ID Badges

More and more companies are requiring employees and visitors to wear identification badges, or I.D. badges. Why is this necessary?

I.D. Badges and Visitors

Sometimes companies are so large that is it difficult to tell employees from visitors. This is very important when visitors are vendors. Companies do not always want vendors in given areas because it is easy to access or see confidential information. Many companies have personnel who temporarily work at another location. ID badges can help identify visiting employees from “normal” visitors or vendors.

I.D. Badges and Safety

Most companies do not want visitors or vendors roaming a building for safety reasons. Some parts of an operation might require protective gear or special training. If a visitor or a vendor is wandering in an area like that unsupervised, an accident might occur for which the company is liable. ID badges help identify people who should not be in a given area.

I.D. Badge Requirements

In some cases, companies have written into their procedures that visitors must wear identification badges as part of their ISO certification process. The company might have problems if it is found that visitors are not wearing ID badges when audited.

I.D. Badges and Confidentiality and Security

When companies are developing new products or working with new concepts, there are times when the companies want to restrict who has access to this information, even employees. In some cases, this may restrict access to part of a manufacturing area. ID badges will show who is allowed entrance into a restricted area, whether that person is an employee from that location, a visiting employee, a consultant, or a vendor.

Types of ID Badges

There are several types of ID badges available to meet the security and confidentiality needs of any company. The type of badge that a company issues can depend on the security level that the company wants to maintain.

If a company wants to restrict entrance into their building from the lobby, they can supply their employees ID badges which not only show their pictures, names, and pertinent information, the badges can be swiped through an entrance machine which will unlock the doors into the main building.

As a company gets smaller, depending on the type of work that the company does, the need for sophisticated ID badges may lessen. Some companies require picture IDs for their employees. Some only require paper ID badges for visitors and vendors. Some might not require any ID badges at all.

By Laura Evans