Who knew that something as simple as entering and leaving a gym could be such a point of focus!?
There's generally a lot of back and forth about the pros and cons of the many methods of access control. It's like the marmite of tech. Whether it's the worry of data security that makes you hate one way, or the convenience that means you love another, one thing is for sure... We've heard it all before. And having listened to our customers and all of their objections and endorsements, we are now able to provide you with a concise comparison with a ratings out of 5 stars. Rest assured, this is not a sales pitch. Each method has it's merits, and whilst one form of access control might be the perfect solution for one club, it might not be for another. The ClubWise system integrates with each of these seamlessly, so whichever one you have at your club, at the end of the day you know there is a high quality solution to support it.
So let's start with the basics...
3 things most clubs look for when choosing an access control system:
Security
Member Convenience
Uniqueness
And there are 3 ways of monitoring and enabling access:
Something you know
Pass codes and PINs.
Something you have
Some kind of card, wrist band or fob.
Something you are
A unique element physiologically such as fingerprint.
So bringing the two together enables us to draw the following conclusions...
Something you know
This is no doubt the easiest option. You hand out a pass code to your members and you're on your way. The system requires very little maintenance bar the periodic change of the code, which you can communicate to your members, and then you can pretty much leave the members to it. However, we all know the general security palaver around weak and strong passwords, which applies to member access as much as it does your bank account or office computer. You also run the risk of your members forgetting the password, however you have to weigh up the likelihood of them forgetting a password vs them forgetting a card or a fob for example. Whilst this option is becoming less popular due to the increasing problems with member fraud, it can be very effective for small clubs where the trainers know their members faces reasonably well, and although in the club they might not be manning the desk.
Security 
Member Convenience
Uniqueness
Something you have
Barcoded or magnetic strip cards, along with fobs and wristbands are highly popular for access control in fitness clubs. And it's easy to see why. They are easily branded, relatively cheap and can just slip into the member's wallet, on to their car keys or sit round their wrist. In my opinion, any one object that allows entry can be a pain to replace, and can also be passed on to a non-member, nonetheless for an unmanned desk it is more secure than PIN.
Security
Member Convenience
Uniqueness
Something you are
This brings us on to biometrics. The most common of the biometric options for fitness clubs is the fingerprint. Now, this has gathered a lot of attention over the last couple of years. The main benefits are a) you can't very well forget your finger and b) it completely eliminates the risk of membership fraud on entry. The one potential draw back is initial outlay costs. Whilst biometric readers can be a little more expensive to implement than other methods, if you analyse the cost of things like membership cards, fobs, man-hours in set up and membership fraud to your club, the financial return on investment quite often outweighs any initial costs for the reader. The only other potential niggle would be that some people don't like the idea of having their fingerprint on file. Though these days that needn't be a problem as readers come with both fingerprint readers and card swipe/PIN technology.
Security
Member Convenience
Uniqueness
ClubWise access control gives your members access to your club through entry turnstiles or doors using the most popular and reliable methods; biometric recognition, card, fob or PIN code. Non-members and those in arrears will be denied access to your club, enabling you to take action when a breach occurs. With an increase in unmanned desks and late night/24 hour clubs, it is more important now to have a secure and reliable system to run your club's access control.
COMING SOON! Contactless phone entry! Stay tuned for more information!
Want to learn more about how ClubWise can help you with Access Control systems?