Securing Warehouses and Manufacturing Facilities: 3 Tips from ProdataKey
- ProdataKey
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
From high-traffic loading docks to busy packaging areas and sensitive IT rooms, warehouses and manufacturing facilities are high-traffic spaces that require detailed security protocols. As a critical part of the global economy, warehouses and manufacturing spaces need to protect life and property at all times.
ProdataKey’s (PDK) industry-leading cloud-based access control technologies are a perfect solution for this critical industry. To help our partners achieve the best installs in these spaces, we spoke with Joshua Woodard, a PDK partner and Operations Manager at Crossroads Technologies, to gather some expert advice for integrators working in this industry.
Understand Client Needs
Before diving into an installation, Joshua insists that integrators should focus on understanding the essential needs of their customer. “Take time to figure out what the client's needs are, and how you can best help them control what they’re doing in each space,” he explains.
In particular, Joshua recommends that integrators ask two key questions:
What specific spots need to have controlled access?
What are the compliance needs for the space?
For facilities that see a lot of people and goods entering and exiting, it’s important to secure perimeter entry points, such as loading bays and gate entrances. Other areas that typically need secure access in warehouses and manufacturing spaces are IT rooms and tool storage rooms, which hold valuable equipment and pieces of technology. With PDK, these rooms can be reliably secured and monitored, making it easier than ever to pull audit logs when needed.
Installers should have detailed conversations with their customers and create a thought-out plan, allowing them to set up a system that meets all of the unique security and compliance needs of the space.
Create Integrated Systems
An access control system is strengthened when integrated with additional security tools, allowing users to protect life and property from multiple angles. With an Open API and a large database of available integrations on PDK.io, ProdataKey empowers partners to create the perfect integrated systems for their customers.
Joshua points out two integrations that are particularly useful in warehouses and manufacturing spaces: surveillance cameras and alarm systems.
“We’ll often set up cameras at the doors, showing when a key fob or a code is entered,” he explains. “The cameras take a clip of who is using that credential at that time, and our customers can look at that to check that somebody isn’t passing off a credential to someone who shouldn’t have it.” With bookmarked access events, soft triggers, critical alerts, and more, PDK’s surveillance integrations allow users to take both a proactive and reactive approach to their security.
For enhanced protection of life and property, integrators can also tie their PDK system into alarm systems, like fire alarms, burglar alarms, gunshot detectors, and more.
“I like to integrate ProdataKey with fire alarm systems—when a fire alarm goes off, the doors will release so first responders can get into the building.”
Through these integrations, PDK empowers warehouses to achieve faster response times and stronger protection across their entire operation.
Make Management as Simple as Possible
In fast-paced environments where employees and resources come and go frequently, easy system management is a necessity. Luckily, PDK.io contains various features that allow security administrators to automate key processes and manage their access with ease, all without compromising on safety.
“We use automatic door scheduling to keep up with normal day-to-day hours. This makes daily management easier, and it helps to make sure that keys aren’t being passed around between employees.”
Joshua Woodard
In addition to daily management, ProdataKey makes it easier than ever to add and remove people from a system—an essential task in the warehouse and manufacturing industry. “With these spaces, we see quite a bit of turnover as far as the day-to-day staff goes,” says Joshua. In order to keep up with employees on- and off-boarding, administrators need to be able to assign, update, and revoke credentials with ease.
Luckily, with ProdataKey, new credentials can be added instantly, and access can be revoked with just a few clicks—no need to track down physical keys or rekey doors. Additionally, all of these changes can be made any time, anywhere, and from any device, giving security managers the ultimate flexibility.
Stronger Security for Warehouses & Manufacturing
Warehouses and manufacturing facilities depend on efficiency and control around the clock. And with PDK, integrators can deliver just that. By understanding customer needs, creating integrated systems, and simplifying access management, integrators can utilize ProdataKey’s access control solutions to keep people, property, and productivity safe throughout this unique industry.
