Storming the gate

In CorpWorld, building security is a big deal.

When your pockets are deep enough, you pay people to worry about them. Sooner or later they get around to site security.  Above and beyond simple theft there are trade secrets, confidentiality laws, and liability for staff safety.

All it takes is a single domestic situation blowing up at work, and suddenly your PR wing has to go on television to explain how the hell some whackjob was able to access the inner sanctum and beat on their ex. Or some other nightmare scenario.

Site security is at odds with the fact that your entire staff needs to come and go with a minimum of hassle.

Where I work - we do this with security doors and badge readers.

I carry a badge.

Present the badge to the reader, door beeps and unlocks - and you're in.

-and very likely - so is the person behind you.

The common courtesy of holding the door open for the next person is the gaping hole in this system. Drafting, tailgating - whatever you call it - it's asking an awful lot of people to follow proper procedure.

People who've scanned their way in are not going to block the door until it closes - and people on their way in aren't going to wait for that door to close so they can present their own badge.

It goes against all common sense. Workers aren't interested in site security, they are interested in getting to work.

When something like forgetting their badge stops them from getting in - people get creative. And that's where drafting comes in.

You're walking into the open access lobby and there's a few people ahead of you. Bonus, you just speed up until you're almost part of their group. They scan in, hold the door - and scene.

It's made a lot easier with the addition of handicap access doors, which stay open for many useful seconds after someone opens them.

The real challenge to access is always finding someone to draft. You're in a crowd, you're good. You're the only one in the lobby, ya look kinda stupid standing by the door.

This being CorpWorld, its best to look busy - whip out a cell phone and act like you're texting. Walk in a slow orbit away from the doors and watch the doors to the outside. Soon as you get somebody coming in, you pace your orbit to come in behind them - they scan and...bingo.

Looping in the lobby can look pretty odd after awhile. There's only so long you can appear to be texting. If the people aren't coming to you, you need to go to them.

My cadillac plan has always been the gift shop. Lobbys with gift shops or cafes are people magnets. You go in, scope the merch and wait for a fellow worker. Soon as you have one, you can liesurely pick something up - cup of coffee, whatever - and you're in line behind them. From then on, it's a snap to fumble with your wallet and purchase all the way to the security door. Cup of coffee, an open wallet and a pen in your mouth and you don't get a second look as people hold the the door for you.

But all that's ending. The professional worry-warts in CorpWord have dialed up the paranoia to end drafting once and for all.

Turnstile access. One admission per badge - no exceptions. It even weighs you so you can't have two people go through at a time.

My co-worker with a seeing eye dog has been consulted about how they will get through (perhaps the dog will get their own badge).

But no more drafting.

Frankly, I don't care all that much. I'm sort of a roll with it kind of person. The satisfaction of an elegant draft aside - there's no upside to forgetting your badge. I've drilled it into my routine so arriving without a badge is a freak occurrance these days - but I do have to wonder...

...What the hell prompted this level of door security? I mean, single admission per badge will slow things down. I'm sure they will do their best, but it's hard to compete with an open door.

It's their building and their liability, but jeez - why now? You'd think there'd be better ways to spend the bucks.