Page 8 - CooperatorNews Nevada EXPO 2021

8 COOPERATORNEWS NEVADA—
EXPO 2021
NEVADA.COOPERATORNEWS.COM
MANAGEMENT
Unless you live in Mayberry (and maybe tions to replace old metal key systems with into the software and deactivate it without
even if you do), chances are you wouldn’t electronic fob systems. “There’s no good affecting anyone else’s usage.”
be comfortable leaving your house or go-
ing to bed and just leaving your front doors chanical keys,” says Maunsell. “With keyless
unlocked. Nor would you likely approve of entry, you know who has entered the build-
anyone who passed by your home being ing and at what time. You can disable a fob troduction of Dallas chip keys, also known
able to just come in uninvited and roam when it’s lost, or when a tenant moves out. as ‘transponder keys.’ They were originally
around unescorted. Despite an uptick in It’s much easier than having a locksmith used as a car-key technology and contain a
recent years, U.S. crime levels—even in big come and change the lock.” Changing a lock very small computer chip inside that sends
cities—are historically low overall. But that on an entry door also requires replacing an identifying message to authenticate the
doesn’t mean that security isn’t a major con-
cern for boards and residents alike. Condos keys. Electronic technology simply elimi-
and HOAs still need to secure their proper-
ties and control who’s allowed to go where.
Fob Life
Security technology follows security in Chicago, Illinois, says, “Fob popularity say, within the last five years,” says Maun-
needs—and today, that path usually involves has really grown as the price has dropped. sell, “buildings have been designed with
electronic access. According to Bob Maun-
sell, CEO of Electronic Security Group mercial sector, but with the price drop-
in West Boylston, Massachusetts, when it ping, condos and apartment buildings are
comes to condo and HOA living, electronic increasingly using the technology. If you keys are often compatible with today’s fob
access usually means key fobs. “Anyone who hand somebody a [mechanical] key and systems—though they may require a tech-
is in the process of refinancing or doing any they don’t return it, you have to change the nology update. “Older existing sites may
major capital improvements is installing locks. They can make duplicates of the miss-
keyless entry systems,” says Maunsell. “Ev-
eryone is moving toward key fobs. They’re to your building. With fobs, that can’t hap-
also doing intercom upgrading and video pen—they give you control over who en-
surveillance.”
Lack of that type of security tracking is a a physical key. If a fob is lost, you just go only mechanical, key-and-cylinder locking
major factor leading buildings and associa-
way to keep track of old-fashioned me-
what could be dozens or even hundreds of key for the lock.
nates that problem.
It also saves money. Tony Dahlin, a se-
curity expert and owner of Bullis Lock Co. residential alike. “If it’s new construction,
[They’ve] long been popular in the com-
ing key, and you don’t know who has access Maunsell. “We run into this a lot. We simply
ters, and when, and eliminate the need for sands of older residential buildings with
How We Got Here
The first big move away from physical
keys was in the early 1990s, with the in-
Today, the latest incarnation of this tech
is often baked right into newly-built build-
ings of all types, commercial, industrial, and
keyless entry in mind, in conjunction with
entry video security and intercom systems.”
And as it happens, these old-model chip
have dated keyless entry systems,” says
do an update of their system.”
In cities where there are literally thou-
systems, retrofitting is handled a little dif-
ferently. When an older building wants to
upgrade their access control, “we’re not re-
placing the key system,” says Barack Ron,
CEO of Vertex Security in New York City.
“We’re adding an additional layer of secu-
rity with the fob system. The owner replaces
the cylinder of the existing lock and keeps
the corresponding keys. He issues a new
fob to each resident. They begin using the
fob system, which can be paired with vari-
ous phone-based apps for further identifi-
cation of visitors, delivery workers, and so
forth, if desired. Fobs are very flexible. Say
you have a roof deck, and you want to limit
access after 11:00 in the evening. You can
program the fobs for that.”
Benefits & Drawbacks
If ever lost, damaged, or compromised,
“fobs can be replaced virtually immediate-
ly,” says Dahlin. “It’s done with a keystroke
in system software and a replacement fob.”
The process can be done from almost any-
where where there’s access to the internet,
which eliminates the reliance on finding
an available locksmith (and the often ex-
orbitant expense of summoning a profes-
sional during off-hours or on a weekend).
Maunsell points out that many traditional
locksmiths are now getting training in fob
technology.
Like mechanical keys, each fob is unique
to the individual it’s assigned to. In a multi-
family context, usually two fobs are issued
to each apartment, but if more are needed
they can easily be created. Each is individu-
ally coded and recognizable, so if your teen-
ager swears he was at school—but was ac-
tually at home gaming—you can check the
key fob log and present him or her with the
receipts!
Parental peace-of-mind notwithstand-
ing, fobs can also be used to solve crimes far
more serious than a kid staying home un-
authorized. They leave a digital ‘fingerprint,’
which can be extremely useful to law en-
forcement in some situations. For example,
Maunsell relates an incident that occurred
in Massachusetts where a fob was critical
in solving a murder: A couple involved in
a messy separation lived in a building with
a fob entry system. The husband had been
kicked out of the apartment, and there was
a restraining order forbidding him from
coming within 300 feet of his estranged
wife. Tragically, the husband used his still-
Controlling Access to Your Building
Keys, Fobs, & Door Codes
BY A J SIDRANSKY
continued on page 22