Introduction
essensys allows you to manage access to your premises using the new essensys Smart Access features. This guide will take you through the configuration process.
Note: All fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory.
How it Works
When you decide to use essensys Smart Access for access control, the following steps will take place:
A site survey to provide you with the hardware and installation quote.
Once the hardware is installed and the Connect configuration is complete your account will be ready to use.
You will then be able to manage access control for your users directly in Connect.
As an overview, you can manage your access control as follows:
Doors: You can make changes to the door name and properties of the door, such as enabling/disabling alarms, enabling/disabling the lock and enabling/disabling the reader. Unlocking of doors and resetting of alarms can also be executed.
Groups: Groups of doors can be created and the group can be assigned to clients at the same time. It is also possible to assign create groups with access to multiple sites.
Client Users: As long as the users have access control enabled, user will automatically gain access to the Doors in the Group it is assigned to. Please see Creating and Managing Client Users in Connect for details.
Non-Client Users: For non-client users such as visitors, security guards, and maintenance staff, these users can be managed in access control individually and also assigned to groups.
Getting Started
Log into your Connect account
Select your site/building, from the top right side of your screen, above the Calendar.
Configuring Access Control
Once you have selected your Site, all of your access control settings are available under Building > Access Control.
The Access Control area contains three main tabs:
Users: This is where you can add access to non-client individual users, who do not belong to one of your client organisations (e.g. visitors, maintenance staff, etc.)
Groups: This is where you can create access groups. A group will contain the doors which the group has access to. Clients added to this group will then have access to the doors of the group. A group can have access to one particular site or across multiple sites.
Doors: Here is where you can find a list of all your doors by site. For each door you will be able to see the doors properties and status along with actions you can perform with the door.
DOORS
The Doors tab is where you can view information about each of the doors that have been configured by essensys. A door needs to be installed with access control hardware and added to your account by essensys in order to appear in this screen.
The information that you will be able to view and/or edit here is as follows:
Door Name - editable - This is where you can add a name for the door.
Site - not editable - The site where the door is physically located.
Floor - editable - The floor where the door is located.
Held Alarm - editable enable/disable options - If this option is enabled, an alarm will be triggered if the door is held open for an extended period of time.
Forced Alarm - editable enable/disable options - If this option is enabled, an alarm will trigger if the door is forced open.
Permanently Open - editable enable/disable options - If enabled, this option will leave the door permanently open. This can be used if you want to keep that door open and no restrict access.
Disable Reader - editable enable/disable options - If enabled, this option will disable the reader on the door. You might want to use this, for example if you want to permanently lock the door.
Status - not editable - This shows the status of the door. If it is active, then a green check-mark icon will be displayed. If the controller is unable to reach the Smart access server then an exclamation mark icon will be displayed to notify you about this.
Unlock - Clicking this icon allows you to unlock a particular door remotely.
Reset Alarm - If a door's alarm has been triggered, you can click this icon to reset it/stop it from ringing.
Edit - This button allows you to make changes to the editable options.
Editing Doors
Before you can edit a door, you will need to find the door in the list.
First, filter your doors list by Site. If you have multiple sites, Connect will select the first one in alphabetical order.
Next, use the Search box to find the door that you are looking for. If you only have a few, then you can just find it in the list, at a glance.
To edit the door, click the Edit button corresponding to it. On the window that displays next, you will have the option to view and/or edit the following:
Door Name* - This is where you can add a name for the door.
Floor* - The floor where the door is located.
Held Alarm - If this option is ON, an alarm will be triggered if the door is kept open for longer an extended period of time.
Forced Alarm - If this option is ON, an alarm will trigger if the door is forced open.
Permanently Open - If turned ON, this option will leave the door permanently open.
Disable Reader - If turned ON, this option will disable the reader on the door.
Please don't forget to click Save to enable your changes.
GROUPS
Groups allow you to configure a group of doors and who has access to the group. A group can have access to multiple doors and also can be assigned multiple clients and users. For client users this can be managed through the the Clients>Users section of Connect. The Users tab is used for any non Client users, which we will discuss later in this guide.
Under the Access Control area, go to the Groups tab.
Here is where you can view:
The Group Name.
The Doors to which the Group has access to - Showing the count of Doors assigned to the group. Clicking the number will display a list of doors assigned to the group. Below is an example of what this looks like. The behaviour is the same for the Clients and Non-Client User columns.
The Clients included in the Group - Showing the count of clients assigned to the group . The list of clients can be quickly viewed by clicking the number.
Non-Client Users - If there are no Non-Client users in a particular group, then the text Add will be displayed. Otherwise, you will see the number of such users included in the group. Clicking either the Add text or the number will take you to the Users tab of the Access Control section, where you can view existing users and add new ones. Please see the Users section of this guide, below, for further details.
Status - This shows you the status of the group, at a glance. A green check-mark icon means that access is enabled for the group. A blank space means that access is disabled. If you see an hourglass icon (usually immediately after a group has been edited), this means that changes are in progress for that particular group and further changes to the group will not be possible till the previous task is completed. Please use the refresh button on the page to check if statuses are updated.
Adding a New Group
To add a new Group, click the Add button in the Groups section.
A window will open where you can configure the following:
Enter a Group Name*.
Select Doors* - You can use the Search box on top of the list to find a door by name. You can also scroll down the list and select a door by ticking the box next to it. The list of doors is organised by Sites. The top of the Doors list will show how many you have selected.
Select Clients - You can use the Search box here as well. You can also scroll down the list and select a Client by ticking the box next to their name. The list is organized by Site. The top of the Clients list will show how many you have selected. You can create groups without selecting a Client - These could be used to assign Non-Client Users, for example.
Set Enable to ON by clicking the toggle, in order to enable access. If this toggle is set to OFF, then this entire group's access will be disabled to all doors included in the group. This option is turned ON by default.
Save your Group when ready. Once saved, it will be displayed in the list, under Building > Access Control > Groups.
IMPORTANT:
You will notice that the Doors and Clients lists contain all of your sites. This is because it is possible to select Clients and Doors across different sites. This allows you to give Clients access to multiple buildings. You can create groups where Clients only have access to Doors at their assigned site, but Connect does not require you to do so.
Editing Groups
To edit a Group, you can simply search for it in the list, using the Search box at the top right. You can also filter the list by Clients (All Clients are selected by default).
Once you have found the group you want to edit, click the Edit button that corresponds to it. You will be taken to the Group editing window, where you can edit the fields as shown in the Adding a New Group section above.
Deleting Groups
To delete a Group, you can simply search for it in the list, using the Search box at the top right. You can also filter the list by Clients (All Clients are selected by default).
Once you have found the Group that you want to edit, click the Delete button that corresponds to it.
You will be asked to confirm your choice - Please click Delete to proceed or Cancel if you change your mind.
NON-CLIENT USERS
Connect also allows you to grant access to Non-Client Users; who may be anyone who does not belong to a Client Organisation (e.g. visitors, maintenance staff, etc.)
Adding New Users
You can add new non-client users by going to Building > Access Control > Users and then clicking Add.
Next, you can configure the user in the window that comes up:
Enter the user's Email* address.
Enter their First Name*.
Add their Last Name*.
Enter their Card ID - This should be associated with a physical access card.
Select the Groups* where you want to add this user. This will determine the Doors to which they have access. You can expand the Groups list by clicking on the field then checking the boxes next to the Groups that you want to select.
Add Notes if needed.
Turn on the Offline Access toggle if you would like to allow the user to have access when essensys Smart Access maybe offline. This is disabled by default. Offline Access acts as a fallback feature in case the site is offline.
Enable the user by switching the toggle to ON. (This option is turned ON by default.) When the user's access is enabled, the Users list will show a green check mark icon under the Status column. Users for which this is disabled will have a blank Status column and all access for the user will be disabled. Users that are still being processed by Connect will have an hourglass icon under their Status, until they are completed. Please wait a few seconds after you've saved a user, then refresh the page to view the new status.
Save your user.
Your user will now be displayed in the Users list along with the details you have entered and should be immediately able to access their assigned doors, as long as their Status is active (a green check mark).
Editing Users
To edit a User, you can simply search for it in the list, using the Search box at the top right.
Once you have found the User that you want to edit, click the Edit button that corresponds to it. You will be taken to the User editing window, where you can edit the fields as shown in the Adding New Users section.
Deleting Users
To delete a User, you can simply search for it in the list, using the Search box at the top right.
Once you have found the User that you want to delete, click the Delete button that corresponds to it.
You will be asked to confirm your choice - Please click Delete to proceed or Cancel if you change your mind.
Granting Access to Client Users
When you add a new Client User, they will automatically be assigned the Doors that have been included in the Client's Group. However, you will need to enable Access Control for them, by ticking the Access Control checkbox and adding a Card ID when inviting them to Connect. Please see Creating and Managing Client Users in Connect for further information.
