Is an employee identification system always necessary for reasonable security?
A. Always. However, even in our electronic age the best identification system is personal recognition. For instance in a plant employing fifty workers where turnover is minimal, there would be no need for employees to carry or wear identification cards. In large facilities identification cards are necessary for access control and other purposes. In addition to the security exposure present without such a system, a large business would have increased exposure to litigation in the event an intruder gained entrance to the facility and injured or killed an employee. In most situations a “wearer,” rather than a “bearer” system is preferable and temporary self destructing credentials are best for visitors, vendors and contractors. We have seen situations where the only people wearing identification badges are visitors. These programs are of no value in security, since once a visitor removes the badge, he or she will be assumed to be an employee.
