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The technology behind the creation of Identity Pass access control systems involves having a number of reliable products able to interact electronically with each other regularly.

The magnetic strips found on the back of cards contains the encoded data that magnetic readers interpret to access the information containing details of the areas that the cardholder is permitted to access.

The magnetic strips are no different to those found on the back of credit cards, hotel room passes, photo ids and loyalty cards; namely a magnetic strip containing a number of tracks for data encryption.

The readers have a built-in decoder, incorporating microprocessor and magnetic reading technology.

In order to maintain security assurance, businesses will usually allocate administrative control to either their IT and/or Security specialist but this is not prescriptive.

For governance purposes, regular assurance checks on the integrity of the data and people’s access should take place, preferably by an independent business member to assure propriety and any allegation of collusion.

In the event of a breach, a senior manager should take ownership of the investigation, working closely with their security personnel to ensure any weaknesses and lessons learnt are documented and incorporated into the control systems as soon as possible.

A lanyard doesn’t just have to be a functional business item to hang identity passes on.

With suppliers having the technology to create custom designed lanyards out of a variety of materials to an exceptionally high quality, there is every possibility that, with the correct marketing and design, you could develop and offer your customers and people an iconic, or fashion item used by all as an accessory and not just when at work.

How often have you been out and seen people wearing those flashing necklaces in nightclubs. Have you considered supplying your people with high visibility lanyards, discreetly advertising your company that will be easily visible when they are out in nightclubs under those very same flashing lights?

During the day, they double as the Identity Pass holders.

Dress up the concept as you like when offering them to your people, you could even point out such ideas and invite them to use the lanyards to keep a personal attack alarm attached to it (you could even supply them if you want, they are really not very expensive) and offer a visible deterrent to unwarranted attention for your people from other individuals.

If a lanyard is too much, perhaps consider supplying wrist straps.

In today’s environment, every parent worries whenever their children are not in their presence. Are they safe? Are they ok? Are they doing something they shouldn’t be or even illegal?

It gets harder as the children grow older and becomes particularly difficult when the children reach the middle to end of their teenage years, 15-17 years old.

It is at this time, that most start to experiment with alcohol and underage drinking is bordering on epidemic levels across the UK.

This is not to say that it is unique to the age band mentioned, in fact , it is not overly uncommon to read about youngsters much younger than 15 years old with drinking problems.

ID is the big key and many cities have adopted schemes such as that initiated recently in Edinburgh whereby they now ban anyone access to all nightclubs in the city under the age of 18 years old, caught trying to gain entry into a nightclub using fake ID until 6 months after their 18th birthday.

As a parent, you will do as much as you can to monitor their activities, but it needs to go one step further.

If there are any slightly older brothers or sisters, take the time out to try and gain their support by asking them to keep a look out for them. Emphasise the importance of no matter how much they want to; do not lend their ID to their younger brothers or sisters.

If your town hasn’t adopted such a scheme, perhaps you could start the ball rolling by suggesting it?

Every business will be closely examining ways they can generate more revenue through their tills, turnstiles or internet websites.

Shoppers are closely examining expenditure and seeking the elusive bargain of the day.

A big category of expenditure that particularly families have to cut back on is Leisure. Taking the kids out for the day to say, a leisure park or to the cinema is becoming less frequent.

Anyone who has children will know that kids do not appreciate or understand financial pressure. The food on their table simply appears, they have no interest in the work involved to get it there, as long as it’s there, is all that matters.

Keeping kids entertained and safe is a major concern for parents so from a business perspective, it may be worth businesses considering offering free or significantly reduced entry prices to leisure facilities or cinemas.

There are plenty of positives to dress this initiative up:-

• Link it to a loyalty card scheme offering exclusive rates to some local leisure facilities to members.
• Offer free entry if they spend a certain amount of money on their loyalty card each month.
• If you don’t operate a loyalty card scheme, perhaps offer stickers to anyone spending more than a specified amount on each visit, which can perhaps be exchanged for a free cinema ticket once they have collected a particular number of stickers.

Above all, keep it simple, keep it local – it is no use offering free access to some leisure complex 100 miles away. It simply won’t work at the moment.

Keeping it local also offers you the opportunity to perhaps invite other local businesses to participate in the initiative helping you share the set up, maintenance and administrations costs

Almost any business, and not just those with inherent security concerns, can benefit from a physical access control system.

If you need to identify people, control access, or monitor production, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology helps take security a step further.

Whether you decide to purchase your own system and produce the cards yourselves or make use of specialist suppliers, you will need to ensure that only the appropriate people have access to the relevant parts of your business.

Such cards can be used for access control, proximity recording and access to various business systems using smartcards. Technology is moving forward so that it may even be possible to offer a single card controlling all 3.

All printed photo IDs are subject to counterfeiting, alteration, duplication, and forgery so customising the design of your cards will offer your people a quick and easy way to identify unauthorised visitors.

ID pass controls and systems have, for many years, be recognised as an effective security management tool and whilst there will always be a threat from unauthorised people attempting access to premises or systems, when security counts, such control systems form a great foundation.

The threat will be there whether it is visible or not and with bespoke systems able to be set up and installed by specialist suppliers tailored to your specific needs, it is most definitely worth having a chat with experts before dismissing such ideas.

A lot of people may not be too concerned or even given thought to the UK ID card scheme as yet, but with the roll out of the national ID card scheme well and truly underway, the time is coming closer when UK residents will have to start thinking about complying with legislation themselves.

Some may even disagree with the scheme and think they can stay under, or even off the radar. Not because they have something to hide, but because they simply can’t be bothered to put themselves out to do it.

However, for those deliberately seeking to avoid complying or needing to stay off the register, beware, there are laws in place which will be enforced.

Fail to provide accurate information under the Identity Card Act 2006 and you could find yourself at the wrong end of the UK legal system with imprisonment for up to 2 years.

Section 28 of the Identity Card Act 2006 states:-

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if, in circumstances falling within subsection (2), he provides false information to any person —
(a) for the purpose of securing the making or modification of an entry in the Register;
(b) in confirming (with or without changes) the contents of an entry in the Register; or
(c) for the purpose of obtaining for himself or another the issue or modification of an ID card.
(2) Those circumstances are that, at the time of the provision of the information he—
(a) knows or believes the information to be false; or
(b) is reckless as to whether or not it is false.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—
(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or to both;
(b) on summary conviction in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;
(c) on summary conviction in Scotland or Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;

The current economic climate may result in businesses delaying upgrading their systems or extending their usual maintenance schedules for their electronic systems.

This does not mean that ensuring the equipment remains “fit for purpose” and operating at its optimum has to be forgotten as well.

You may never have had any security threats but the very fact that you have access control managed by ID cards suggests that you consider there to be some kind of threat and you take the care and security of your premises and people seriously.

A business must continue to maintain security awareness and access controls so here are a few tips to help you keep those ID card printers working efficiently for you.

Spend a few minutes every day doing some routine maintenance and you will reap the benefits.
Keeping it clean – weekly exercise

• Wipe off the outside of your printer and the printer tray.
• Open it up and remove excess dust and any loose bits of material (ink etc) with a can of compressed air.
• Keeping the output tray closed when the printer isn’t being used will also help reduce the dust inside.

General maintenance

• Ensure users and those responsible for it’s smooth operation have read the operators manual and are familiar with the basic troubleshooting guide usually included in manuals
• Avoid humidity at all costs
• Store it in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight when not in use
• Ensure you use quality materials and if still under warranty, use manufacturing recommended materials to avoid nullifying your warranty
• Regularly check that any rollers are clean and operating effectively – poor quality rollers will affect the quality of any ID cards produced

Whilst, in an ideal world, it is always better to replace any damaged parts with the genuine manufacturer’s products, if you need to purchase any replacement parts, ensure you contact your approved supplier and discuss your requirements.

When considering incentives for your customers to entice them to purchase goods or services from your business, one needs to be extremely careful to ensure that any offers attached to your loyalty card scheme is worthwhile and offers real benefit or discount to your customer.

It is little use dressing up offers that at the end of the day offer very little discount or benefit. For instance, offering a free cup of coffee with every 10 purchases offers little incentive. It represents a mere 10% discount and in the current climate, is not going to incentivise your customers enough for them to go out of their way. Most loyalty card holders would expect to receive at least 10% discount as a matter of course.

A better way forward would be to increase the offer to say buy 6 get 1 free, representing around 15% discount.

To recover the bigger discount offered, teach your people the art of up-selling or run a few offers alongside. It’s not hard, but is imperative if businesses are to survive.

As an example, when a person buys that morning cup of coffee, get your sales staff to ask them if they would like a croissant to go with it. Get them to explain that they are made or brought in fresh daily.

If someone buys a breakfast, ask them if they want toast, coffee or orange juice to go with it.

Your customers will expect to be incentivised to visit your business so make sure you don’t disappoint them.

You may even want to consider asking your regulars what they would like you to do. There really is no better way to secure loyalty from your customers.

Think it through, if you were a customer and a business had asked you what you would like them to do regarding special offers and the next time you visited, they had implemented your suggestion, you would feel obliged to buy the offer, particularly if you pointed out the fact that you took their suggestion on board.

Every growing business and the individuals involved from the outset, reaches the stage when both the business and individuals lose their identity and actually become just that, part of the business.

This may sound strange but actually rings true when you consider the stages a business goes through in its development.

For example, a small business with perhaps less than 10 employees is easily workable by one individual, but as it grows, it becomes more and more difficult for that one individual to manage all aspects of the business.

The business, by choice, or just natural development, may become a limited company moving further away from the personalisation of the original business. It may retain the same people at the top but more and more people are taken on to support productivity and demands of the business.

The executive team members then unintentionally lose the personal connection with their staff.

Ask any employee, and one of the things they most desire is recognition both personally as individuals, and financially for their contributions in supporting the development of the business.

Addressing the first issue of personal recognition is relatively easy, senior executives should make every effort to visit their people regularly.

The next issue is that of knowing the names of all employees which can again, be easily addressed.

If you issue everybody with ID cards this would solve several areas of concern. Firstly it would help senior managers who are infrequent visitors to a particular area of the business to see the names of their staff when talking to them and thereby call them by their first names and secondly, offer everyone the opportunity to identify unauthorised people on the premises.