BLOG

The Importance of Key Security in Multifamily Housing

key securityFound in nearly every municipality across the country, multifamily communities offer housing to millions of people from all walks of life. While every community is unique, each shares a need for effective key security.

The ability to track key activity is critical for maintaining a high level of security and reducing the chance of premises security liability. Designed as a replacement for manual tracking and storage of keys, electronic key control systems are virtually tamper-proof, monitor the access and return of keys through various online reporting features, and offer biometric integration options for improved security. With HandyTrac’s electronic key security systems, property managers can see who pulled a key, for what purpose, when it was pulled, for how long, and when it was returned from any interned-enabled device.

Key Security Options for Every Multifamily Housing Community

For over 20 years HandyTrac has been the low-cost leader in multifamily, student and military housing key security; managing keys for more than 3,000,000 apartment homes throughout the country. Our cloud based systems offer instant access to archived reports and provide the ability to manage community keys with a single login through a computer or smart phone.

To learn more about our key security systems, contact us today.

5 Essential Characteristics of a Secure Key Management System

key management systemA secure key management system is organized and formal, and addresses both access and control of a multifamily community’s keys. When deciding which key management system best suits your needs, keep these 5 essential characteristics in mind:

Secure

A truly secure key management system should do more than just restrict key access. With a secure key management system like HandyTrac, key transactions are instantly noted and reported in numerous insightful formats for review. For added protection, secure key management systems implement multi-step verification procedures, allowing key access only to authorized users with preset PIN codes, access cards, and biometrics, depending on the model.

Scalable

If your needs grow, your key management system should have the ability to accommodate more keys. At HandyTrac we offer both single and double cabinet options for all our key management systems.

Convenient

A secure key management system should be easy to use and accommodating. HandyTrac key management systems are capable of storing a variety of keys, and offer user-friendly features including: biometric fingerprint verification, touch screen display and lighted cabinets. Additionally, through the use of HandyTrac Online, property managers can review key activity reports from any internet-enabled device.

Reliable

No matter how secure the key management system is designed to be, it’s not actually secure if it breaks down, or if you don’t receive proper training and support in using it. HandyTrac provides customers with an ironclad warranty, as well as ongoing training and support.

Intuitive

Well designed key management systems make key control easy for all users. With two secure key management systems to choose from, HandyTrac systems offer a variety of features that streamline key management and provide maximum security.

To learn more about our systems, contact us today.

What Are RFID Key Cards and How Do They Work?

rfid key cardsIn an age when building and community security are more important than ever, many facilities are doing away with physical, mechanical keys in favor of electronically-read RFID key cards. These key cards are programmable, customizable and far more secure than mechanical keys, for a variety of reasons. Let’s explore this technology to see how it can make your apartment community, campus or facility more secure.

What Is RFID?

RFID stands for “Radio Frequency Identification,” and as with most modern technology today, it is associated with a chip. Specifically, objects equipped with RFID contain a small chip programmed with data, along with a tiny antenna that transmits that data via a weak signal to nearby receivers. As a more secure technology, RFID is rapidly replacing barcodes and magnetic strips that used to contain similar information to be read by scanners. We see it on our credit cards which are now trading the familiar magnetic strip for enhanced chip technology. We also use RFID in key cards which can be programmed to unlock doors when the card is placed near a receiver at the entry point. In the context of key control, the RFID card replaces the standard lock-and-key system for entry. You place the card on or near the reader, the reader identifies the signal as belonging to an authorized user, and the door unlocks.

How Are RFID Key Cards Safer?

RFID key cards offer many advantages over physical keys and even barcode technology — both of which can be easily copied. Here are just a few of the advantages replacing conventional lock-and-key systems with an RFID key card system:

● Difficult to copy or hack. A radio signal can’t be “copied,” and the signal itself can be encrypted so other devices can’t decipher the data.

● Customizable and programmable. An RFID key card can be programmed to open only specific doors (or only one) for a specific amount of time. (Hotels use keycards to authorize their guests only to access their hotel room and the fitness center, set to stop working the morning of checkout.) This system allows management to restrict employee access only to specific authorized areas of the facility for certain amounts of time.

● Anonymous. With no identifying marks on the key card, only the authorized user and the computer may know which door(s) the card will unlock.

● Easily deactivated. If a keycard is lost or stolen, the system can easily deauthorize its identification signal — or the card may simply be allowed expire.

● More cost-effective security. When physical keys are lost or compromised, the lock must be changed to restore security. When a key card is lost, it can be deauthorized, making it effectively disposable. No need to change the locks!

A Management Solution for All Key Types

While RFID keycards are generally more secure than physical keys, their implementation is meaningless without a secure electronic key control system. Acting as a reinforced shield for your keys, HandyTrac offers two secure key control solutions that are accommodating to keys of all types. In addition to keeping your keys secure, HandyTrac archives an audit trail, and streamlines reporting to provide property managers with a complete key management solution.

For more tips on effective key control or information about our systems, contact us today.

HandyTrac Fall Trade Show Information

With autumn nearly upon us, we’re looking forward to another fantastic season of trade shows! Visit our booth at one of the shows below for a demo, and see how HandyTrac uniquely helps community staff manage keys and prevent premises liability. We hope to see you there!

fall trade showsClick a link below for trade show information:

FAA – Booth #303

IAA – Booth #408

NMHC OPTECH

 

 

 

 


For over 20 years HandyTrac has been the low-cost leader in multifamily and military housing key control; managing keys for more than 3 million apartment homes throughout the country. Our cloud based systems offer instant access to archived reporting and provide the ability to manage your communities with a single login through your computer or smartphone.

For more information, contact us today.

The Elements of a Strong Multifamily Key Control Policy

multifamily key control policyConcerned that your community has too much fluidity with its key control? Here are some ways to strengthen multifamily key control policy and restrict access:

Keep the keys secure

Keys should be kept in a strong, tamper-proof, locked cabinet that can only be unlocked through a series of protocols.

Implement multi-step access

Make sure your employees go through several steps before a key is issued to them. For example, the employee may need to scan a badge and input a PIN number before the box opens. Better yet, implement a biometric system that reads fingerprints.

Enforce accountability

Employees should input which key(s) they are taking, at what time, and for what purpose — and they should check keys back in by a similar process.

Secure restricted access points

For enhanced security, certain employees should only access certain keys for certain parts of the building or community. They may only be allowed to check out specific physical keys, or their card keys may be coded for access to certain rooms.

Streamline your reporting

Management should be able to view reports at any given time that can show how many keys are out, who has them, which buildings/units have been accessed and at what time. This type of monitoring may be crucial to identifying potential violations because unusual activity can be identified easily.

Establish an audit trail

Reports should be backed up offsite to prevent any attempts to manipulate the data.

Train employees with a consistent protocol

Every employee should be properly trained in the procedure for obtaining and returning keys, and check-out/check-in occurs exactly the same way every time.


Advantages of a Strong Key Control Policy

Making improvements to your key control policy can do the following:

● Help you quickly identify and correct violations for heightened security

● Help you prevent an intrusion from happening in the first place

● Help you pinpoint suspicious activity in the unlikely event of a break-in

● Give you and your residents greater peace of mind

Keys provide virtually untraceable access, making them your greatest potential vulnerability. This means that your keys must be accompanied by the highest levels of security and oversight.

HandyTrac offers a variety of key control solutions designed to enhance your company’s key control policy, making it easy to monitor, track, and secure your keys. To learn more, contact us today.

Common Reasons for Missing Keys on a Multifamily Property

multifamily key controlA potential resident arrives at your community to tour a unit, but the unit key is missing without a trace. Where is the key? How quickly can you find the key? Who in the community might have the key? Has there been a security breach? How long is the customer willing to wait while you search?

This scenario happens daily at multifamily, student and military housing communities that attempt to operate without an electronic key management system. The key is either on-site, off-site, or stolen. In most cases, the key will be recovered within a few minutes; however, without an audit trail, the key could be missing forever.

Missing Key Reason #1: The key is on-site

Most of the time, the unit key is somewhere on-site with an authorized employee. He or she has left it in their pocket, bag, sticking out of a lock, or on a countertop in the unit. Meanwhile, the entire community is suddenly engaged in a search to find the key.

Unlike hook boards and standard key cabinets, electronic key control systems offer thorough key management reports allowing property managers to quickly identify who withdrew the key last.

Missing Key Reason #2: The key is off-site

If an employee accidentally takes a key home and your community uses a hook board, there is no way to track it down. With an electronic key control system, you can prevent keys from being accidentally taken by running a keys out report on your smartphone or computer near the end of each shift. With the report in hand, you can contact the employees who still have keys and remind them to return the keys before clocking out.

Missing Key Reason #3: The key has been stolen

If the key is still missing after your search, it is possible that it has been stolen. If community keys are easily accessible or often left out, the culprit could be just about anyone. Without an electronic key control system, you not only have to worry about resident safety, but also premises liability in the event of criminal activity as a result of poor key management.

An electronic key control system like HandyTrac holds users accountable for every key removed, and integrates multi-step verification to prevent keys from falling into the wrong hands.

At HandyTrac, we specialize in multifamily key control and offer three secure, easy-to-use electronic key management systems designed for properties large and small. Contact us today for more information.

How to Improve Multifamily Property Efficiency with Electronic Key Control

property efficiencyIf you haven’t already implemented an electronic key control system in your multifamily community, your property may be at risk. An electronic key control system ensures accountability, while improving security and limiting liability for property managers. Take a look at some of the features an electronic key control system offers to improve security and boost property efficiency:

Streamline the Key Access Procedure

The best way to track keys is to store them in one secure, centralized location where employees can check out and return them. Without this feature, keys can get misplaced or stolen simply because no one really knows where they’re supposed to be when not in use.

Track Keys in Real Time

In real time, the system records key whereabouts and access history. Additionally, a variety of reports are readily available to provide management with data regarding the status and location of every key.

Control Key Access

With HandyTrac, the access and return of keys is controlled by a multi-step verification procedure. If, for example, an employee is able to check out a key by simply swiping his/her badge, criminals can gain access by stealing or copying the badge. But if that employee must swipe the badge and type in a code — or better yet, use a fingerprint identification — the risk of theft goes down exponentially. HandyTrac also allows property managers to prevent employees from gaining access to certain units.

To learn more about how our secure key control systems improve property efficiency and security, contact us today!

Electronic Key Management Options for Military Housing

military housingMilitary housing communities without an effective key control system can be particularly vulnerable due to lost, misplaced or misappropriated keys, increasing the risk of theft and other crimes. Fortunately, there are solutions for streamlining key management that help keep military families safe. Let’s explore some key control features beneficial to military housing communities.

Restricted Access Systems

While community keys provide access, they also represent the greatest security vulnerability because they can be used to enter with no sign of intrusion. Protect your keys by keeping them, theoretically speaking, under lock-and-key. A restricted access unit keeps all keys in one place, locked in a secure box that can only be accessed by authorized personnel.

Computerized Access with Multi-Step Authorization

Computerized access to your key control unit allows you to implement multi-step authorization. Authorized personnel may activate the unit using an employee badge, for example, followed by entering a security code, and then a reason code for pulling the key. Only when these protocols are input does the cabinet open.

Automated Reports

A computerized key control system also makes it easy to generate and transmit instant reports via email or internet access. At any time, you can find out which keys have been checked out to whom, and for what purpose. In this manner, unusual activity can be quickly identified, and lost keys can easily be traced.

Random Key Rotation

Another security step in electronic key management is to use a bar-coded system with random positioning, both to mask key identification and to prevent people from memorizing where specific keys are hung. The unit only reveals the key location when the employee successfully logs into the system.

Biometric Authorization

For even greater security, consider installing a key management system with biometric capabilities. This system utilizes a fingerprint reader to identify and grant access to rather than ID badges which may be stolen. This way, you’re ensured that only authorized personnel are accessing keys.

Implementing an electronic key management system for your military housing community is one of the best ways to keep service people, their families and their belongings safe. To learn more about how key control systems can benefit your base, contact us today.

The Building Blocks of a Strong Key Management Policy

key management policyA strong key management policy is — pardon the obvious pun — the key to improved security for your building, campus, apartment community or business complex. Before you can implement a system that truly keeps your facility and your residents safe, you need a policy in place that effectively addresses vulnerabilities and requires accountability.

But what constitutes a good key management policy? How do you design and implement a system that makes sure your keys are accounted for at all times — and even more importantly, keeps those keys out of the wrong hands? Let’s explore the basic building blocks that every property should have when developing their key control systems.

An Accurate Inventory

There is no way around it: key management begins and ends with inventory. You have to know exactly how many doors and locks you have, and how many keys to those locks you have in circulation. Not knowing these numbers creates an instant vulnerability because all it takes for a break-in to occur is one stray key that someone forgot about, or that no one knew existed. In many cases where there hasn’t been efficient key management, the best way to hit the “reset” button is to re-key all the locks and log your inventory of new keys. That’s not always necessary, but if you honestly can’t provide an accurate accounting of all the keys circulating through your facility, it’s the only effective way to ensure your new key control system is vulnerability free.

An Accountability Protocol

Once you have (or regain) control of your keys through an accurate inventory, the next building block is to establish a secure method by which your employees check out and check in keys — one that makes every employee accountable for which keys they’re checking out, to which units, and for what reason. You should also know when the employee returns the key — and you can even set a time limit for added accountability. For added security, you can structure your system so that only certain employees are allowed to use certain keys. A computerized system makes these tasks much easier, but even paper accounting is better than no accounting system at all.

Secure, Centralized Storage for Keys

Any keys that aren’t in use should themselves be under lock and key, preferably in one central location for employees to access as needed. A tamper-proof box with multi-step secured access can be ideal to serve this purpose. Storing all keys in one location makes them much easier to control and monitor, and you can rest easy knowing these keys can’t be accessed without proper authorization.

Accurate Reporting

Every key should have its own “paper trail” — that is, you should always be able to track when the key was checked out, when it was checked in, who took the key and why they needed it. Quite often in the course of business, you’ll be able to identify “patterns of circulation” with these keys, so you can quickly detect when someone breaks the usual pattern — for example, checking out a key they don’t normally use, or taking too much time with a key. You’ll also know immediately when a key turns up missing (as well as who had the key last) and when a lock might need to be changed. These reports can be painstaking and tedious, but they can often be simplified when handled by computer because you can filter results according to what you’re looking for. Regardless, reporting is critical to maintaining a secure environment.

Implementing a Key Management System that Honors Your Policies

Once you have established the values that make up a solid key management policy, you can begin to design and implement a system that upholds these values. For many communities, one of the best ways to protect and track keys is by installing a secure key control system like the ones HandyTrac offers. A well-designed system will provide security features that require employees to go through multiple steps to check out and check in keys — for example scanning a badge or their thumbprint, followed by entering a PIN. The system might also use barcode tags to track keys, and even randomize their location in the box so employees can’t memorize their locations. Computerized access also enables real time tracking, reporting and alerts which may be emailed or accessed via Wi-Fi. This way, anomalies and irregular behaviors can be identified and tracked immediately.

To some, having a strict key management policy with security layers such as these might seem a bit over-the-top, or that somehow they convey a sense of distrust among employees. But here’s the paradox: When you have a strong key management policy, and a secure electronic key control system to match it, the chance of an attempted breach goes way down. The strong security becomes a preventative in itself. HandyTrac offers a selection of high-quality, secure key control systems that are certain to meet or exceed your key control policies. To learn more about our solutions, contact us today.

4 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Secure Key Control Solution

key control solutionIn any community, campus or facility, keys are typically your greatest point of vulnerability. The better you protect and monitor your keys, the safer your property becomes — and the best way to do that is by establishing some form of key control. That said, choosing a secure key control solution that’s right for the needs of your building or community can be a daunting task. To ease the burden, here are four important questions to ask when evaluating an electronic key control system.

1. Does this system provide a central location for key
check-out and check-in?

The best way to track keys is to store them in one centralized location where employees check them out and return them. Without this feature, keys can get misplaced or stolen simply because no one really knows where they’re supposed to be when not in use. A secure key control solution will include a locked box where keys are stored and checked out. In larger facilities, you might use multiple locations, but those locations should be networked together so you always know which keys are being kept in which box.

2. Does this system offer multi-step secured access?

The more security steps you place into the checkout process, the harder it is for thieves to find a vulnerability and steal keys. If, for example, an employee can simply check out a key by swiping his badge, all it takes for a thief to gain access is by stealing or copying the badge. But if that employee must swipe the badge and type in a code — or better yet, use a fingerprint identification — the risk of theft goes down exponentially. Always look for a system that incorporates multiple steps into the check-out/check-in process.

3. What other hack-proof features does this system offer?

Once an employee gains access to the system, what safeguards are in place to make sure that employee takes only the key assigned to him/her? Barcode tags can mask the identification of keys; so can randomizing the location of the key within the box. Look for these and other hack-proof features in your key control solution to keep employees honest.

4. Does this system provide instant reporting and remote access?

For maximum security, your key control system should be able to generate reports at any time as to where keys are located, who has them, when they have them and why. You should also be able to pull these reports at any time via secure Wi-Fi access. This way, you can quickly identify anomalies and track unusual patterns of behavior before something bad happens.

When you’re ready to choose a secure key control solution for your building, community or campus, HandyTrac is here to help with a variety of options, one of which is perfect for your needs. To learn more, contact us today.