Admission control – secure management of the maximum number of people in spaces

Automatic door system in the Akbati shopping mall in Istanbul, Turkey © Tarık Kaan Muşlu / GEZE GmbH

Customer flow control and concepts for separating people in public buildings have always played an important role for operators. The coronavirus pandemic has brought these considerations increasingly into focus because customer flow control involves analysing the number of customers and the routes they take, and directing and controlling these correspondingly. Flow control manages access to buildings – even with a high number of people. This is often achieved using special flow control systems such as turnstiles or revolving doors. The main task of flow control systems is to ensure that only authorised persons can enter a building or rooms under control and safely.

Slowing down for a better shopping experience

Concepts for customer flow control and separation are concerned with giving customers or visitors space: for example, revolving doors at the entrances to airports, stores or Shopping Malls slow down access – ensuring a continuous flow of visitors. If lots of people enter the shopping mall at the same time, for example, there would be regular jams, impacting on customers’ shopping experience. In this case, the flow control system allows each customer to enter the space individually, not surrounded by other people, thereby giving them a better overview of the shops on offer. These systems are often combined with person counting, but mostly they are used purely for statistical reasons to optimise the flow of customers. The following is of interest for retailers: How many customers enter the store and at what time? What paths do my customers take and at what time? However, many of these systems do not currently offer admission control by automatically closing doors when a specific headcount has been reached.

Entry allowed? Authorisation is checked via traditional admission control

We're all familiar with the friendly gentleman at reception, the elegant opera attendant or the beefy bouncer. Sometimes, admission control is still pure manual labour. As it is mostly concerns a privilege or a service, access only to authorised must be guaranteed. Within a wider context, the control of authorisation is increasingly performed by digital access control systems – such as at the entrances to stadia or at airports. Specific access management to maintain a distance between people or limit numbers to a defined headcount to prevent virus infection, for example, was not as important in the past. Primarily, the aim is to control access authorisation securely and quickly. The doors open only after a successful check.

Combining control and authorisation: a new need encourages creativity

To regulate the number of people in the store or shopping mall, many retailers use elements of classic admission control. Often, additional staff at the entrances count how many people are in a building. If a customer leaves the store, another is allowed to enter the space – overall a time-consuming task which is liable to errors. Other store operators use a limited number of shopping trolleys or baskets to regulate the number of people. Alternatively, they rely on self-constructed traffic light systems that show whether entry to the store is currently allowed.