How to get smart with visitor management at your manufacturing facilities

Manufacturing has been great at innovating… in certain areas. Think machines in place of human labor, the ability to mass produce, and leveraging smart AI. It has contributed to manufacturing’s growth rates and why the industry has been able to add over 1.4 million jobs across the US alone this year.But with so much growth and focus on machine innovation, many manufacturers are now playing catch up when it comes to other areas of digital technology–especially physical security and visitor management. After all, facilities are up and running, and the number of workers and visitors are ever increasing. If your facilities are still relying on legacy systems, they’re not likely able to keep up. And those who continue to use outdated technology make their enterprises vulnerable to attack. Let’s explore how to upgrade from your legacy systems to a seamless, efficient, and scalable visitor management solution.

The problem with legacy systems

A legacy system is an outdated piece of software or hardware that is still in use, but no longer allows for growth or integration with newer systems. It’s called a legacy system because it’s a system that your business has likely used for a while and is very comfortable with as a result. For manufacturing companies, this might be pen and paper sign-in at the front desk to track important visitors and vendors. Or it could be clunky access control methods that don’t talk to any of your other security systems. Here are a few reasons why sticking with your legacy systems will weigh you down in today’s digital era. Legacy systems are:

1. Unable to securely store data

Still using pen and paper visitor log books? What if you need to find a record of a sign-in or create a report of the frequency of check-ins throughout the week? With legacy systems, secure storage of data is either impossible or takes up huge amounts of room on hard drives.  

2. Hard to configure

Older systems don’t allow configuration at a regional level. This means that as your company grows, you might miss varying and changing regulations that you need to stay on top of. This increases the risk across each of your global workplace locations.

3. Impossible to integrate and update

It’s all well and good upgrading to newer systems and features, but if you can’t integrate it with your main operating system then it can prove difficult to maintain.

4. Cumbersome to operate

Legacy systems are manual systems, which mean that no part of the process is automated. This can lead to human error down the line, and can be overly cumbersome for people to use.

5. Limited in functionality

Legacy systems are often limited in functionality because they are built to only solve one problem. Now, smart all-in-one platforms offer many features that can help several areas of your business.

How a visitor management system can modernize your operation

So now that you’re aware of the problems with legacy systems, let’s explore some ways a visitor management system can help modernize your operation. A VMS can:

1. Automate repetitive tasks

A visitor management system reduces tedious, manual tasks by automating them for your front desk and security staff. It saves them time by assisting them in different ways. For example, it will automatically send emails to upcoming visitors with important information, like health and safety policies, pre-register invitation, or requesting information from them like their country of citizenship.

2. Streamline your operations

A visitor management system will streamline your paperwork process by digitizing it into one, easy sign-in flow. No more scrambling for documents or forgetting to ask visitors to sign-in when they reach the site. Using a visitor management system means you’ve covered everything you need to ahead of time, making the visitor experience more streamlined and efficient when they arrive.

3. Connect disconnected data

A visitor management system is a central system for all of your data, connecting and storing it securely in the cloud. This means that when you need to complete an audit, find information, or provide any kind of report, you can locate the data you need to with ease. What’s more, as you collect more data in one location, you’ll gain visibility on important trends. This helps you to analyze and make more informed decisions about the future.

–

A visitor management system goes beyond a simple sign-in on an iPad. It acts as the central system you need to connect all of your locations, data, and people. No matter if your business is an international factory, working office, or multiple large-scale plants, a visitor management solution means that you can secure your facilities, control your compliance, and automate your operations–all with ease and efficiency.