Commercial Access Control Systems Ormskirk, Liverpool & Manchester
Door entry, FOB and card systems, keypads and biometrics for commercial premises across Ormskirk, Liverpool, Manchester and the North West. Designed, installed and maintained by our own engineers, delivering results not excuses on every project
commercial access control installation specialists
We install and maintain access control systems for commercial premises right across the North West, from a single door on a small unit up to networked systems covering multiple sites. Whatever the scale, the job is the same: let the right people in without fuss, keep everyone else out, and make sure nobody is ever trapped behind a locked door if the fire alarm goes off. Based in Ormskirk, with engineers covering Merseyside, Greater Manchester and West Lancashire.
Types of access control systems we install & maintain
Most sites end up with a mix rather than one single approach. What suits a warehouse loading bay is rarely what suits a reception desk, and we’ll spec each access point on its own merits. We install and maintain systems from a variety of different providers. If you already have a system in place we can usually take it on and expand it rather than starting again.
Fob card systems
Still the workhorse of commercial access control, and for good reason. Every member of staff carries a fob or card, every door knows who is allowed through it, and you get a record of who went where. Lose a FOB and it’s cancelled in seconds rather than rekeying the building. Works just as well on two doors as on two hundred.
Video intercom access
For anywhere that needs to let visitors in without leaving the desk. Audio and video panels at the entrance, handsets or touchscreens inside, and the option to answer calls on a phone if the building isn’t always staffed. Common on offices, managed units and anywhere with a mix of tenants sharing an entrance.
Keypads & coded entry
Simple, cheap and perfectly adequate for low risk doors like a stockroom or a yard gate. The catch is that codes get shared and rarely get changed, so we’d usually steer you away from keypads on anything that genuinely matters. Useful as part of a wider system rather than the whole of it.
Biometric & mobile credentials
Fingerprint and facial readers where you need to know that the person at the door is who the credential says they are, which matters more in places like controlled storage or plant rooms. Smartphone credentials are increasingly popular for the simple reason that people forget fobs and almost never forget their phone.
Access control standards & fire compliance
Access control is the one security system that can actively make a building less safe if it’s installed badly, because every door you lock is a door someone might need to get through in a hurry. There’s a bit more to it than screwing a reader to a wall.
Fire alarm interface
Any door held shut by an electromagnetic lock on an escape route has to release when the fire alarm activates, and BS 7273-4 sets out how that release should be wired and how reliable it needs to be depending on the risk. This is the part most often got wrong, usually by whoever fitted the locks having no involvement with the fire system. We do both, so the interface is designed in rather than bolted on afterwards.
Escape routes & emergency release
Beyond the fire alarm link, doors on escape routes need a way out that works without a fob, a code or any prior knowledge. That normally means a green emergency release unit next to the door and locks that fail open on loss of power. Getting this wrong is a fire risk assessment failure and, in the worst case, a great deal more than that.
Accessibility & data protection
The Equality Act and Approved Document M both have things to say about door opening forces, reader heights and how long an automatic door stays open, and it’s straightforward to design in and expensive to retrofit. Worth knowing too that your access logs record who was in the building and when, which makes them personal data under UK GDPR, so retention and access need thinking about.
commercIal premises we protect & maintain
We work across most commercial premises the North West for entry access systems. If yours isn’t included please get in touch to ask.
Warehouses
Pedestrian doors, loading bay access and yard gates, often with different rules for drivers and agency staff than for permanent employees.
Retail units
Stockrooms, cash offices and staff entrances, usually integrated with the intruder alarm so that a valid entry unsets the right zone automatically.
offices
Reader on the front door, video entry at reception, and zoning so that server rooms, HR files and directors’ offices aren’t open to everyone with a fob.
manufacturing
Restricting plant rooms, chemical stores and machinery areas to trained staff only, with readers that stand up to dust, washdown and the occasional forklift.
Schools & Colleges
Controlled entry at the main door, lockdown capability, and separating public areas from the parts of the site pupils and visitors shouldn’t reach.
Healthcare
Controlled drug storage, staff only corridors and record rooms, with audit trails that hold up as part of standard audit requests.
Multi Tenant Units
Shared entrances where each tenant needs their own credentials, plus an easy way to add and remove people as units change hands.
Data CentrEs
Higher grade readers, often biometric, with full logging because access to the room is frequently an audit requirement in its own right.
How your system is managed
Once the doors are working, somebody has to run the thing. Adding a starter, removing a leaver, changing who can get into which area. How that works day to day depends on the system.
Standalone doors
No software and no PC. Credentials are added and removed at the reader itself. Fine for one or two doors where staff turnover is low, and cheap to install, but it gets painful quickly as doors are added.
On site management software
Software on a machine in the building, with a full user list, access levels by group, time restrictions and a searchable log. This is the standard arrangement for most single site commercial premises.
Cloud & Multi Site management
Manage doors from a browser or an app, from anywhere, across as many sites as you have. Useful if you run several premises, or if the person who administers the system isn’t always on site. Also means we can help remotely rather than driving out for a password reset.
A Recent Access Control Project
We were proud to work with Everton in the Community on the delivery of a new access control system at Goodison Park, supporting the EitC Free School Sixth Form. The install gives sixth form students and staff secure, managed entry to their learning spaces within the stadium, with fob based access, zoned permissions and a full audit trail. A brilliant project for a brilliant cause, helping young people learn in one of the most iconic settings in English football.
Our installation Process
HOW WE GET IT DONE
Straightforward, and the same on every job. No surprises at the end of it. It’s about results, not excuses.
01
Free site survey
An engineer walks the building with you, door by door, and works out which ones actually need controlling and which are fine as they are. No charge, no obligation.
02
Design & Fire Interface
We decide lock type per door, work out the fire alarm interface, and check escape routes and accessibility. You get the specification in writing before anything is ordered.
03
written quotation
Fixed price, itemised, with maintenance set out separately so you can see what the ongoing cost actually is.
04
Installation
Worked around you. Out of hours, weekends, or a door at a time on a live building if that’s what it takes. Our engineers are qualified, uniformed and site inducted.
05
Commissioning and Testing
Every door tested, every lock proved to release on a fire alarm activation, emergency releases checked, user list loaded and access levels set.
06
Handover & Maintenance
We show your staff how to add and remove people, hand over the documentation, and put you on a service schedule. Most clients want us to keep the user list tidy for them, which we’re happy to do.
FAQ
Common questions we get asked
Choosing a commercial access control contractor comes with plenty of questions. Here are the ones we get asked the most, and we are always happy to answer anything else before you commit to anything
How much does a commercial access control system cost?
It comes down to how many doors, what’s already on them, and whether you want networked management or standalone readers. One door on an existing unit is a very different job from eight doors across a building with a fire alarm interface on each. We quote fixed price after a survey.
Can access control be fitted to our existing doors?
Usually, yes. Most commercial doors will take a maglock or an electric release without much difficulty. Older timber doors, fire doors and some glass entrances need a bit more care, and occasionally the honest answer is that the door itself needs replacing first. We’ll tell you at survey rather than halfway through the job.
What happens if the fire alarm goes off?
Any locked door on an escape route must release automatically. We wire the interface between the access control and the fire alarm to BS 7273-4 and prove it works at commissioning. If your existing system has never been tested this way, it’s worth asking why.
What happens in a power cut?
Depends on the door. Escape route doors are set up to fail open, so people can always get out. Doors where security matters more than egress can be set to fail secure and run off a battery backup. It’s a decision we make with you per door, not a blanket setting.
Can you link it to our intruder alarm and CCTV?
Yes, and it’s worth doing. A valid fob entry can unset the relevant alarm zone automatically, which stops the 7am false alarm calls. CCTV can be tagged to entry events so that when you need to see who used a particular fob, the footage is already lined up.
What if someone loses their fob?
Cancel it on the system and it’s dead. No rekeying, no lock changes, no wondering who has a copy of what. That alone is usually what pushes people away from keys.
Can you take over a system someone else installed?
Most of the time. If it’s a supported make in reasonable condition we’ll survey it, take it on and expand it if you need. If it’s an obsolete system that nobody can get parts for, we’ll say so rather than sell you a maintenance contract on something that can’t be repaired.
Do you cover Liverpool and Manchester?
Yes. We’re in Ormskirk and cover Liverpool, Manchester and the wider North West, including Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Bolton, St Helens and Southport.
Our Working Hours
opening hours
We are always happy to hear about new entry access control & security project needs and enquiries. Call us directly, fill in the form on our contact page, or use the chat at the bottom of the screen and we will come back to you as soon as we can. Emergency callouts are available outside these hours.
Mon……………….8am to 10pm
Tue………………..8am to 10pm
Wed……………….8am to 10pm
Thu………………..8am to 10pm
Fri………………….8am to 10pm
Sat…………………8am to 10pm
Sun………………………….Closed
Areas we Serve
access control installation across the North West
We’re based in Ormskirk and install commercial access control across West Lancashire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester, from Ormskirk and Skelmersdale out to Liverpool, Manchester, Southport, Wigan, Warrington, Preston and St Helens. We’ll travel further for larger projects, so if you’re not sure whether we cover you, please get in touch with your security project needs.
Related Services
Access control rarely goes in on its own. Most of the sites we work on want two or three of these, and they’re considerably easier to live with when one contractor has designed them to work together.
Access control looks after the working day, the intruder alarm looks after everything outside it, and the handover between the two is where most false alarms come from. Linked properly, a valid entry unsets the right zone on its own.
Entry events and footage line up, so when you need to see who actually used a fob rather than who it was issued to, you’re not scrubbing through four hours of recording to find it.
Every locked door on an escape route depends on the fire alarm to release it. Having both on the same contract means the interface is somebody’s clear responsibility rather than nobody’s.
Free Consultation
Schedule A Free Consultation
Tell us about the building and we’ll send an engineer out to walk it with you, work out which doors actually need controlling, and put a fixed price in writing. No charge, no obligation, and it’s a survey rather than a sales visit dressed up as one.