Access Control Installation: what to note first

You just leased the empty unit next door and want the new tenant to open their own suite without a key to yours, to the loading dock, or to the electrical room down the hall.

Worth answering before the call

Do you already have an alarm or camera system in place? Do any doors need different hours than the rest of the building? What are the doors and frames made of, as far as you know?

Do we still need physical keys after this is installed?

On hardware that supports it, yes: a conventional cylinder sits alongside the electronic reader, cut to work like any other key on the property, though some access-controlled locks are built without one. Where it is fitted, it is meant as a fallback rather than the everyday way in: if a battery dies, a controller faults, or the power stays out longer than the backup lasts, the door still opens by key while the issue is sorted out.

Can different doors run on different schedules?

Yes, and this is one of the more useful parts of the system. A front office can unlock for regular business hours, a stockroom can allow only two credentials at any hour, and a loading dock can release only during a set delivery window. Schedules are set per door and per access level in the controller, and can be changed at any time without touching the hardware itself.