the system must restrict egress, one way to do so is to program the system to sound an alarm when a user attempts to exit without presenting their credential.  The alarm provides a deterrent to motivate compliance, and the alarm event can be time-stamped in the access control audit trail record.  If video surveillance is in service at the opening, the access control system can signal the CCTV system and images of the non-compliance event can be captured.  The alarm could be programmed to reset automatically when the door closes, or only when a valid credential is presented.  There are many options.

To further restrict egress, a delayed egress system can be added.   Delayed egress systems are highly regulated by fire safety code, so all delayed egress systems behave in similar ways:  after pressure is applied to the door or device for two or three seconds, an alarm sounds for fifteen seconds and then the system allows the user to exit.  The alarm continues to sound until the system is reset.  To comply with fire safety code the system will have signage on the door:

Von Duprin Chexit door label from Chexit installation instructions.

There are some variations.  For example, instead of two or three seconds of pressure on the door, some jurisdictions allow the fifteen-second alarmed delay to begin sounding right away; with written permission from the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) it is possible to have a thirty-second alarmed delay instead of fifteen seconds; some jurisdictions will allow the delayed egress system to self reset, others demand that the system be reset at the door.  Consult with your local AHJ for details.

The effectiveness of delayed egress as a prevention of unauthorized egress is dependent upon how fast personnel can respond, especially if the intent of the system is to inhibit theft.  I imagine that fifteen seconds seems like a very long time to someone who has just set off the alarm and is waiting to escape with their stolen industrial secrets or whatever, but it is really not a long period of time in which to apprehend a thief.  On the other hand, if the thief had to pass a security guard after getting past the delayed egress system, s/he would be less likely to escape.




Life safety is never to be ignored.

 

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Experiencing the New Von Duprin Chexit

August 20, 2016 door hardware / electric locking / Life Safety Hardware / security hardware
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Chexit door label from Chexit installation instructions.

Von Duprin Chexit door label from Chexit installation instructions.

Last year Von Duprin began shipping Chexit self-contained delayed egress exit devices that are motorized instead of solenoid driven.  Since they are motorized, the new Chexits draw less current and will probably be more reliable than the previous solenoid-driven version. This means a less serious, less expensive power supply, less need for high capacity, high gauge, high cost wire and greatly increased workable wire run distances – all good things.

The new Chexit will do everything the old Chexit did, including release of the outside lever trim when the external inhibit function is activated by access control or another external switch.  That remains a way to get access control out of a Chexit by simply adding a blank escutcheon or other unlocked outside trim to the Chexit exit device.

As of this writing Exit-only function Chexit devices were being shipped less the part number 040193-00 cable used to connect the E996L to the Chexit PC board.  The cables are only provided if you order the Chexit from the factory with trim, but that is okay as long as you want to use no trim or non-electric trim.  Electrified trim is a means to provide fail secure access control from the trim side, so if the fire alarm goes off and powers down the Chexit, the fail secure electrified trim will stay locked.  Entry can still be gained by key.

On another note, recently I was involved in an application where the installer was replacing a mortise exit device and wanted delayed egress from the push side and free ingress from the pull side.  Luckily it was a mortise device, so all I had to do was provide a Chexit mortise exit device with blank escutcheon (passage function) trim because THE MORTISE LOCK ACTS INDEPENDENTLY FROM THE CHEXIT ON THE TRIM SIDE. Cool. 🙂

Bear in mind that  the Chexit remains active while people are using the passage function trim to get in, so if they happen to depress the touch bar, say by bumping it up against the wall for two seconds, they may activate the Chexit alarm.   Von Duprin Tech Support suggested a palm switch on the trim side to activate the inhibit circuit in the Chexit while a person enters from that side.

 




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Locking People In

August 12, 2011 access control / door hardware / Life Safety Hardware / security hardware
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I often get a request to help create a system that locks people in.  People want to lock children inside a daycare center, students inside a “Time-Out” room, babies inside a nursery in a maternity hospital or patients inside, for example, an Alzheimer’s disease in-patient facility for their own good.

“Well, what if there’s a fire?” I ask.

That’s really the issue.  If we are keeping them in, how are they supposed to get out in the event of a fire?  Yet, except when there is a fire or other emergency that renders the building unsafe, it is in their best interest if they are kept inside.

Often, people simply want to lock people in with an electromagnetic lock or other device.  Since this is certainly a violation of life safety code, any injury that may result would be uninsurable and could invite litigation.

I discuss delayed egress systems in depth in another article (click here to read).     A delayed egress system is really the right way to do this, since it is actually covered in the NFPA 101A Special Locking Arrangements section of the fire safety code, but it is fairly inconvenient to use.  To get out without setting off an alarm users must use some kind of bypass request to exit switch like a keypad, card reader or key switch – much less convenient than, say, simply pushing a door open via the push pad on an exit device.

The gist of a delayed egress system is that, after a short ‘nuisance’ delay, the lock sounds an alarm for fifteen seconds and then lets the person out.  That means that authorities on the secured premises have fifteen seconds to get to the exit and prevent unauthorized egress.

Where unauthorized egress is not a life threatening prospect, therefore, a delayed egress system is perfectly adequate.  However, when a person’s life may depend on being kept inside their care facility, a more complex solution maybe required.

A great solution for Alzheimer’s or other dementia care facilities is the WanderGuard system by Stanley.  This system is designed for Alzheimer’s and other health care facilities where unscheduled patient departure is an issue, and covers other needs with fall monitoring and patient call capabilities.  Patients are fitted with bracelets that serve as tracking and communication devices.  As one might expect, such a system is not inexpensive and a bit on the overkill side for use in a day care center or maternity facility.  To physically keep people inside the facility, the WanderGuard system is designed to interface with delayed egress locks.

I think that the WanderGuard system would be a good choice for use in maternity ward nurseries as well.

The situation is more challenging when you have a day care center or a “Time-Out” room.

I had heard that Schlage was coming out with a mechanical time out lock, but a search as of today renders only the same Time-Out Room solution:  An electromagnetic lock with a momentary pushbutton.  The troublesome child is forced into a room, the door is shut, and then the teacher or other disciplinarian must physically press the momentary contact pushbutton to keep the magnetic locked locked.  As soon as the teacher lets go, the child is free.

As long as the button is momentary, I have no problem with this idea.  Should there be a fire or other life safety emergency, even if the teacher panics and runs away, leaving the child in the Time Out Room, the child will still be able to leave the room and exit the building.

The right way to prevent the kids in a daycare center from running out of the building and into the street without permission is with a delayed egress system.  True, it may be cumbersome to punch in a code on a keypad or present a proximity card for authorized egress, but delayed egress systems can be easily deactivated for periods of time, say, for drop off and pick up.  A delayed egress system is more expensive than, for example, an electromagnetic lock connected to the fire alarm system for safety.  But if you run the scenario of a fire in your mind, the fire alarm interface to the electromagnet malfunctions, panicked children and day care providers flinging themselves against an illegally locked door, too crazed with fear to think – suddenly a delayed egress system makes a lot more sense.

There is really only one place you can really lock someone in, and that’s in a jail or prison.  Otherwise there must be some provision to let them out – for safety’s sake.

 

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