Page 10 - Nevada Cooperator February 2019

10 THE NEVADA COOPERATOR
—FEBRUARY 2019
NEVADACOOPERATOR.COM
MANAGEMENT
Keys, Key Fobs, and Door Codes
Controlling Access to Your Building
BY A J SIDRANSKY
I
t’s been a long time since most people
have felt comfortable just leaving their
front doors unlocked. For better or
worse, security has become the order of the
day – and technology follows security needs.
Today, that path leads to electronic access.
And according to Bob Maunsell, the CEO of
Electronic Security Group in West Boylston,
Massachusetts, when it comes apartment
living, that usually means key fobs.
“Anyone who is in the process of refinanc-
ing or doing any major capital improvements
are installing keyless entry systems,” says
Maunsell. “Everyone is moving toward key
fobs. They’re also doing intercom upgrading
and video surveillance and getting rid of old-
fashioned mechanical keys, since there is no
way to keep track of them.”
That lack of security tracking is a major
factor in replacing old metal key systems
with electronic fob systems. “With keyless
entry,” Maunsell says, “you know who has
entered the building and at what time. You
can disable a fob when it’s lost, or when a ten-
ant moves out. It’s easier than having a lock-
smith come and change the lock.” Changing
a lock on an entry door also requires replac-
ing what could be dozens or even hundreds
of keys. Electronic technology simply elimi-
nates that problem.
Tony Dahlin, a security expert and owner
of Bullis Lock Co., in Chicago, says: “Fob
popularity has become prolific as the price
has dropped. [They’ve] long been popular
in the commercial sector, but with the price
dropping, condos and apartment buildings
are increasingly using the technology. Basi-
cally, fobs eliminate the need for a physical
key. If you hand somebody a key and they
don’t return it, you have to change the locks.
They can make duplicates of the missing key,
and you don’t know who has access to your
building. With fobs, that can’t happen – they
give you control over who enters, and when.
If a fob is lost, you just go into the software
and eliminate it without affecting anyone
else’s usage.”
How We Got Here
The first big move away from physical
keys was in the early 1990s, with the intro-
duction of Dallas chip keys, also known
as ‘transponder keys.’ They were originally
used as a car-key technology and contain a
very small computer chip inside that sends
an identifying message to authenticate the
key for the lock. As it happens, these old-
model chip keys are usually compatible with 11:00 in the evening. You can program the ration lived in a building with a fob entry sys-
today’s fob systems – though they may re-
quire a technology update.
“If it’s new construction, say, within the
last five years,” says Maunsell, “buildings diately,” says Dahlin. “It’s done with a key-
have been designed with keyless entry in stroke in system software and a replacement found dead in their formerly-shared home.
mind, in conjunction with entry video secu-
rity and intercom systems. At existing older reliant on locksmiths and schedules but can into the building using his fob and killed his
sites, they may have dated keyless entry sys-
tems. We run into this a lot. We simply do access to the internet.
an update of their system.”
In cities where there are literally thou-
sands of older residential buildings with only technology. Each fob is unique to the indi-
key-and-cylinder locking systems, retrofit-
ting is handled a little differently. “We’re not apartment, but if more are needed they can other forms of technology, and can be incor-
replacing the key system,” says Barak Ron, be created. Each is individually coded and porated with a wide array of surveillance sys-
CEO of Vertex Security in New York City. recognizable, so if your teenager swears he tems and phone apps. Dahlin explains that if
“We’re adding an additional layer of security was at school but was actually at home gam-
with the fob system. The owner replaces the ing, you can check the key fob log and con-
cylinder of the existing lock and keeps the front him or her with the receipts!
corresponding keys. He issues a new fob
to each resident. They begin using the fob far more serious than a kid staying home item that will open all the doors in one build-
system, which can be paired with various unauthorized. They leave a digital ‘finger-
phone-based apps for further identification print,’ which can be extremely useful to law multiple metal keys), including garages and
of visitors, delivery men and so forth, if de-
sired. Fobs are very flexible. Say you have a relates an incident that occurred in Massa-
roof deck, and you want to limit access after chusetts where a fob was critical in solving a
fobs for that.”
Benefits and Drawbacks
“Fobs can be replaced virtually imme-
fob.” And the replacement process is not As it turns out, the husband had slipped back
be done from almost anywhere where there’s wife. Horrible as it was, the case was closed
Maunsell points out that many traditional that included not only his identification, but
locksmiths are now getting training in fob the time of his entry. He was apprehended
vidual. Usually two fobs are issued to each
Fobs can also be used to solve crimes Fob systems also provide the user with one
enforcement in some situations. Maunsell buildings with adjacent parking facilities.
murder: A couple involved in a messy sepa-
tem. 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 wife was
quickly; the husband’s fob left a fingerprint
and the case solved.
Fob systems are also easily integrated with
you have a Wi-Fi connection, you can con-
trol access even better and integrate heating
and lighting controls in one holistic system.
ing (instead of needing a heavy ring with
Fob systems also provide for the program-
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
continued on page 15