How to manage the keys to your business more effectively

While we live in a digital age, physical keys are still one of your organization’s most valuable assets and should be protected accordingly. The sad truth is that many organizations fail to manage physical keys securely.

Your process for managing keys needs consideration, as keys can control access to buildings, equipment, vehicles, controlled substances, and more. In addition to controlling acceKss, effective key management can help manage people, processes and safety.

What is key management?

Key management is the process of putting rules in place to keep track of an organization’s physical keys. It allows you to ensure that only authorized users access your keys.

What are the benefits of key management?

Key management is more than simple security, it can also be used to ensure critical processes are followed.

• Increase efficiency – the time spent looking for keys is money wasted and can be exceedingly frustrating for staff. By reducing the time employees spend locating keys, you increase their productivity levels.
• Lower costs – losing a master key set can be a significant cost, just ask the team at the Chicago O’Hare Airport. In 2019, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that a master key set cost a “five-figure” sum to replace. Avoid these costs by controlling usage.
• Improve safety – keeping staff and visitors safe is essential. The ability to account for and restrict access to keys and equipment helps to maintain a safe environment. By ensuring sensitive keys don’t get into the wrong hands, your business can better enforce safety requirements.
• Reduce risk – any time a key is misplaced, lost, or stolen, the secure area, equipment, or vehicle the key grants access to is put at risk. By tracking and auditing keys in real-time, you can mitigate these risks.
• Build trust – if a customer gives you a key and you lose it, you lose their trust. Once a business loses the trust of its customers, it can be very hard to win it back. However, good procedures increase customer confidence and if implemented in the right way could be a business differentiator.

What are the essential features of key management?

Many businesses rely on time-consuming manual processes such as having a logbook with one staff member controlling a key box or locked desk drawer. This may seem a simple place to start your key management journey, but it soon becomes complicated.

The problem with these traditional methods is that they are inefficient and unreliable, which makes tracing keys an almost impossible task.

A better way to organize and manage keys is by using an electronic key cabinet with these essential features:

• Access control – grants users access via a range of identification methods, including security token, biometrics, or even pin.
• Inventory management – creates an audit trail every time a key is removed or returned, providing complete control and oversight of key usage.
• User management – controls not only who has access to the cabinet, but also manages who can access which keys.
• Reporting – management reports that allow administrators to view all activity on the system, such as failed access attempts and faults logged.
• Tamper alarm – some sort of alarm is essential should someone try to brute force the cabinet open or extract a key to which they do not have permission to access.
• Battery backup – backup power supplies are essential in the event of power failure.

Who needs key management?

Key management doesn’t just benefit one single department or sector. Whether running a hotel, tech giant, hospital or retail operation, the priority is to secure, manage and audit the organization’s keys easily and effectively.

If you’re still not sure if your organization needs key management, ask yourself one simple question: What would happen if an employee lost a key? If the answer is that you don’t know, then it is a good idea to start thinking about implementing a key management process for your organization.

Not sure how to get started? Traka is here to help. We are the global leader in intelligent management solutions for keys and equipment and have worked with many organizations worldwide to solve their key management problems. For more information, visit traka.com or contact us to get a demo of our Traka Touch Pro range.