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Los Angeles: access control

Access Control for Office Buildings in Los Angeles

The short answer

BTI Communications Group, LTD. is a commercial security integrator with an office in Santa Fe Springs serving Los Angeles County, in business for over 40 years. We install office access control for towers, creative offices and suites across LA County, from lobbies and elevators to garages. California licenses ACO #7670 and C-7 807767. Call 562-298-5000.

Card reader beside glass entry doors in a Los Angeles building lobby

Requirements

What Los Angeles office tenants and owners ask for

  • High-rise lobbies in Downtown LA, Century City and Long Beach use turnstiles or a guarded desk that reads tenant badges.
  • One credential opens the garage, the lobby, the elevator and the suite.
  • Tenant improvements add suite readers without disturbing the landlord's base building system.
  • Doors fail to the right state, and stay that way, during Southern California power outages.
  • Electrified egress doors pass review by the city's building and fire departments.
  • Hybrid teams in creative offices use their phones as keys on the days they come in.

Recommended setup

Recommended access control setup

In Los Angeles, office access control usually has to fit a building that already exists: a base building system, a garage operator and a property manager with their own rules.

Lobby and turnstiles

Optical turnstiles or a staffed desk that reads tenant badges and prints visitor passes.

Suites

Suite entry readers on the tenant's own platform or as a partition of the landlord's system.

Elevators

Floor-select or destination dispatch integration, coordinated with the building's elevator contractor.

Garages

Long-range or mobile readers at parking gates so one credential covers the drive in.

Credentials

Mobile credentials for hybrid staff, with HID cards or fobs for anyone who prefers them.

Power and backup

Fail-safe or fail-secure locking chosen door by door, with battery backup sized for long outages.

Video and intercom

Axis or Avigilon video at entries and Axis intercoms at after-hours doors.

High-rise lobbies, turnstiles and elevators in LA County

Class A towers in Downtown Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood and along Wilshire often screen everyone at the lobby. BTI connects optical turnstiles and the security desk to the tenant credential, so an employee walks through on a phone or badge and a visitor is checked in once and sent to the right floor.

Elevator integration is planned with the building's elevator contractor and the property manager. A badge lights only the floors its holder may visit, and stair doors lock from the stair side while staying free for exit.

Tenant improvements, creative offices and suite doors

Many Los Angeles offices are suites inside a larger building: a law firm on two floors in Pasadena, a studio in a Culver City creative campus, a medical billing team in a Long Beach mid-rise. BTI works within the landlord's building standards and adds suite readers either on the tenant's own platform or as a partition of the base building system, whichever the lease and the property manager allow.

During a tenant improvement, BTI coordinates rough-in with the general contractor so readers, door hardware and cabling are in the walls before drywall, which avoids rework and a second round of patching.

Power outages, code review and egress in Los Angeles

Every electrified door has to fail safe or fail secure. Fail-safe hardware unlocks when power is lost; fail-secure hardware stays locked from the outside and always opens from the inside. BTI chooses the lock for each door, sizes battery backup for the runtime you need and documents the choice for your building engineer.

Electrified locking on egress doors is reviewed against the California Building Code and may need sign-off from the local building and fire authority, such as LADBS and LAFD in the City of Los Angeles, or the departments in Long Beach, Pasadena and other cities with their own. BTI prepares the submittals and attends the inspection.

Card reader beside an interior suite door with a lever lock in Los Angeles

Standards and compliance

California codes that shape office access control

RequirementSourceWhat it means for your doors
Electrified egress doorsCalifornia Building Code and California Fire CodeSensor or push-button release, release on power loss where required, and a tie to the building's life safety system.
AccessibilityCalifornia Building Code Chapter 11BReaders, keypads and intercoms at accessible heights with easy to operate hardware.
Workplace violence preventionCalifornia Labor Code 6401.9 (SB 553)Controlled entries, visitor logs and lockdown give the employer's written prevention plan practical controls.
Elevator interfaceElevator contractor and state elevator permitAccess control signals are wired through the elevator contractor's interface, never directly into the controller.

Your building official and fire authority make the final call on code questions; BTI designs to pass their review the first time.

Installation

What an installation includes

LA office projects usually run around tenant move-ins, landlord approvals and after-hours work windows.

  1. Site surveyWalk the suite, the lobby, the garage and the elevator lobby with the property manager.
  2. Design and landlord approvalA door schedule and riser for the landlord, the general contractor and the elevator contractor.
  3. PermitsSubmittals to the city's building and fire departments for electrified egress doors.
  4. InstallCabling and hardware after hours so tenants and the lobby keep working.
  5. ProgrammingTenant users, floors, garage access, holidays and visitor rules loaded and tested.
  6. HandoverTraining for the office manager and building staff, with as-built drawings.
  7. SupportSystem health and alert monitoring, remote changes and on-site service when a door needs a technician.

How projects are scoped and quoted

LA office access control is quoted from a walk of the suite and the shared spaces. Door count, landlord building standards, turnstile and elevator integration, garage readers, permit requirements and the platform drive the proposal. BTI itemizes every line so the landlord's share and the tenant's share are clear.

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Proof

Why Los Angeles organizations choose BTI for access control

Over 40 yearscommercial security and IT integration
Santa Fe Springs officelocal engineers for Los Angeles County
Licensed Alarm Company Operator, ACO #7670California BSIS
C-7 807767California low voltage contractor license
400+ engineerssecurity, network and IT
24/7 NOC/SOCsystem health and alert monitoring available
ISO 27001 compliant governanceindependently reviewed through the TAG ISO 27001 Compliance Program
Authorized and Certified Axis Gold PartnerAxis door controllers, readers and intercoms

Frequently asked questions

Who installs office access control in Los Angeles?

BTI Communications Group, LTD. installs and supports office access control across Los Angeles County from its Santa Fe Springs office, working on Brivo, Avigilon Alta (formerly Openpath), Avigilon Unity, Kantech, RS2 (Acre) and Axis for towers, creative offices and suites.

Can access control work with lobby turnstiles in a Los Angeles high-rise?

Yes. BTI connects optical turnstiles and the security desk to tenant credentials, so staff walk through on a phone or badge and visitors are checked in once and sent to the right floor.

Do electrified office doors need city approval in Los Angeles?

Often, yes. Electrified locking on egress doors is reviewed against the California Building Code, and the City of Los Angeles and other cities may require building and fire department sign-off. BTI prepares the submittals.

What happens to office doors during a power outage?

Each door is set to fail safe (unlocks without power) or fail secure (stays locked from outside, always opens from inside), and battery backup keeps readers working for the runtime you choose.

Can you add suite readers to our landlord's existing system?

Usually. BTI can add readers as a partition of the landlord's system or install the tenant's own platform at the suite door, depending on the lease and the property manager's rules.

Is BTI Communications Group, LTD. local to Los Angeles?

Yes. BTI's office is at 12155 Mora Dr, Units 1 & 2, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670, and the local line is 562-298-5000. BTI holds California licenses ACO #7670 and C-7 807767.

Can you take over our existing Brivo account?

Yes. BTI designs, sells, installs, supports and takes over existing Brivo accounts, along with Kantech, Avigilon and RS2 (Acre) systems in LA offices.

How much does office access control cost in Los Angeles?

Cost depends on door count, landlord standards, turnstiles, elevator and garage integration, permits and platform licensing. BTI provides an itemized proposal after a free site survey.

Plan your office buildings access control project in Los Angeles

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