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Holiday security tips to share with your multifamily residents

Posted on by clapointe

The most wonderful time of the year for many — including criminals — is upon us. Ensure that your multifamily community and its residents are prepared for the holiday season by sharing these holiday security tips in your next community newsletter.

holiday security tipsSecure the perimeter

Make sure all of your doors and windows are locked prior to leaving your home. Most break-ins are done without force. Simply making sure all of your entry ways are locked can be a big deterrent.

Review community guest policies

With the influx of foot traffic during the holiday season, it’s important to remind residents that they are responsible for the conduct and safety of their guests. It’s also important to share rules for guests and overnight visitors, holiday parking changes, or any other restricted activities. Some important things to clarify:

– What CDC restrictions/guidelines are currently in place?

– Are guests able to stay overnight?

– How long are guests allowed to stay before it becomes a violation of the lease agreement?

– Where are guests allowed to park?

– Do guests need permits to park on-site or nearby?

A few gentle reminders can go a long way towards preventing unnecessary security risks.

If you are leaving town…

Put a hold on mail

Put your mail delivery on hold until you return. Putting a hold on your mail and the newspaper will keep them from piling up and letting people know you are not home.

Install timers

Put certain lights within your home on timers. This will give the appearance that your home is occupied, reducing the likelihood of a break-in.

Wait to share

Refrain from posting about your holiday on social media until you return home. While it is exciting to let all of your friends and followers know where you are going, this also means that onlookers can see that you will be leaving your home unattended.

With these simple holiday security tips in mind, HandyTrac would like to wish everyone a safe and relaxing holiday season!

Resources:

The Moran Group. 2018. 10 Holiday Tips for Property Managers and Tenants. Retrieved from femoran.com

HandyTrac User Tip: Accessing Your System in a No-Power Situation

Posted on by clapointe

No matter the location, your community or facility is guaranteed to experience a power outage at some point. For that reason, it’s important to be prepared ahead of time by ensuring that you have control of your keys, regardless of the situation. Learn how to access your electronic key system in any no-power situation using these simple steps:

electronic key systemWhat do I do if my system won’t function? (no power or buttons are nonoperational)

1. The first step for any issue is to turn the system off for 60 seconds and then turn back on. Flip the red rocker switch on the bottom or right side of the black box the keypad is mounted on. If you are having trouble locating this switch, unplug the power cord from the outlet. If your system still has no power after this, skip to step 4.

2. Test system by pushing the Blue Enter button or the F5 key on the Touch system after the
system has completed booting and is displaying time and date. If your system is still not operable, skip to step 4.

3. See if you can access the system using your badge and pin or fingerprint on biometric-enabled systems. If you are now able to use the system, we recommend powering off the system and following the next steps to prevent further issues until the emergency is over.

4. Log in and print your key map from handytrac.com.

5. Use one of the keys provided with the system to open the cabinet door, pull and return keys manually based on the key map.

6. In the event you don’t have a cabinet key, you will need to drill out the lock and either order a replacement or swap it out with a compatible mailbox lock.

What do I do if an event is on the horizon (wild fires, hurricane, or flooding)?

1. Log in to handytrac.com to print off your key map.

2. Turn off the system and UPS (uninterruptible power supply) battery backup. This will ensure that it has sufficient battery life to help pull keys and protect it from lighting strikes or power fluctuations during emergencies.

3. Use the cabinet key and the key map to open the cabinet and pull keys manually.

4. If you do not have cabinet key, you will need to drill out the lock and order a replacement lock from website

For accessing your system in any no-power situation, you will need the key for the lock on your cabinet. We suggest storing the key in a safe location where it can be accessed in an emergency and do not store it in the cabinet. Additionally, make sure to collect the keys from any manager that is leaving or may be unavailable for an extended period of time.

Should you have any further questions regarding your electronic key system, please contact our support team.

Useful Key Management Reports Generated by HandyTrac

Posted on by clapointe

key management reportsIn addition to providing a secure lockbox for community keys, HandyTrac offers numerous useful key management reports. This “paper trail” is critical, not just for protecting your residents and keeping your employees accountable, but also for protecting your company through proven due diligence. Here’s a look at some of the key management reports provided by a HandyTrac key control system:

Reports by Housing Unit

This report focuses on each individual unit in your complex, documenting how many times keys were checked out for that unit during the report period, as well as who checked them out, and for what purpose. If a specific resident has expressed concerns about entry into their unit, you’ll easily be able to identify any discrepancies.

Reports by Functional Activity

This report sorts all key management activity in your community according to reason code (e.g., preventative maintenance or a unit inspection). This feature helps you keep track of things like ongoing maintenance functions as well as providing documentation for compliance purposes.

Keys Out Report

Find out at any time which keys are checked out, by whom and for what reason. Pull this report anytime you want a snapshot of current activity on your property, or have a keys out report emailed to you daily. This way, you can easily track employee activity on the grounds to make sure everyone is where they should be — and be alerted if anyone is where they shouldn’t be.

Report by Employee

This report identifies each employee’s key in-and-out activity during the specified report period, useful for tracking with job performance as well as identifying any unusual activity.

As a result of customer feedback and our commitment to provide a seamless user experience for all property managers, the following reports have recently been made available:

Empty Hook Report

The Empty Hook Report allows users to quickly see a list of the hooks in the system that should not have keys on them. This is helpful during key audits or when you need to quickly check to see if keys are being pulled and returned to their correct locations. It is also a quick way to see if there are any keys missing from the system.

Key Tag Search Report

The Key Tag Search Report allows you to quickly search all of your transactions for a key tag number. If you have a key that will no longer scan in the system, you can search for that tag number and see if it ever was in the system, and if so, to what unit the key belonged and when it was edited out of the system.

Unit List Report

The Unit List Report gives you a list of all of the units in the system without sensitive information such as tag numbers and hook locations. We recommend having this report near the HandyTrac system as a quick reference of unit names to make pulling a key quicker and less error prone for employees that do not often use the system and may be unfamiliar with the naming scheme of the units in the system.

Custom email reports

Lastly, our email reports allow you to create a completely custom report to be emailed to you daily. If you want to keep a close eye on certain activity codes or certain units, you can now have this information automatically emailed to you without needing to log in to the HandyTrac site. Multiple custom reports can be created for a variety of criteria.

These key management reports can be accessed online from any authorized device, sent to any printer in your network and/or emailed to pertinent staff, making it easy to pull and access reports anytime you need them. To learn more about our systems and key management reports, contact us today!

The Importance of Mechanical Key Control

Posted on by clapointe

mechanical key controlThe most important facet of any mechanical key control system is its ability to prevent residence keys from falling into the wrong hands. The main issue presented by traditional key systems and hook boards is keys going missing without a trace. Missing keys are not only a source of stress, they put the community’s management company at risk.

In Texas, for example, a jury awarded $18-million to a multifamily resident after being assaulted and abducted by a man who had gained access to her apartment unit using a backup key. The assailant broke into the management office and found the correctly numbered backup keys hanging unsecured on a hook.

Founded by apartment industry veterans who saw the value in a system that organizes and keeps track of unit keys, HandyTrac offers two affordable mechanical key control systems to suit any community or facility. Using HandyTrac’s audit trail generated reports, managers are fully aware of community ongoings and can ensure a safe environment for residents and employees alike. Additionally, in the event a crime is committed, due diligence can be quickly proven using key management reports generated by HandyTrac.

In about the same amount of wall or desk space currently being used for keys, HandyTrac’s combined biotechnological display unit provides the highest possible level of security, flexibility, and reporting capability. To learn more about our unique mechanical key control systems, contact us today!

Key Control Best Practices for Student Housing

Posted on by clapointe

student housingIn a perfect world, a college or university campus should be a safe space. It’s a place for hungry and curious minds to learn and live peacefully. The reality, however, is when you have large groups of people moving about in a large number of buildings, each with hundreds of rooms, you’re left with thousands of potential vulnerability points — access points for criminals to steal or otherwise do harm. So, how do you properly manage student housing keys in a way that minimizes risk and helps keep students, and their belongings safe?

Restrict Access to Campus Keys

When you think of every door as an access point, you realize that your campus keys are either your best tool for security or your greatest point of risk. How you manage those keys determines which is which. Keys, whether mechanical or electronic, should always be secured and issued to staff only as needed. Installing a key control system can help this process. This way, only authorized staff can access lock boxes by use of their IDs (or even fingerprints), and keys can be checked out as needed and returned when the staff is finished. For electronic key systems, you can take this a step further by programming the system to allow staff access only to their authorized areas on campus.

Keep Tabs on your Keys

Every key that gets misplaced becomes a security liability, and with thousands of keys roaming around campus, they are remarkably easy to misplace. Key control systems not only can restrict access to authorized staff — they also create a documented audit trail so can track which keys are checked out to whom, and for how long. The system can also alert you of unusual patterns or behaviors. You’ll know immediately if a key goes missing, and you’ll know who had the key last.

Implement Robust Security Measures

On large campuses, even with strong vetting and background checks in place, sometimes bad guys slip through the cracks. Although you’ve restricted keys to authorized campus staff, how do you protect against violations from within the ranks? Answer: you create additional security features in your key tracking system, implement multi-step security protocols for people accessing keys, keep keys barcoded and placed in randomized positions within the box, and pull reports frequently so you can quickly detect suspicious activity.

If you’re serious about properly managing your campus keys, HandyTrac can provide a secure key control system perfect for your organization’s needs. To learn more, contact us today!

Premium Touch Integration for Yardi

Posted on by clapointe

YardiOver the past 20 years, we’ve discovered that property managers across the country are inheriting a variety of roles to satisfy their ever-growing list of property needs. With this in mind, we’ve teamed up with property management software company, Yardi to provide seamless work order delivery and simplified key management for property managers through consolidated processes.

Upon request, Yardi users with a HandyTrac Premium Touch system now have the ability to customize their experience through the use of a unique and secure work order system. Features like service order and staff data importation will allow managers to quickly review staff data and execute assigned work orders directly via the Premium Touch datalog.

For more information, contact us today.

About Yardi:

Since its founding in 1984, Yardi has set the standard for real estate software solutions with a combination of responsiveness and technical innovation. Understanding the unique needs of the industry’s various segments, Yardi uses technical expertise and vision to translate that understanding into powerful solutions that meet and exceed those needs.

 

About HandyTrac:

HandyTrac is the low-cost leader in multifamily and military housing key control; managing keys for more than 3 million apartment homes throughout the country. We offer three unique cloud-based systems that provide instant access to archived reporting and provide the ability to manage your communities with a single login through your computer or smartphone. For more information, visit www.handytrac.com or call 800-665-9994.

The Elements of a Strong Multifamily Key Control Policy

Posted on by clapointe

multifamily key control policyConcerned that your community has too much fluidity with its key control? Here are some ways to strengthen multifamily key control policy and restrict access:

Keep the keys secure

Keys should be kept in a strong, tamper-proof, locked cabinet that can only be unlocked through a series of protocols.

Implement multi-step access

Make sure your employees go through several steps before a key is issued to them. For example, the employee may need to scan a badge and input a PIN number before the box opens. Better yet, implement a biometric system that reads fingerprints.

Enforce accountability

Employees should input which key(s) they are taking, at what time, and for what purpose — and they should check keys back in by a similar process.

Secure restricted access points

For enhanced security, certain employees should only access certain keys for certain parts of the building or community. They may only be allowed to check out specific physical keys, or their card keys may be coded for access to certain rooms.

Streamline your reporting

Management should be able to view reports at any given time that can show how many keys are out, who has them, which buildings/units have been accessed and at what time. This type of monitoring may be crucial to identifying potential violations because unusual activity can be identified easily.

Establish an audit trail

Reports should be backed up offsite to prevent any attempts to manipulate the data.

Train employees with a consistent protocol

Every employee should be properly trained in the procedure for obtaining and returning keys, and check-out/check-in occurs exactly the same way every time.

Advantages of a Strong Key Control Policy

Making improvements to your key control policy can do the following:

● Help you quickly identify and correct violations for heightened security

● Help you prevent an intrusion from happening in the first place

● Help you pinpoint suspicious activity in the unlikely event of a break-in

● Give you and your residents greater peace of mind

Keys provide virtually untraceable access, making them your greatest potential vulnerability. This means that your keys must be accompanied by the highest levels of security and oversight.

HandyTrac offers a variety of key control solutions designed to enhance your company’s key control policy, making it easy to monitor, track, and secure your keys. To learn more, contact us today.

Common Reasons for Missing Keys on a Multifamily Property

Posted on by clapointe

multifamily key controlA potential resident arrives at your community to tour a unit, but the unit key is missing without a trace. Where is the key? How quickly can you find the key? Who in the community might have the key? Has there been a security breach? How long is the customer willing to wait while you search?

This scenario happens daily at multifamily, student and military housing communities that attempt to operate without an electronic key management system. The key is either on-site, off-site, or stolen. In most cases, the key will be recovered within a few minutes; however, without an audit trail, the key could be missing forever.

Missing Key Reason #1: The key is on-site

Most of the time, the unit key is somewhere on-site with an authorized employee. He or she has left it in their pocket, bag, sticking out of a lock, or on a countertop in the unit. Meanwhile, the entire community is suddenly engaged in a search to find the key.

Unlike hook boards and standard key cabinets, electronic key control systems offer thorough key management reports allowing property managers to quickly identify who withdrew the key last.

Missing Key Reason #2: The key is off-site

If an employee accidentally takes a key home and your community uses a hook board, there is no way to track it down. With an electronic key control system, you can prevent keys from being accidentally taken by running a keys out report on your smartphone or computer near the end of each shift. With the report in hand, you can contact the employees who still have keys and remind them to return the keys before clocking out.

Missing Key Reason #3: The key has been stolen

If the key is still missing after your search, it is possible that it has been stolen. If community keys are easily accessible or often left out, the culprit could be just about anyone. Without an electronic key control system, you not only have to worry about resident safety, but also premises liability in the event of criminal activity as a result of poor key management.

An electronic key control system like HandyTrac holds users accountable for every key removed, and integrates multi-step verification to prevent keys from falling into the wrong hands.

At HandyTrac, we specialize in multifamily key control and offer three secure, easy-to-use electronic key management systems designed for properties large and small. Contact us today for more information.

How to Improve Multifamily Property Efficiency with Electronic Key Control

Posted on by clapointe

property efficiencyIf you haven’t already implemented an electronic key control system in your multifamily community, your property may be at risk. An electronic key control system ensures accountability, while improving security and limiting liability for property managers. Take a look at some of the features an electronic key control system offers to improve security and boost property efficiency:

Streamline the Key Access Procedure

The best way to track keys is to store them in one secure, centralized location where employees can check out and return them. Without this feature, keys can get misplaced or stolen simply because no one really knows where they’re supposed to be when not in use.

Track Keys in Real Time

In real time, the system records key whereabouts and access history. Additionally, a variety of reports are readily available to provide management with data regarding the status and location of every key.

Control Key Access

With HandyTrac, the access and return of keys is controlled by a multi-step verification procedure. If, for example, an employee is able to check out a key by simply swiping his/her badge, criminals can gain access by stealing or copying the badge. But if that employee must swipe the badge and type in a code — or better yet, use a fingerprint identification — the risk of theft goes down exponentially. HandyTrac also allows property managers to prevent employees from gaining access to certain units.

To learn more about how our secure key control systems improve property efficiency and security, contact us today!

Electronic Key Management Options for Military Housing

Posted on by clapointe

military housingMilitary housing communities without an effective key control system can be particularly vulnerable due to lost, misplaced or misappropriated keys, increasing the risk of theft and other crimes. Fortunately, there are solutions for streamlining key management that help keep military families safe. Let’s explore some key control features beneficial to military housing communities.

Restricted Access Systems

While community keys provide access, they also represent the greatest security vulnerability because they can be used to enter with no sign of intrusion. Protect your keys by keeping them, theoretically speaking, under lock-and-key. A restricted access unit keeps all keys in one place, locked in a secure box that can only be accessed by authorized personnel.

Computerized Access with Multi-Step Authorization

Computerized access to your key control unit allows you to implement multi-step authorization. Authorized personnel may activate the unit using an employee badge, for example, followed by entering a security code, and then a reason code for pulling the key. Only when these protocols are input does the cabinet open.

Automated Reports

A computerized key control system also makes it easy to generate and transmit instant reports via email or internet access. At any time, you can find out which keys have been checked out to whom, and for what purpose. In this manner, unusual activity can be quickly identified, and lost keys can easily be traced.

Random Key Rotation

Another security step in electronic key management is to use a bar-coded system with random positioning, both to mask key identification and to prevent people from memorizing where specific keys are hung. The unit only reveals the key location when the employee successfully logs into the system.

Biometric Authorization

For even greater security, consider installing a key management system with biometric capabilities. This system utilizes a fingerprint reader to identify and grant access to rather than ID badges which may be stolen. This way, you’re ensured that only authorized personnel are accessing keys.

Implementing an electronic key management system for your military housing community is one of the best ways to keep service people, their families and their belongings safe. To learn more about how key control systems can benefit your base, contact us today.