Security Turnstiles: 5 Key Benefits of Installation

Below is a list of some of the most significant key benefits of including security turnstiles in a facility’s access and crowd control program.

1. Physical Barrier. The primary reason for the integration of security turnstiles into an access control system is to increase the level of security by providing a positive barrier to unauthorized ingress or egress. While a door also offers a barrier, the very nature of a door’s design allows multiple users to pass through with only one valid authorization. A turnstile will restrict traffic flow to one pass for each valid authorization. Waist-high turnstiles offer added security in a supervised scenario while full-height turnstiles allow the greatest degree of security for unattended control.

2. Cost Savings. By allowing the security turnstile and access control system to determine if an individual is allowed access, guards are no longer necessary to examine individual ID cards to determine if authorization is permitted. While waist-high turnstiles will not completely eliminate the need for guards, the number can be reduced and their task modified to supervision and the processing of visitors, guests and problem solving. The cost savings of even one 24-hour guard position are at least $80,000.00 annually.

3. Speed. A security turnstile will generally process users faster than a guard who has to manually check each ID card. This feature permits more persons to proceed into or out of a facility, thus decreasing lost waiting time.

4. Consistent Compliance. A security turnstile, combined with an access control system, cannot be misled, influenced or tricked into allowing an unauthorized user entry into a secure location. If the card is not valid, the turnstile will not release and the user will be denied access. There is also no fear that a terminated employee who has been deleted from the access control system can slip past a guard who simply sees an ID card and has not been informed of the termination.

5. Deterrence. A physical turnstile barrier provides a deterrent to unauthorized entry attempts. Our experience has shown that if Building A has security turnstiles installed and Building B does not, then Building B is significantly more likely to be the target of an illegal entry attempt. This powerful physical and mental barrier shifts the attentions of the interloper to an easier, unsecured target.