Page 16 - New Jersey Cooperator February 2019

I t’s been a long time since most people have felt comfortable just leaving their front doors unlocked. For better or worse, security has become the order of the day – and technology follows security needs. Today, that path leads to electronic ac- cess. And according to Bob Maunsell, the CEO of Electronic Security Group in West Boylston, Massachusetts, when it comes apartment living, that usually means key fobs. “Anyone who is in the process of refi- nancing or doing any major capital improve- ments are installing keyless entry systems,” says Maunsell. “Everyone is moving toward key fobs. They’re also doing intercom up- grading and video surveillance and getting rid of old-fashioned mechanical keys, since there is no way to keep track of them.” That lack of security tracking is a major factor in replacing old metal key systems with electronic fob systems. “With keyless entry,” Maunsell says, “you know who has entered the building and at what time. You can disable a fob when it’s lost, or when a tenant moves out. It’s easier than having a locksmith come and change the lock.” Changing a lock on an entry door also re- quires replacing what could be dozens or even hundreds of keys. Electronic technol- ogy simply eliminates that problem. Tony Dahlin, a security expert and own- er of Bullis Lock Co., in Chicago, says: “Fob popularity has become prolific as the price has dropped. \[They’ve\] long been popular in the commercial sector, but with the price dropping, condos and apartment buildings are increasingly using the technology. Basi- cally, fobs eliminate the need for a physical key. If you hand somebody a key and they don’t return it, you have to change the locks. They can make duplicates of the missing key, and you don’t know who has access to your building. With fobs, that can’t happen – they give you control over who enters, and when. If a fob is lost, you just go into the software and eliminate it without affecting anyone else’s usage.” How We Got Here The first big move away from physical keys was in the early 1990s, with the intro- duction of Dallas chip keys, also known as ‘transponder keys.’ They were originally used as a car-key technology and contain a very small computer chip inside that sends an identifying message to authenticate the key for the lock. As it happens, these old- model chip keys are usually compatible with MANAGEMENT 16 THE NEW JERSEY COOPERATOR —FEBRUARY 2019 NJCOOPERATOR.COM Keys, Key Fobs, and Door Codes Controlling Access to Your Building BY A J SIDRANSKY Phone: 973-390-9062 E-mail: samantha@matrixpmgroup.com Website: MatrixPMGroup.com ISTOCKPHOTO.COM