Page 2 - Lobby Security

K-12 Schools Use Visitor Software to Guard Against Unwanted Visitors

Friday, January 13, 2012 by John Murzycki

Visitor Management Solutions for K-12 Schools

Many K-12 schools have decided to use EasyLobby visitor systems to protect their students, teachers and other guests from unwanted visitors.

A visitor system allows the school to know who is in their facilities and the reasons why. It also allows them to screen against unwanted visitors.

By scanning each visitor ID from a driver's license the school is able to verify the identity of the guest and record when they entered and left the building.

Here are some of the major benefits of using visitor registration in a school environment:

Automatically screen against internal watch lists and/or sex offender databases.

Print customized visitor badges including a photo. Distinguish different categories of visitors.

Create watch lists to ensure that proper individuals have custodial authority to pick up children.

Print long-term volunteer visitor passes and track their time and attendance.

Account for students leaving school grounds for field trips and/or off campus recess.

The fact is that using a paper guest book for visitor sign in does little to enhance visitor security or establish a professional approach to managing visitors.

Find out more about using visitor registration software in your school. Register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the badge software features that are most applicable to your particular requirements.

Healthcare Facilities Depend on EasyLobby Badge Software

Tuesday, January 10, 2012 by John Murzycki

Hospitals and healthcare facilities are primary examples of organizations that depend on visitor systems to improve lobby management and enhance visitor security.

A case in point is the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, which is one of the many hospitals using visitor registration to improve how they are managing visitors.

Connecticut Children's began their search in 2004 to improve their existing system for visitor management. Their system had consisted of color-coded plastic badges and paper guest sign in sheets, which was an extremely cumbersome process.

The medical center was interested in EasyLobby's visitor software because of its robust features with many different capabilities It also closely aligned to their goals of managing visitors securely, flexibly and simply.

They were particularly impressed with EasyLobby after scheduling an online web conference. Shortly after the demo they decided to implement the system.

Today, EasyLobby's visitor management system is used to the fullest at the medical center to check in every visitor at every entrance. Visitor passes include a barcode for rapid check out. Even employees who have lost or forgotten their ID's are processed via the visitor system.

Multi-day passes are used at the facility to allow visitors to be checked in and out with a rapid and easy barcode scan. A Kiosk system has also been installed to allow guests to self register. The Kiosk includes a touch screen and driver's license scanner.

Connecticut Children's Medical Center uses watch lists in the visitor registration system to flag unwanted visitors. They also use email alerts to receive notifications on specific visitor behavior, such as a visitor badge that has expired but the guest has not checked out.

Hospital administrators have explained that they particularly like the flexibility and expandability of the EasyLobby visitor management software.

Subsequent to the installation of the EasyLobby system a leading security consultant audited the medical center and said that Connecticut Children's may be among the most secure Children's Hospitals in the U.S.

As the medical campus continues to expand they plan to use EasyLobby's visitor tracking software throughout the organization.

For more information about using an electronic visitor management system in your hospital, or other type of facility, register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the features that are most applicable to your particular requirements.

How to Create A Positive Impression Using Visitor Systems

Friday, January 6, 2012 by John Murzycki

When visitors enter your lobby for the first time, the old adage holds true, "There's no second chance to form a positive first impression."

A visitor system gives you the ability to greet guests and visitors with a positive, professional approach.

Unlike a paper guest book for visitor sign in, badge software allows you alleviate any concerns about lax security or about an unprofessional approach to managing visitors at your facilities.

It stands to reason that the old approach of being asked to scribble your name in a paper visitor log and then being handed a handwritten sticker does not create a positive image of the organization as professionally managed.

Of course there a lot of other benefits of using visitor software, such as being able to easily identify visitors in the building and knowing if they are in the correct place; or receiving alerts when something out of the norm takes place, such as knowing when a visitor badge has expired but that guest has not yet checked out of the building; or being able to provide temporary proximity cards to guests and contractors so that they can have access to doors, elevators or turnstiles controlled by your access system; or having the ability of employees to pre-register guests that they know will be arriving; or creating watch lists to screen against unwanted visitors.

There are many more benefits.

But there's a great way to find out more about how to use visitor registration in your facilities and its benefits. That's by registering for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate ways to use a professional lobby system and the features that might be most useful in your specific environment.

In the 12 years that we have been in business, EasyLobby has helped thousands of organization across every type of industry discover the many benefits of replacing their paper guest sign procedures with professional visitor registration software.

After all, safeguarding both guests and employees is a primary reason to implement secure visitor management.

So register today for the free web demo, and discover how more professional your organization will become and how you'll form a great first impression with all guests.

HID Global Acquires EasyLobby For Secure Visitor Management Solutions

Tuesday, January 3, 2012 by John Murzycki

On January 3, 2012 HID Global announced the acquisition of EasyLobby.

HID Global is an industry leader and is committed to enhancing customer value by delivering the most trusted, advanced and dependable secure identity solutions in the market.

EasyLobby's Visitor software is a good fit with HID Global's business. The acquisition delivers synergies across multiple market segments and will allow us to broaden our offering of ID card software to a larger audience.

The combination of the two organizations adds EasyLobby's industry-leading visitor management software to the world's most comprehensive offering of physical access control and secure card issuance systems.

As an existing or potential user of visitor systems you benefit by being part of an even stronger organization with greater resources and product offerings.

Meanwhile, EasyLobby will continue to provide you with the most product-rich visitor registration and badge software in the market.

We'll continue to post articles in this blog to help you discover more ways to improve the way you are managing visitors in your environment using our visitor registration software.

Remember, by replacing a paper guest book for guest sign in with a professional visitor system, you will improve visitor security and enhance your image as a well-run organization.

Jump here to read the press announcement about the HID Global acquisition of EasyLobby.

To discover more about creating visitor badges using our visitor system, register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the features of our visitor registration system that are most appropriate to your specific organization.

A New Year's Resolution: Improve the Image of Your Organization Using Visitor Registration Software

Friday, December 30, 2011 by John Murzycki

The beginning of a new year is a time to reflect on past accomplishments and consider improvements for the future.

If you are responsible for the image of your organization, or for overall physical security, lobby security, facilities management or any aspect of managing visitors, then this article is for you.

One of the most important security and facility improvements to consider for the new year is enhancing how visitors are managed in your organization. The process you use reflects greatly on how people view your organization.

Unfortunately, in many organizations today, visitors entering a secure building are able to gain access by simply signing a paper guest book.

Not only is this an unsecure process, but the data is usually incomplete, often difficult to read, and always impossible to analyze. And even worse, visitor data is out in the open and readily available to anyone who wants to flip through the book's pages.

But there's a better way. With a visitor system you are able to securely record guest data and create visitor passes that are professional and functional.

As a result, your organization is more professional in the way guests are treated, you improve visitor security by knowing exactly who is in your building and the reason why, and you greatly improve the visitor registration process.

And there's much more you can accomplish with badge software.

You can receive alerts on visitor behavior. For example, you may want to know when a visitor badge has expired but that guest has not checked out of the building.

You can integrate the visitor software to your access control system to provide temporary proximity card access for guests.

You can allow employees to pre-register guests they know will be arriving using a web-based interface. The information completed by the employee will automatically be sent to the lobby system, alleviating that data capture when the guest arrives. The lobby attendant can even have a visitor pass pre-printed for the guest.

You can have guests self-register when they enter the lobby, either at a kiosk or by using an iPad or other tablet computer.

Using an EasyLobby visitor registration system, you are able to accomplish all these tasks. We can also recommend many other important features that improve visitor management at your facilities.

Find out more about the benefits of using ID card software and visitor badges by registering for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the EasyLobby features that are most appropriate for your specific environment.

Season's Greetings from EasyLobby Visitor Software

Thursday, December 22, 2011 by John Murzycki

As a change of pace from our usual blog about visitor registration software, we'd like to pause to wish all our followers a joyous and happy Holiday.

We especially would like to thank all our customers for their continued support of our visitor systems as their choice for managing visitors and improving lobby security at their facilities.

This support has enabled us to continue to expand our visitor management solutions during this past year with new capabilities and options.

We know security and facility managers have other options for their badge software and we put their requirements foremost as we always strive to support them with the best visitor registration product and services.

What's most satisfying is learning about how our visitor tracking software has resulted in our customers becoming more successful by improving the image of their organization as a professionally-managed organization or by improving visitor security or managing visitors more effectively.

We admit that we frequently promote the advantages of ID card software rather than a paper guest book for visitor sign in. But it's easy to see the advantages that our customers achieve by using a visitor system.

So thank you all our supporters. Everyone here at EasyLobby wishes you a safe and healthy Holiday and best wishes for the New Year.

And please let us know if we can ever help with any questions about visitor management software. We will be more than happy to demonstrate its advantages with a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the advantages of providing visitor badges to all your guests by using an electronic visitor management system.

Again, a happy and safe Holiday to all.

Important Visitor Registration Capabilities to Consider

Thursday, December 15, 2011 by John Murzycki

Most people who use a visitor system are familiar with the primary benefits and features of it, including the capability to:

Scan a visitor ID such as a driver's license during check in to capture relevant visitor information automatically and to verify the identity of the visitor
Use the electronic visitor management system to capture additional information that is pertinent to your environment
Print professional visitor badges to identify visitors throughout the building
Run reports to understand visitor activity and how to improve the process of managing visitors

But there are many additional badge software features for you to consider to add functionality, improve visitor security and enhance the professionalism of your organization.

The first thing to consider is what's most important for you and your particular environment. Because each organization is different with specific priorities, it's important to first determine what you are looking to get out of the software. EasyLobby builds a great deal of functionality into our visitor systems and allows you to tailor it to fit your needs. But the many features are only pertinent to you if they help you manage visitors better.

For instance, EasyLobby has an employee pre-registration feature that allows your employees to pre-register guests they know will be arriving. This alleviates much of the data collection that is normally done when the guest arrives.

Some organization may want to create internal watch lists to screen against unwanted visitors and also screen against visitors on each states' sex offender database or government denied party database.

Other organizations may want to operate their lobby system in a kiosk mode so that visitors can self register. This is useful in an unattended lobby or to alleviate congestion during guest sign in at busy lobbies

Some organizations may want to monitor time and attendance with their visitor software to control the time that contractors or temporary employees are on-site.

You may want to consider integrating your visitor registration system to your access control system to provide temporary proximity card access to guests. This allows them to move about the facility without the need for an employee escort.

You may have an area within your facility that is a high security area and you want to limit any outside visitors from entering. EasyLobby has a product called Satellite that is used to control and monitor entry and exit at one or more internal locations or "check points" for visitors who have already been provided with a visitor pass at a visitor registration system.

You may want to create a specific visitor badge for different categories of visitors. Our badge maker software can easily accomplish this.

The list goes on. The point is that organizations have different concerns for improving lobby management and you need a system that has the capabilities to adapt to your needs.

Find out more by registering for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the features of our system that are best for your specific environment.

The Value of Visitor Tracking Software During an Emergency Evacuation

Wednesday, December 14, 2011 by John Murzycki

The benefit of a lobby system during an emergency

One of the often overlooked benefits of using visitor software is the value it provides during an emergency evacuation of a facility.

During an emergency such as a fire or evacuation of the building, it's valuable to know the visitors that had entered the building. By using a visitor system rather than a paper guest book for visitor sign in, with one click of the mouse you are able to call up a current visitor report and either print it or send it to others such as emergency responders.

Having a manifest of all visitors and being able to transmit that information immediately is vital.

By using visitor registration software you are able to verify and authenticate the visitors at your facility by scanning a visitor ID such as a driver's license during check in. This avoids the problems associated with paper sign in such as intelligible names or false names.

Also, because sign out is not often enforced with a paper visitor log it's often difficult to know who has left the building.

An EasyLobby visitor registration system permits you to comply with emergency evacuation plans.

In addition to emergency evacuations, visitor systems allow you to be managing visitors more professionally and to improve lobby security. By providing a professional visitor badge to each guest, you are able to identify visitors in your building and determine if they are in an authorized location.

Find out more about using EasyLobby visitor registration to improve how you manage visitors at your facilities. Register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the badge software features that are most pertinent to your specific environment.

Visitor Management Software Improves Security and Protects Assets

Tuesday, December 13, 2011 by John Murzycki

Improve Security with Visitor Management

Using visitor registration to monitor each and every guest entering your facilities is one important way to improve security and protect the assets of your organization.

Visitor software helps you better manage the flow of visitors who enter your facilities. It improves lobby management and creates an image of a well-run and professional organization.

By replacing a paper guest book and automating the entire process of guest sign in, you are able to scan a visitor ID such as a drivers license and create a professional visitor pass in seconds per visitor.

Integration of the visitor system with your access control system is recommended if you wish to provide visitors with a proximity card to allow access to locked doors, elevators or turnstiles controlled by your access system.

You are able to create alerts so that you can take certain actions based on visitor behavior. For instance, you may want to know when a person's visitor badge has expired but have not checked out.

For an increased level of security, visitor registration software can be used to flag visitors against watch lists such as each states' sex offender database or the Government Denied Parties Database to screen against unwanted visitors.

EasyLobby visitor systems have a host of features that allow you to customize the system to fit your specific needs and requirements for managing visitors and improving security.

Find out more by registering for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the features of our software that are most pertinent to your specific environment.

Incorporating Alerts into Your Badge Software

Thursday, December 8, 2011 by John Murzycki

Frequent Visitor Alert used with Visitor Systems

Using alerts in conjunction with your visitor registration software is an excellent tool for managing visitors and improving lobby management at your facilities.

Alerts can be used for a number of different reasons to notify you or others of specific visitor action or to help you better direct and manage visitors. Alerts allow lobby attendants to take certain actions based on who is checking in.

The best part is that using alerts as part of the EasyLobby visitor software is simple and uncomplicated.

Let's look at a few examples of alerts.

One example may be to notify your lobby attendant that a contractor needs to complete a drug test, watch a safety video, or complete an application or other paperwork after a specific number of visits.

Another example, in cases where your visitor system is integrated with your access control system, is to use an alert to notify the lobby attendant to ask the visitor to return their proximity card when they are checking out.

A final example may include the situation where visitors are required to wear hard hats if they are checking in to visit the manufacturing area. In this case an alert will notify the lobby attendant that so that the visitor can be notified of this.

Some common types of alerts in our visitor registration system include the following:

Frequent Visitor Alert. This type of alert notifies the lobby attendant when the maximum number of visitors for a host has been reached. It can be used in a hospital or healthcare facility to restrict the number of visitors to specific patients.

Time Based Alerts: These notify the attendant when someone has visited after a specific number of days, and the action to take. For example, a visitor might be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement after a specific time.

Arriving Visitor Alert: Using this alert in our visitor management software will result in an employee automatically receiving an email or text message alerting them that a visitor has arrived and is waiting for them in the lobby.

Any of these alerts can be used in conjunction with visitor registration to improve the effectiveness of the system and the professionalism of your organization.

Using visitor badges are a great way to identify guests and improve lobby security. The use of alerts are one additional tool to use.

Discover additional ways that our visitor management can help you improve your management of visitors. Register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the EasyLobby features that are most pertinent to your particular environment.

Interested in Improving Workplace Security? Use a Visitor Registration System to Screen Unwanted Visitors

Tuesday, December 6, 2011 by John Murzycki

A visitor system can enhance a workplace environment in many different ways, but workplace security is one of the most important reasons for using visitor software.

One of the features of visitor registration software is using watch lists and external screening services to protect your environment from unwanted visitors.

Overall, visitor management software helps organizations improve how they are managing visitors by identifying, badging and tracking all visitors. By knowing who is in their buildings and the reason why, organizations can dramatically improve visitor security.

With ID card software you are able to electronically scan a visitor ID such as a driver's license, business card, or other form of identification during guest sign in. You can capture and record all relevant information about that visitor.

By requiring that all guests wear a visitor badge, you and your employees are able to quickly and easily identify all outside individuals. You are able to see who they are and whether they are in a location in the building where they should be. You can also see whether any other restrictions are in place for that visitor, such as the requirement that they be escorted by an employee.

Any information that you capture and assign to that guest during visitor sign in can be printed on the visitor pass.

With a watch list feature a lobby system is able to automatically screen visitors before they check in, alerting your lobby attendants or security staff that an unwanted visitor is trying to check in.

Watch lists are created by you to screen against individuals that you do not want entering your facilities. Individuals might include disgruntled former employees, competitors, unprofessional contractors, or malicious individuals.

In addition to internal watch lists you can use external databases such as each states' sex offender database and the Government Denied Parties database to further regulate the individuals that are allowed entry to your facilities.

Both internal watch lists and external databases will confirm a match with seconds during visitor check in.

So consider badge software as a way to help you improve workplace security by screening unwanted individuals.

Discover more about the way EasyLobby visitor systems can be used to better identify, track, badge and screen visitors. To learn more register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we can demonstrate the features of our badge software that are most pertinent to your particular environment.

Why Use Visitor Badges at Your Organization?

Monday, December 5, 2011 by John Murzycki

Using professional visitor software to create a visitor badge for every guest entering your facilities is a good way to improve the image of your organization and enhance visitor security.

As one of the most visible aspects of any lobby management, a visitor pass allows your employees to quickly identify who a guest is and why they are in your building.

It's important to create badges that are functional for your organization so that you capture the information necessary, and also are professional-looking.

Badge ID software from EasyLobby has many features that permit you to customize how you are managing visitors and what visitor information you choose to capture and put onto visitor passes.

Here are some things to consider when developing visitor badge templates.

Color coding allows you to easily identify the category of the visitor by using a different color for say contractors, or parents, or temporary employees. You can even change the color ever day so that you can easily see an expired badge.

Self-expiring badge stock that bleeds through a red stop symbol after eight hours can be used to let you know that the badge has expired.

Consider the information that you put on your visitor ID badge. Some popular fields to include on badges are: visitor name, company affiliation, employee being visited, time of check in, visitor photo (captured by scanning their license or by a web cam), and category of visitor.

Use a barcode printed on the badge to allow you to scan for rapid check out. For frequent visitors, barcodes allow you to provide a long-term visitor ID to those guests that are returning frequently over a specific timeframe. You can simply scan it in and out whenever the guest re-enters or leaves the facility.

EasyLobby visitor registration software includes a number of pre-formatted templates that you can choose from, as well as a badge creator to allow you to design exactly the type of badge that has the information you need and also looks professional.

For more information about the many different features on creating visitor badges, as well as other aspects of our badge software, register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the features that are most pertinent to your particular requirements.

Why You Should Use Visitor Registration Software Rather Than A Paper Guest Book

Thursday, December 1, 2011 by John Murzycki

Most of our customers using badge software had previously used a paper guest book for visitor sign in.

So it's only natural for those organizations who have yet to adopt an electronic visitor management system to ask why it's better than their paper method.

We normally start our explanation by telling them that visitor software is much better because it improves the professionalism of your organization and it enhances the security of your environment.

Paper sign in books have glaring problems and in today's world are not a realistic approach for professionally managing visitors to your buildings.

Among the many problems with paper guest sign in books are illegible or false names, inability to determine who is in your building in the event of an emergency, and the guest sign in information is readily available for anyone to see even though it should be confidential.

But more than anything, a paper visitor log presents an image of lax security to other visitors and employees, thereby hurting the image of your organization.

Using visitor registration software is a modern, effective approach to lobby management and visitor security.

A visitor system will allow you to authenticate the identities of all visitors by scanning a visitor ID such as a driver's license.

You are able to capture relevant information from the scan, but you can also capture additional information that is relevant to your specific environment.

You are then able to print a professional visitor badge in a matter of seconds using the information captured, including the photo from the driver's license. The visitor pass is an important way to identify visitors and to ensure that they are where they should be in the facility. You can include information such as "escort required" or "first floor entry" or other important criteria on the visitor passes.

Visitor badges can also be formatted differently for different categories of visitors, such as contractors, day visitors, volunteers, temporary employees, etc. This also allows your staff to easily identify who that visitor is and what their purpose is in your building.

Visitor systems also allow you to screen unwanted guests from your facilities by creating watch lists. This allows you to identify people such as disgruntled former employees, competitors, or malicious people from entering your facilities. You can also use external screening services to alert you to people on each states' sex offender database or Government Denied Parties databases.

There are many additional features and capabilities of using a visitor registration system. Find out more by signing up for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the visitor tracking software features that are most appropriate for your particular environment.

Why Use External Databases To Screen Individuals During Visitor Registration

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 by John Murzycki

Using External Databases with Visitor Passes

A visitor system is able to perform a number of important functions to enhance how you are managing visitors and to improve visitor security at your facilities.

Scanning a visitor ID such as a driver's license and creating a professional visitor badge is certainly an important capability.

Today, however, I'd like to focus on one particular aspect of your visitor management software - the ability to screen guests against outside databases.

There are two particular databases that the EasyLobby visitor software uses: Sex Offender Screening and the Visual Compliance/Government Denied Party Screening.

These external screening services differ from internal Watch Lists because the individuals listed on these two services are placed there by specific Government agencies.

Internal watch lists contain the names of individuals that you specifically place on a list because you want to highlight their entry at you lobby system. These individuals might include disgruntled ex-employees, competitors, unprofessional contractors or other unwanted individuals.

Let's examine each of these external databases separately.

With the sex offender screening service you are able to screen visitors against all 50 states' registered sex offender databases at one time and receive a positive match within two seconds during guest sign in.

The EasyLobby badge software is able to generate automatic email alerts to notify your security staff of a match during check in. Results often include a photo, and always provide a physical description of the offender.

This is an annual subscription-based service that is an option to the primary EasyLobby visitor registration software.

The sex offender database screening is particularly relevant for K-12 schools, colleges and universities, children's hospitals, and other facilities trying to safeguard children.

Another screening service offered by EasyLobby is the Visual Compliance/Government Denied Party Screening.

This is also a fast and automatic screening option that compares all visitors who check into your facilities and alerts you of a match within two seconds during visitor sign in.

The Denied Party screens against more than 50 U. S. government lists, including the Terrorists and FBI watch lists, GSA, Munitions, International, Banking, Police and others.

Like the sex offender screening you can generate automatic email alerts to notify security of a match. It is also an annual subscription-based service.

The Denied Party Screening is relevant for government and military facilities, critical infrastructure facilities, Utilities, Chemical plants, and other facilities concerned about or required to perform this type of screening.

If you use a visitor registration system to create visitor badges, you may want to consider adding either of these two external screening services to better protect the people in your facilities.

To see this function, as well as the many additional EasyLobby visitor management capabilities, register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the many features and capabilities of our software that are most appropriate to your particular requirements.

Industry Partnerships Enhance EasyLobby Visitor Systems

Monday, November 28, 2011 by John Murzycki

One of the competitive advantages of EasyLobby badge software is the many partnerships that exist between us and world-class security management and system integration organizations around the world.

We highlight these relationships not because we want to impress you. Rather it's the value that they bring to our customers. When implementing a visitor registration system, these relationships add considerable value to the visitor management solutions that we offer.

These partnerships are not for show or in name only. EasyLobby visitor software has a working relationship at the technical, product and sales level with more security firms than anyone else.

As a result, it ensures that your EasyLobby visitor system works seamlessly with other security solutions such as access control. It provides you with more options in managing visitors and improving visitor security.

The quality of the organizations that we've partnered with is also a positive statement. These leading companies want to work with EasyLobby because they understand that we are the leader in visitor registration software.

Together, we form powerful alliances that bring integrated solutions and more features to our joint customers.

Here is a list of the access control systems that are integrated with EasyLobby's ID card software.

Read our white paper to learn more about the integration of EasyLobby visitor management software with various access control systems and how it benefits you.

For more information about how you can replace your paper guest book for visitor sign in with a professional lobby system, register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the visitor registration features that are best for your particular environment.

Happy Thanksgiving From All of Us at EasyLobby Visitor Software

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 by John Murzycki

On the day before Thanksgiving it's appropriate to forgo our usual blog post about the advantages of visitor registration - there are plenty of posts if this is something you are looking for - and instead thank all our users and partners for contributing to our success.

EasyLobby has been in existence for over 14 years, and without the ongoing support of our customers we never could have achieved such a leadership role in visitor management software.

You see, it's our customers that provide us with the direction and the feedback on their badge software needs and what's most important to their environments. We always take comments from our users seriously and incorporate their feedback into updates of our visitor system.

What's most satisfying is hearing about how our customers have become more successful or improved their image or heightened their visitor security by using our visitor registration software.

So we thank all our supporters and we wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. And as always, please let us know if we can help you with any questions about your visitor systems or the creation of visitor badges.

For those of you who are not yet users, you can find out more about how EasyLobby's visitor management can be used at your facilities to improve lobby security and manage visitors more professionally by registering for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the features of our badge ID software that are most helpful to your particular circumstances.

Now Is A Good Time To Review Your Visitor System

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 by John Murzycki

When was the last time you evaluated the effectiveness of your visitor registration system?

At many facilities the answer is, "Far too long."

But there are many opportunities for improving the way you are managing visitors that will both improve visitor security and enhance the professionalism of your organization. And you should periodically take advantage of the opportunity to do so.

First of all, if you are still using a paper guest book for visitor sign in, then you are definitely not getting the most out of your visitor management techniques.

EasyLobby badge software provides a great deal of flexibility and customization, allowing you to capture exactly the information you need, knowing who is in your buildings and why. You also will be able to improve the processes for dealing with visitors.

It's a good idea to evaluate the visitor software functions that you are using, and which ones you are not. Here's a brief list of things to evaluate and consider:

What information are you including on visitor badges? Do you include a barcode for easy check out with a simple scan? What about the visitor's photo scanned from their driver's license or taken with a web camera? Remember, the visitor badge is one of the most visible aspects of visitor registration, so take every opportunity to make sure it is professional as well as functional.

What alerts are you using? Visitor systems allow you to incorporate a wide variety of alerts so that you are notified of specific visitor activity. One example is an alert on expired badges so that you know when a badge has expired but the visitor has not yet checked out.

How are you screening unwanted visitors? Do you create watch lists in your lobby system so that the attendant can be alerted about someone trying to check in that you do not want to enter your facilities. These might include disgruntled former employees, unwanted contractors, someone from a competing company or any other categories.

Have you integrated your visitor management with your access control system? This will allow you to provide temporary proximity card access to guests and contractors through your visitor system.

Do you produce reports to analyze visitor activity? This is a great way to determine if there are trends that will allow you to operate more effectively or improve lobby security.

These are some of the visitor management software improvements that you may want to consider. Find out more by registering for a free online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we can demonstrate that ID card software techniques that are most appropriate for your particular organization.

EasyLobby Visitor Registration Software is a Sponsor of NACHRI's Children's Hospital This Week

Friday, November 18, 2011 by John Murzycki

EasyLobby is currently one of the premier sponsors of the NACHRI Children's Hospital THIS WEEK.

The electronic newsletter is designed to further the education and enrichment opportunities for Children's Hospital administrators and clinical providers. It is produced by NACHRI, the National Association of Children's Hospital and Related Institutions.

Visitor software is used at many Children's Hospitals across the country to improve visitor security and to enhance how they are managing visitors at their facilities.

By scanning a visitor ID such as a driver's license, the visitor system is able to capture all the necessary information from the license and produce a professional visitor pass.

EasyLobby visitor systems are being used to scan and badge millions of visitors every day at Children's Hospitals throughout the country.

Our badge software is also integrated with other hospitals systems such as HL7 for real-time patient feeds. This allows the lobby attendant to receive up-to-date information about patient admissions and discharges into their lobby system so that they can match a visitor to a specific patient.

Maximum visitor alerts can be set so that a specified number of visitors can visit a particular patient at any one time. Once that number is exceeded an alert will inform the lobby attendant that the maximum number of guests has been reached for that patient.

With our access control integration, proximity card access can be provided to contractors or temporary employees directly from our ID badge system. This will allow them to access doors controlled by the access system without the need of being escorted by an employee.

Our Status Blue integration for hospitals allows the lobby attendant to see if a vendor is on the pre-approved vendor list of the hospital to facilitate their entry for certain individuals while limiting those who are not on the list.

Our sex offender database screening allows hospitals to screen against individuals who are on each states' sex offender database. Used in conjunction with our watch list feature, hospitals can screen against individuals they do not want in their facilities.

These and many other features make EasyLobby visitor management software a great fit for Children's Hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

To find out more, register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we can demonstrate the visitor registration features that are most applicable to your specific requirements.

What Security Dealers and Integrators Need to Understand about Badge Software

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 by John Murzycki

EasyLobby recently authored an article in the November 2011 issue of industry publication Security Sales & Integration titled "Round Our Your Line With Visitor Management."

It's sort of a 'how to article' for security dealers and integrators who might not currently be carrying visitor systems as part of their product line.

Here are a few quotes from the article.

"The fact is, providing a visitor management system in your product line can add a great deal of value and complement existing security products.

"Although a paper guest book for guest sign in may be considered quick and easy, it is fraught with a number of security problems and diminishes the professionalism of an organization.

"To address these issues, security dealers and integrators are able to fill a need by recommending and in some cases administrating, visitor software for their clients.

"Dealers and integrators must consider the integration of any security system with other systems and how they operate in concert. That's where a professional visitor system comes into play.

"The integration of visitor registration software with electronic access control allows a lobby attendant to easily and safely provide temporary proximity credentials to visitors rather than doing so through the access control system. This simplifies the process and allows someone unfamiliar with the access system to provide temporary card privileges to visitors.

"Access control and visitor registration integration allows appropriate visitors to move freely through facilities without the need of an employee escort. The information entered into the lobby system during visitor check-in is seamlessly passed to the access control system.

"Screening unwanted visitors from a facility is also one of the functions of visitor tracking software. By creating watch lists in the electronic visitor management system, a lobby attendant or security officer will be alerted within seconds when someone on the list tries to enter the facility at a visitor check-in station.

"Although lobby attendants are often used to check in visitors with badge ID software, visitor self-registration is also an option. Either a freestanding kiosk or the use of an iPad or tablet computer can be used to allow guests to register themselves by completing required fields, much like the self-check-in employed at most airlines today.

"The good thing about visitor management software is that it is appropriate for just about every environment, from small to large."

Read the complete article in Security Sales & Integration here.

And for more information about the use of visitor badges and an ID badge system - regardless of whether you are a security integrator or a user - register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the many features of our software that are most appropriate to your particular requirements.

How Visitor Software Can Protect K-12 Students - A Case Study

Monday, November 14, 2011 by John Murzycki

The Union Gap School District in Union Gap, Washington is one of the many K-12 schools that protects students from unwanted guests by using EasyLobby badge ID software.

One of the reasons Union Gap School District installed a visitor system was to alert lobby attendants to any visitors who are on each states' sex offender database.

School administrators are understandably careful about protecting their students from possible predators, which was a primary motivation for the installation of visitor tracking software.

All guests entering the school must present a visitor ID with a photo such as a driver's license. The ID is scanned to capture the information and to create a professional visitor pass.

Like many other schools, Union Gap decided to do away with a paper guest book for guest sign in, replacing it with a modern, professional approach to managing visitors.

Now, upon visitor check in, if the guest is listed on any states' sex offender database a warning will alert the attendant.

"If it protects one child it's well worth the money that we spent on it," said Kurt Hilyard, Union Gap School District Superintendent. "Safety in school has changed over the last 10 - 20 years and now it's one of the most important things you can do in a facility."

EasyLobby visitor registration is used at hundreds of K-12 schools throughout the country to improve visitor security and to protect students.

Union Gap officials explain that visitor registration software is a cheap insurance policy for their most precious possession.

Read an article and watch a video from TV station KIMA about the EasyLobby badge software in place at the Union Gap School District.

For more information about the features of EasyLobby visitor systems that can be used in a school in your area, register for a free, personalized online web conference.

In about 30 minutes we will demonstrate the features of an electronic visitor management system that can be applied to your school to better protect students and staff.

Lobby Security