Commercial Access Control Systems for Massachusetts & New Hampshire Buildings
R&D Life Safety Systems designs, installs, and services commercial access control systems — card, fob, and mobile credential — for buildings across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We handle the whole chain: the readers and controllers, the electrified door hardware behind them, the fire alarm and egress release interface that keeps locked doors legal to lock, and the credential management that keeps the system accurate after people move out or move on. If your current system is orphaned, out of date, or tracked in a spreadsheet nobody trusts, we can take it over and put it in order.
When to call
Sound familiar?
- You’re rekeying the building again because a master key walked off with a former employee or tenant.
- Nobody can say how many fobs are still active for people who no longer belong in the building.
- The access system’s software lives on an aging PC in the electrical room, the installer is gone, and nobody has the admin password.
- Your insurance carrier or corporate office wants a record of who entered which doors and when — and a key system can’t produce one.
- A magnetic lock or delayed-egress door got flagged during a fire inspection and you’re not sure the release wiring is right.
- Cleaners, contractors, and vendors need after-hours access, and handing out keys has gotten out of hand.
- You manage several buildings and want one credential, one administration screen, and one company accountable for all of them.
Scope
What we do
Included
- New access control system design and installation — readers, controllers, and credentials (card, fob, and mobile)
- Takeovers of existing systems, including recovering or replacing lost administrative access and auditing the credential database
- Electrified door hardware coordination: electric strikes, magnetic locks, door position switches, request-to-exit devices, and power supplies
- Fire alarm interface and egress release wiring for electrically locked doors
- System expansion — adding doors, elevators, gates, and additional buildings to an existing platform
- Service, repair, and credential-management support on systems we install or take over
Not included (and who we coordinate with instead)
- Mechanical locksmithing and door or frame replacement (we coordinate with your locksmith or door vendor)
- Managing your corporate network — we work alongside your IT staff for anything that touches it
How it works
What happens when you call
- 1
Talk to a person
Call 617-207-2777 or send a request. Describe the building, the doors, and what’s driving the project — you’ll be talking to someone who can actually discuss it, and if we miss the call, we call back.
- 2
Walk the doors
An access control quote written without looking at the doors is a guess. Frame condition, existing hardware, fire ratings, power, and network paths all change the approach and the price, so we look first.
- 3
Design around how the building runs
Credential types, door schedules, who holds admin rights, how tenants or departments are grouped — we design for the people who will run the system day to day, not just for opening day.
- 4
Install, commission, and prove each door
Every door gets tested: the lock, the request-to-exit device, the door position switch, the fire alarm release where one is required, and the event showing up correctly in the audit trail.
- 5
Hand over a system you actually control
You get the admin credentials, door schedules, programming records, and training — documented so the system is never hostage to whoever installed it. And you keep the same point of contact for changes and service afterward.
Where this applies
Facility types we work in
- Office and professional buildings
- Apartment and condominium buildings
- Municipal and public-housing buildings
- Schools, colleges, and universities
- Industrial and warehouse facilities
- Retail and mixed-use properties
- Healthcare and assisted-living occupancies
Systems & platforms
Our team works with security and access platforms including DSC, Vista, Mercury, Brivo, ExacqVision, Eagle Eye, and Avigilon.
Compliance context
Codes, standards, and your AHJ
Electrified door hardware sits at the intersection of security and life safety. Doors in a path of egress have to let people out, and locking arrangements such as magnetic locks and delayed-egress hardware — including how they release on fire alarm — are governed by the building and fire codes adopted in each state and by your local authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). What is permitted depends on your occupancy, your systems, and your AHJ, so we confirm the requirements for the specific doors involved rather than assuming. Nothing on this page is a compliance determination for your property.
Why R&D
What working with us is like
A life-safety contractor doing access control
Locking a door is easy; locking it legally is the hard part. We’re a fire alarm company first, so the egress and fire alarm release side of electrified doors is core work for us — not a detail that gets subcontracted or skipped.
No orphaned systems
The saddest system in any building is the one nobody can administer. We document admin access, programming, and door schedules and hand them to you — so the system stays yours even if you someday change vendors.
A person answers about your doors
When a reader dies or a door fails secure, you don’t want a ticket number. You call, you reach a person who can talk through what the door is doing — and if we miss you, we call back.
Straight talk on takeovers
Some existing hardware is worth keeping; some is a proprietary dead end. We tell you which is which before you spend anything, with the reasoning in writing.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can you take over an access control system another company installed?
Usually, yes. Systems built on open hardware platforms can generally be taken over and re-administered; some proprietary platforms can’t be, or aren’t worth it. The common sticking point isn’t the hardware — it’s administrative access: lost passwords, an installer who’s gone, software tied to an old PC. Tell us what’s on the wall and what you can still log into, and we’ll tell you honestly whether a takeover or a replacement makes more sense.
Cards, fobs, or mobile credentials — which should we use?
It depends on the building and the people in it. Cards and fobs are familiar and inexpensive. Mobile credentials remove the outstanding-fob problem in high-turnover buildings, because access ends when you deactivate the credential — not when the fob finally comes back. Many buildings run a mix. Your reader hardware determines what’s possible, so we confirm what your existing readers support before recommending anything.
What happens to electrically locked doors during a fire alarm?
Doors in a path of egress must let people out, and certain locking arrangements — magnetic locks in particular — are typically required to release on fire alarm activation. The specific requirements depend on your occupancy, your locking hardware, the codes adopted in your state, and your AHJ, so this is something we verify door by door rather than generalize about. If an inspector has already flagged a door, send us what they wrote and we’ll tell you what correcting it involves. This isn’t a compliance determination for your building — it’s the starting point of one.
We manage a multi-tenant building — how does access control handle tenant turnover?
Turnover is where key systems fall apart and access control earns its keep. Instead of rekeying, you deactivate the departed tenant’s credentials and issue new ones, and the system can report exactly which credentials are still active and when they were last used. We can also set up tenant- or department-level administration, so routine moves don’t have to route through us — or through you.
Do we have to replace all our readers and cards to upgrade the system?
Often not. In many upgrades the wiring, locks, and sometimes the readers stay; the controllers and software are what change. One thing we do flag: older proximity card formats can be copied at retail key kiosks, so if your building still runs on them, a credential upgrade is worth pricing while the system is open anyway. We’ll tell you what can stay and what should go, door by door.
Do you cover our area?
We serve commercial and institutional buildings across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Call to confirm coverage for your specific site.
Coverage
Service area
We install and service commercial access control systems across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Call to confirm coverage for your site — and if you manage multiple buildings, ask about standardizing credentials and administration across the portfolio.
Related pages
Commercial Security Systems
Access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection, and intercoms for commercial buildings in MA & NH. Call 617-207-2777 — we answer, or we call back.
Learn more →Video Surveillance
Commercial video surveillance design, installation, and service for buildings across MA & NH. Cameras that record what you need to see. Call 617-207-2777.
Learn more →Intercoms & Automated Gates
Entry intercoms, video door stations, tenant directories, and automated gate operators for commercial properties in MA & NH. Call 617-207-2777.
Learn more →Property Management
Fire alarm inspection, service, and monitoring for property management portfolios across MA & NH. One accountable vendor — call 617-207-2777.
Learn more →Education
Fire alarm testing, installation, ERCES, and security for schools and campuses across MA & NH, planned around the academic calendar. Call 617-207-2777.
Learn more →Multi-Site Facilities
One vendor for fire alarm inspection, service, and monitoring across your MA & NH sites. Consistent reports, consolidated scheduling. Call 617-207-2777.
Learn more →Massachusetts
Commercial fire alarm installation, testing, service & monitoring across Massachusetts. Based in Braintree, MA. Call 617-207-2777 — we answer or call back.
Learn more →New Hampshire
Commercial fire alarm installation, inspection, service, and monitoring for New Hampshire buildings, served from our Massachusetts base. Call 617-207-2777.
Learn more →Browse all services or contact us with a question.
Talk to someone about your doors
One reader that stopped working, a building full of unaccounted-for fobs, or a new system across several properties — call 617-207-2777 or request a quote online, and we’ll tell you what makes sense before anyone sells you hardware.