Access control systems in Cambridge
Keys get copied, lost and never handed back. Access control replaces them with a credential you can cancel in seconds, and a record of who went where and when.
- SSAIB certified
- Local engineers
- Free site visit and quotation
At a glance
- Based in
- Huntingdon
- Covering
- Cambridgeshire and surrounding counties
- Accreditation
- SSAIB, Paxton Gold Partner
- Manufacturers
- Paxton, Avigilon
- Services
- Commercial access control, door entry and maintenance
- Scale
- One door to several sites
Overview
Access control installers covering Cambridgeshire
BDi Advance is a local access control company, based in Huntingdon and covering Cambridgeshire. We design, install and maintain commercial access control and door entry systems for businesses across the county. We are SSAIB certified installers and a Paxton Gold Partner, and as installers of Paxton and Avigilon systems our recommendation comes from what suits your building rather than what we happen to stock.
- Local engineers based in Huntingdon, covering Cambridgeshire and the surrounding counties
- SSAIB certified for access control, intruder alarms and CCTV
- Specified around how your building is used, from one controlled door to several sites
- Competitive prices, and one supplier for security and fire rather than two to chase
- Fitted by our engineers, with a mess-free, professional installation
- Paxton Gold Partner, also installing Avigilon systems
Quotations start with a free site visit. Call 01223 566 599 or send us your details and we will get one booked.
Costs
What affects the cost of a commercial access control system?
No two buildings cost the same to control, which is why we survey before we quote. These are the things that move the price.
Number of doors
Biggest factor
Each controlled door needs a reader, a lock, a release and cabling back to a controller. Controlling the doors that matter, rather than every door, is the quickest saving.
The doors themselves
Varies
A glazed shopfront, a timber fire door and a steel gate each need different locking hardware, and magnetic locks, electric strikes and motor locks are priced very differently.
What people present
Varies
Keypads cost least, fobs and proximity cards are the everyday choice, and biometric readers cost more per door.
Standalone or networked
Scales with size
A single door can run on its own. Several doors or several sites need controllers and management software, sometimes cloud hosted with an annual licence.
Cabling and the building
Site specific
Solid walls, listed buildings and long cable runs add time. Where cabling is impractical, a wireless lock can be the cheaper route.
Fire alarm and CCTV links
Often required
Controlled doors on escape routes need to release when the fire alarm operates, in line with BS 7273-4. Linking door events to CCTV adds cost but saves time when something goes wrong.
Access control
Access control systems
An access control system decides who can open which door, and when. That might be one controlled entrance, or every door in a building, or several sites managed together.
The practical gain is control you can exercise the same day. Someone joins, moves department or leaves, and their access changes in seconds without anyone rekeying a lock or chasing a fob that never came back.
Single site or multi-site
A single controlled door and a multi-site estate are the same system at different scales, and the specification should reflect which one you are.
Single site
On a single site the priority is usually the front door, the server room and anywhere holding stock or confidential material.
Multi-site estates
Across several sites, a networked system lets you set permissions centrally, so a member of staff who moves between locations is dealt with once rather than site by site, and visitor management is consistent everywhere.
Not every system needs to be networked. Where a standalone unit does the job we will say so.
Access control systems we install
Paxton and Avigilon
We install systems from all three manufacturers, and we are a Paxton Gold Partner.
Working with a small number of manufacturers properly, rather than a long list superficially, means our engineers know the platforms they are commissioning and can still support them years after installation.
Paxton
Commercial premises of all sizes
Paxton is widely used in commercial buildings of all sizes: straightforward to run day to day, quick to add and remove users, and well supported. We are a Paxton Gold Partner.
Avigilon
Access control and CCTV together
Avigilon is the choice where access control and CCTV need to work together, so a door release and the image of the person who used it sit side by side.
Existing systems
Systems installed by other companies
We service, maintain and take over systems installed by other companies.
Door entry
Door entry systems for businesses
Door entry is the part your staff and visitors actually touch, so it is worth getting right. The question is simply what people present at the door, and what happens when that credential goes missing.
We install the full range of door access systems, from a keypad on an internal door to video entry on a main reception. The four below cover almost every commercial job we do.
Keypads and magstripe
The simplest option, and still the right one for low risk internal doors and smaller sites. A code or a swipe releases the door.
Best for: stock rooms, staff areas and back doors where everyone using them is known to you.
Worth knowing: a code tells you the door was opened, not who opened it. If you need to know which individual went through, choose a credential-based system instead.
Fobs and proximity cards
The most widely used option in commercial premises. Staff present a fob or card to a reader and the door releases if their permissions allow it.
Best for: most offices, industrial units and multi-tenant buildings.
Worth knowing: this is where access control earns its money. A lost fob is cancelled from the system in seconds, so nothing needs rekeying and nothing is left unaccounted for. Cards can carry photo identification and double as a staff pass.
Biometric readers
Fingerprint and similar readers remove the credential altogether, so there is nothing to lose, share or pass on at the door.
Best for: a small number of genuinely restricted doors, such as laboratories, server rooms, controlled stores and cash offices.
Worth knowing: biometrics cost more per door and involve holding personal data, so they are rarely the right answer for a whole building. We will tell you where they earn their cost and where a proximity card does the same job for less.
Intercoms and video entry
Intercom and video entry let your staff see and speak to a caller before releasing the door.
Best for: main entrances, goods-in doors and vehicle gates, and anywhere reception is not permanently staffed.
Worth knowing: where an Avigilon CCTV system is already in place, access events and camera footage can be brought together, so a door release and the image of the person who used it sit side by side. That makes visitor management and incident investigation considerably quicker.
Access control design and installation
How an installation works
Quotations start with a free site visit. We look at the doors, how the building is actually used and who needs to get where, then specify to suit the site and the budget rather than quoting blind.
Site visit
Free site visit and quotation
Recommendation
A recommendation based on the doors that genuinely need controlling, not a system fitted everywhere
Installation
Installed and commissioned by our engineers
Handover
Mess free installation, and your team shown how to run the system before we leave
Ongoing support
Planned maintenance and call-outs from local engineers who already know your system
SSAIB accredited and insurance approved
Our access control installations are carried out under our SSAIB certification, which covers access control, intruder alarms and CCTV. If your policy sets conditions on how your premises are secured, tell us at the survey stage so the specification can take them into account, rather than leaving you to discover a shortfall at renewal.
Your local access control company in Cambridge
We are a Cambridgeshire business, and our engineers are out across the county every day. That is what keeps response times short when a door will not release or a reader needs attention.
Areas we cover
We install and maintain commercial access control across Cambridgeshire and the surrounding counties, including Cambridge, Huntingdon, Peterborough, St Ives, St Neots, Ely, Wisbech, March, Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds.
Our engineers are local to the region, and we also work with national clients across the UK.
Sectors we work in
Our engineers have delivered access control for offices and commercial premises, retail premises, schools, warehouses, healthcare facilities and hotels, as well as pharmaceutical, manufacturing, food and drink and technology sites.
- Offices
- Retail
- Schools
- Warehouses
- Healthcare
- Hotels
- Pharmaceutical
- Manufacturing
- Food and drink
- Technology
Each sector brings its own requirements, from visitor management at a busy reception to segregated access for clean rooms and controlled stores. We specify around how the building is actually used.
“Advance Security has been our security systems installer and maintainer for the last 16 years. Our site has developed massively in that time and the security requirements have grown accordingly.
We have Access Control Systems covering some 130 entrance doors across three offices in the UK and Advance has been instrumental in ensuring they were delivered to meet our demanding deadlines.
Our CCTV system was recently brought up to the latest high definition IP platform, and again Advance Security were there to provide the transition, ensuring the minimum down time.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Advance Security, they have a can-do attitude, and are always on call at a moment’s notice when we need them – any faults being resolved or repaired the same day.”
Group Facilities Manager, Sagentia
Next step
Free site visit and quotation
We do not quote access control from a price list. We come out, look at the doors, ask how the building is used and who needs to get where, and then specify to suit the site and the budget. There is no charge for the visit.
Talk to us about your access control requirements
Book a free site surveyCall 01223 566 599No charge for the visit
Frequently asked questions
Yes. BDi Advance installs and maintains commercial door access control systems across Cambridgeshire and the surrounding counties, including Cambridge, Huntingdon, Peterborough, Newmarket, St Ives and Bury St Edmunds. We also work with national clients across the UK.
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