Manual Key Management Challenges
Let’s first look at some challenges event managers and corporate administrators face while managing keys manually.
· Lost or Misplaced Keys: When multiple staff members handle keys, keys can go missing or may get misplaced, resulting in costly lock replacements, delays, and, worse, potential security breaches.
· Lack of Accountability: Manual key records are prone to errors or manipulation. They complicate key tracking, making it challenging to discover who took the key, for how long, and for what purpose.
· Time-Consuming Tracking: Looking through registers or physically locating missing keys wastes time, particularly during events.
· Unauthorized Access Risks: When managed manually, you cannot monitor keys in real-time. This can make it difficult to detect if someone accesses restricted areas without the necessary permissions or approvals.
· Inefficient Record-Keeping: Paper-based key documents or records can get lost or damaged. This can make audits and compliance difficult.
· Operational Delays: Misplaced or lost keys can delay services, pause work, and cause unnecessary downtime during a critical event.
Modern challenges, expectations, and the overall landscape require event organizers and companies to go beyond the manual approach. These new-age dynamics require them to upgrade to something more efficient. Tech-based key management systems address these concerns effectively. Let’s explore how.
Key Management Systems – The Key to Intelligent Key Tracking and Handling!
From ensuring real-time key visibility to data-driven insights, here’s how key management systems help you manage your keys more seamlessly.
· Updated Key Visibility
Manual systems don’t provide full visibility into key allocation. This hinders your capability to know who has taken which key and for what purpose. One reason is manual key recording and documentation. However, key management systems involve maintaining a digital record of keys and looking at allocation through a centralized dashboard. Thus, you can know the details of the key instantly.
· Improved Security and Access Control
While managing keys manually, there’s a chance that anyone can pick any key and enter any area without proper authorization. A tech-based key control system helps avoid such awkward and potentially harmful situations. The system allows taking keys based on an individual’s role or authority through digital authentication (biometric, PIN, or card). It ensures sensitive areas stay protected, preventing any unusual or undesirable situations.
· Automated Audit Trails
Key management systems record every single key transaction. It means they automatically document details such as the person’s name, designation, the time when they took and returned the key, and the purpose. The systems create timestamps in a central, unchangeable database, simplifying audits and compliance.
· Instant Alerts and Notifications
Often, while managing keys manually, key returns may get delayed, consciously or unconsciously. In situations like these, the system raises overdue alerts, after which the administrators can follow up with the concerned user. Additionally, the system sends alerts for unauthorized attempts to enable timely action.
· Quick Key Retrieval
Key management systems allow staff members to quickly retrieve the keys they require without waiting for the supervisor to record the transaction. It can help expedite critical tasks and functions such as maintenance, restocking, and event setup.
· Remote Management
Manual key management requires the manager or shift supervisor to be physically present while allocating keys. However, advanced, tech-based key management systems enable you to manage keys remotely from a central dashboard.
So, for example, you can remotely grant, revoke, or modify user access rights for a particular key that belongs to building B while sitting in building A.
· Reduced Key Loss and Replacement Costs
Manual key management can lead to the loss of keys. In many cases, these keys go missing forever. You can never track them. In a situation like this, making another key is the only option. The reason? The lack of accountability and monitoring of overdue keys. But key management systems enforce these factors with automated alerts. The result is fewer lost keys and reduced rekeying expenses.
· Simplified Compliance and Reporting
Digital key management systems also enable you to generate comprehensive, accurate reports for internal security reviews or external regulatory compliance. The data demonstrates the stringent key control procedures you’ve been following.
· Data-Driven Insights
While prone to errors and inefficiencies, manual key management is also reactive. There’s little to no scope to identify improvements and implement them. But key management systems help you store data that provides reports of usage patterns, help identify bottlenecks, and potential security risks. You can have the insights you need to formulate better management strategies and increase key handling efficiency.
Final Thoughts
Key management is undoubtedly crucial from the viewpoint of safety and operational efficiency. Therefore, when you manage multiple keys for different locations at once, you certainly cannot risk the function by managing everything manually. You need a tech-powered system to create a robust key management ecosystem.So, if you are looking for such a system, you must choose DAccess. We are one of the leading key management system partners, serving a diverse clientele of varying sizes and from various domains. Our key management systems are customized to meet your specific requirements, ensuring you reap maximum value from them.We manufacture a range of key management products with versatile features that cater to the different needs of our clients. So, explore our key management systems and email us at info@daccess.co.in for detailed insights and demos.