Across a variety of industries, key management systems have proven to be a valuable physical security tool. This state-of-the-art automated access technology offers efficient management of key control and storage with open protocols to enable connectivity to access control and other systems for multiple levels of security and control. Key management systems also have a proven ROI (return on investment) with regard to financial considerations such as employee productivity, the cost of lock replacements due to lost keys, safekeeping and tracking of valuable items and so on.

Another benefit of today’s key management systems is the automatic recording of all access activity. Now, instead of manual index log books or individual receipt cards to record the access/return history of each key, the system automatically tracks key usage activity for each user by access code, time and date. And while this feature takes convenience and tracking accuracy to new levels, it also saves time and space when records must be kept for insurance or auditing purposes.

Imagine, for example, the space needed to archive a year’s worth of paper logs generated by the housekeeping department in a large hotel. Every day, twice a day (minimum), 365 days a year, keys are logged out in the morning and back in at the end of shift. The activity files need to be saved and readily accessible in the event of an incident or insurance claim, but hunting for the access information of a specific key or user at a later date is a highly time-consuming manual effort. Key management systems with automated recording solve these issues reliably and completely. Historical usage data is easily and quickly accessed in the system’s stored database.

Adding up all the benefits, it is clear that key management and control systems save time and cost for organizations.