Access Control and Visitor Management
Access control decides who enters, where they go and what they carry out. The exam tests the three-step check, the columns of a visitor register, badge and escort rules, and how to stop tailgating.
The three checks
Every person at a gate must pass three tests: identity (photo ID, employee card), purpose (why he has come), and authorisation (has the person he is visiting agreed?). Miss one and the entry is not complete. Apply the principle of least privilege - give the minimum access needed for the shortest necessary time.
Visitor register
Standard columns: serial number, date, name, address and mobile, organisation, person to meet, purpose, badge number, time in, time out, signature of visitor, signature of guard. Fill every column in ink; never leave out-time blank.
Badges and escort
Use colour-coded badges (visitor, contractor, vendor, VIP). Contractors carry tools in and out against a tool list. Visitors entering restricted or sensitive areas are escorted at all times.
Stopping tailgating
Tailgating is one person entering on another's valid entry; piggybacking is entry on a false claim of authorisation. Counter it by one-person-at-a-time checks, turnstiles, boom barriers, and politely stopping anyone who 'is with him'.
Vehicles and material
Check driver ID, vehicle pass, and load against the invoice or gate pass. Look inside the cabin, the boot and the undercarriage; use a mirror for the underside. Record the seal number where applicable.
Worked example
A technician arrives at 10:20 with a toolbox to service the server-room air conditioner. The guard checks the ID, finds a valid work permit, telephones the facilities officer for confirmation, issues a red contractor badge, logs the tools in, and arranges an escort. Reasoning: identity, purpose and authorisation are all satisfied, yet the server room still needs escort because least privilege applies.
Traps that cost marks
- Letting in a familiar face without a pass.
- Logging the in-time but never the out-time.
- Failing to check a toolbox on the way out.
- Allowing a queue to walk through on one badge.