BluBØX Visitor/Vendor Credentials and Security System Integration
BluSKY software and BluBØX hardware offer the most comprehensive array of physical and digital Visitor/Vendor credentials and access control integration with portals, turnstiles, relay elevators, and destination dispatch elevators.
This document outlines the many considerations for integrating BluSKY visitor/vendor credentials with a BluBØX access control system of any type. They affect cost, what can be done operationally and the visitor and vendor experience. All should be considered in evaluating current capabilities, future expansion and building and technology trends.
Most facility owners will tell you they desire fast, frictionless and secure visitor and vendor processing requiring the least amount of manpower. But what does it take to achieve this, what are the variables to consider and what are the drivers of success? The list below provides the key drivers for each component. The BluBØX/BluSKY solution was specifically designed to deliver these key drivers. As a result, BluBØX/BluSKY provides the fastest, easiest and most secure visitor/vendor processing with the least amount of manpower for a large variety of facilities across many vertical markets.
Fast |
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Frictionless |
|
Secure |
|
Least Manpower |
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Lastly, we know from experience that what we are doing today will not be what we are doing tomorrow. Threats, market conditions, technology changes. And they change now faster than ever. It is therefore important to have a fluid integrated access/visitor/vendor system that can easily adapt to changes over time.
Typical Number of Visitors and Vendors Based on Size of a Facility
The first thing to understand when evaluating visitor and vendor credential options and access control integration is the number of expected visitors and vendors per day in a facility. This drives the annual cost of credentials, the number and types of readers required, reader locations and what can be expected from a preauthorization and operational standpoint. The chart below provides the average number of daily visitors and vendors in a commercial or corporate facility in the US based upon the size of the facility. These numbers will vary based upon tenancy and type of facility but are good averages for the purpose of system design.
Facility (Sq Ft) |
User |
Visitors |
Vendors |
50,000 |
250 |
30 |
5 |
100,000 |
500 |
60 |
10 |
200,000 |
1,000 |
120 |
20 |
300,000 |
1,500 |
180 |
30 |
400,000 |
2,000 |
240 |
40 |
500,000 |
2,500 |
300 |
50 |
600,000 |
3,000 |
360 |
60 |
700,000 |
3,500 |
420 |
70 |
800,000 |
4,000 |
480 |
80 |
900,000 |
4,500 |
540 |
90 |
1,000,000 |
5,000 |
600 |
100 |
1,100,000 |
5,500 |
660 |
110 |
1,200,000 |
6,000 |
720 |
120 |
1,300,000 |
6,500 |
780 |
130 |
1,400,000 |
7,000 |
840 |
140 |
1,500,000 |
7,500 |
900 |
150 |
2,000,000 |
8,000 |
1,200 |
200 |
Credential Options and Costs
BluBØX supports the entire spectrum of credentials including:
- Paper
- Paper Barcode
- MiFARE
- Prox & iClass
- Smartphone Barcode
- Smartphone Bluetooth
- Smartphone Remote
- Biometric (Person Reader)
Each type of credential provides a different type of visitor experience. It also drives access control integration, associated user and reader requirements and an optimal way of provisioning the credential. The best visitor and vendor system is one that uses MULTIPLE types of credentials to achieve the highest level of frictionless security.
Credential Type |
Cost |
Reuse |
Desk Req. |
Reader |
User Requirement/ Interaction |
Paper – 1 ply B&W |
$0.15 |
N |
Y |
None |
S/O release |
Paper – 1 ply Color |
$0.25 |
N |
Y |
None |
S/O release |
Paper – 2 ply B&W |
$0.20 |
N |
Y |
None |
S/O release |
Paper – 2 ply Color |
$0.30 |
N |
Y |
None |
S/O release |
Self-Expiring Add |
$0.05 |
N |
Y |
None |
S/O release |
Paper – 1 ply B&W -Barcode |
$0.20 |
N |
Y |
Barcode |
Paper badge presented to reader |
Paper – 2 ply Color -Barcode |
$0.30 |
N |
Y |
Barcode |
Paper badge presented to reader |
MiFARE |
$0.50 |
Y |
Y |
iClass, SE, SEOS or equal |
MiFARE card presented to reader |
MiFARE w/ Photo-ID |
$0.70 |
N |
Y |
iClass, SE, SEOS or equal |
MiFARE card presented to reader |
Prox or iClass |
$4.00 |
Y |
Y |
iClass, SE, SEOS or equal |
Prox card presented to reader |
Prox or iClass w/ Photo-ID |
$4.25 |
N |
Y |
iClass, SE, SEOS or equal |
Prox card presented to reader |
BluPASS Barcode |
$0.50 |
N |
N |
Barcode |
Smartphone w/ barcode presented to reader |
BluPASS Bluetooth (HID Credential) |
$0.50 |
N |
N |
iClass SE, SEOS or equal |
Download HID app, download HID credential, Smartphone twist at reader (Bluetooth on) |
BluPASS Remote |
$0.50 |
N |
N |
None |
Smartphone button releases portal or floor |
Face / Name |
$0.50 |
N |
Y |
Person Reader |
Person presents themselves to Person Reader |
Annual Credential Costs Based on Credential Type and Facility Size
Visitor Preauthorization and Ad-Hoc Visitors
There are two types of visitors that arrive; preauthorized by a host and ones that have not (ad-hoc). The time to process each type of visitor is significantly different.
Average time to process a preauthorized visitor = 15-20 sec
Average time to process an ad-hoc visitor = 2 min +
The amount of time it takes to process an ad-hoc visitor is so much greater than a pre-authorized visitor because their information needs to be entered into the system and they need to be approved by someone. In addition to being a much less secure transaction, ad-hoc visitors distract security personnel from watching the facility. Ad-hoc visitors also increase the time other visitors have to wait to be processed. Having too high a count of ad-hoc visitors also leads to queueing in the lobby/reception area. The visitor experience for an ad-hoc visitor is not nearly as nice as a pre-authorized visitor. In short, a facilities goal should be to increase the number of pre-authorized visitors and decrease the number of ad-hoc visitors. It is impossible to eliminate all ad-hoc visitors, but they can be reduced significantly. The best-run facilities achieve a pre-authorization rate of 85%-90%. Only 10-15% ad-hoc unannounced visitors.
Rating |
Pre-authorization Rate |
Excellent |
85% + |
Average |
45% - 75% |
Poor |
< 45% |
Visitor Preauthorization and What to Expect
Pre-Authorization % |
% Email/SMS |
% Receive Digital Credential |
% Desk |
85% |
33% |
28% |
72% |
55% |
33% |
18% |
82% |
35% |
33% |
12% |
88% |
Preauthorization rate is also VERY IMPORTANT when it comes to the type of credential and access control integration. Digital credentials do well in high pre-authorization rate facilities but do poorly when the rate is low. Even in the best-run facilities only 28% of the visitors use the barcode or QR code on their smartphone. This is mainly due to the combination that not all visitors are pre-authorized and only 33% of the hosts include an email or mobile number for their guest. They either don’t know it or can’t be bothered to include it. This results in the majority of the visitors still needing to go to the Security desk.
Technology, Strategies, and Policies that Achieve the Highest Preauthorization Rate
A high visitors/vendor preauthorization rate is the single biggest contributor to fast, frictionless and secure visitor/vendor admissions. The highest rates are achieved by doing the following
- Good visitor/vendor policies and procedures
- Maximize the number of hosts that can preauthorize
- Easy host self-registration and online instructions
- Simple, intuitive pre-authorization interface
- Host pre-authorization from any device, anywhere, anytime
- Preapproved vendor list
- Always finding the visitor if they have been entered into the system – even incorrectly
- Reminder email when the host doesn’t pre-authorize their visitors/vendors
- Reinforcing good behavior
Good Visitor/Vendor Policies and Procedures
Good visitor/vendor policies and procedures have a significant impact on achieving fast, frictionless and secure visitor/vendor admissions. In particular they can drive and maintain high preauthorization rates even as a people in the facility change. It’s always a balancing act between convenience and security but the best policies and procedures to achieve the results are:
- All visitors and vendors must be preauthorized by a host, even if they show up unannounced
- Security officers will not enter visitors on behalf their hosts
- Security officers will not provide host contact information to a visitor
- Security officers will use the driver’s license scanner for processing visitors/vendors
- Large groups of visitors will use pre-printed credentials
- Large groups of visitors will be identified to Security and Operations
- Visitors/vendors will receive digital credentials and/or admission instructions when host preauthorizes with visitor email or mobile number
- Visitors/vendors that arrive unannounced will generate a reminder email to the host to preauthorize their visitors/vendors along with instructions
- Visitors/vendor will be announced to the host via email when the check-in
- Everyone in a facility will have the ability to preauthorize their own visitors/vendors
- Vendors will be facility approved and carry the proper insurance
- Vendor Certificate of Insurance expiration/remittance reminders will be automatically sent 3, 2, 1 month and 2 weeks before expiration
- Companies will administer their own hosts and who has permission to preauthorize visitors/vendors
- Companies will run their own visitor/vendor preauthorization and admissions reports
Simple, intuitive interface – Pre-authorization and processing
Like most things in life, the easier something is to do, the more likely people will do it or accept it. The same is true for visitor pre-authorization. A simple intuitive interface goes a long way to gaining pre-authorization adoption. The easier it is to preauthorize your visitors the more visitors are preauthorized. For this reason, the BluSKY interface is very simple and intuitive. Most users just looking at it and adding their visitor(s).
The same can also be said for the security officers or reception that uses BluSKY to processes visitors. The interface is simple, intuitive and the process is streamlined to maximize speed. BluSKY uses:
- Credential Scanners
- Intelligent Search
- Touchscreen Devices
- Built-in Web Cams
- Card enrollment Readers
- Group Search
- Mobile Visitor Processing
Features and techniques to reduce the visitor processing speed to 15-20 sec/pre-authorized visitor
• Host pre-authorization from any device, anywhere, anytime
• Recurring visits, approved vendors, multiple visitors/vendors, spreadsheet upload
• Pre-authorized visitors
• Pre-authorized visitor instructions
• An appropriate number of visitor stations
• Fast PCs/tablets with touchscreen monitors
• License scanner
• Credential scanner
• Visitor badge preprinting
• Group processing
• Smart search and multiple search
• Integrated visitor, vendor, and access control
• Digital credentials delivered to a smartphone
• Self-check-in, DIY processing
• Host self-registration and online instructions
• Host pre-authorization from any device, anywhere, anytime
• Single database for access control and visitor/vendor management
• Visitor/vendor calendar integration
• Anyone in the facility can preauthorize – maximize
• Pre-authorized visitor instructions and customizable notifications
• Intelligence – automated preauthorization reminders
• Visitor/vendor arrival notification
• Vendor certificate of insurance integration
• Minimal waiting
• Multiple credentials, readers and ways to be processed
• Intuitive credentials and access integration
• Proximity credentials
• Digital credentials
• No credentials
• Self-check-in, DIY processing
• No check-in
• Person Reader
• Proper visitor/vendor policies and procedures
• Host visitor/vendor pre-authorization
• Preapproved vendors
• Limited access
• Host controlled access
• Watchlist integration
• No queueing
• Mobile visitor processing
• Integrated visitor, vendor, and access control
• Electronic audit trail of visitors/vendors
• Person Reader
• Pre-authorized visitors
• Integrated visitor, vendor, and access control
• Digital credentials delivered to a smartphone
• No credentials delivered to a smartphone
• Pre-authorized visitor instructions
• Self-check-in, DIY processing
• Person Reader
Visitors Bypassing the Security Desk
BluREMOTE
Preprinting Paper or Proximity Badges
Driver’s License Scanners
Taking Visitor or Vendor Photos
Credential Scanners
Mobile Check In
Perimeter Check In
License Plate Capture
Self-Serve Kiosks
Limited Space and Multiple Readers
One of the big challenges of integrating visitor and vendor credentials with access control is the limited space available
Printers
Types, Costs, Pros, Cons, Best Use
- Inkjet
- Thermal
- Dye Sub
- Laser
Paper Badges
BluBØX recommends Color, Fan Fold, Two-Ply paper badges for the following reasons:
Color |
Black & White |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recommend: Color
Fan Fold |
Roll |
Badges are straight out of the printer making it easier while scanning or inserting badges into barcode readers |
Badges curl out of the printer making it more difficult while scanning or inserting badges into barcode readers |
More expensive |
Less expensive |
Recommend: Fan Fold
Two Ply |
One Ply |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recommend: Two Ply