Card where people need to be visually identifiable, fob where they do not and the credential needs to survive a pocket.

A printable card doubles as photo identification, and that is why most workplaces choose one.

Fobs are physically tougher, live on a keyring, and are not bent or cracked in a back pocket. They carry no photograph and no name, so a site using them alone gives up the ability to check who someone is by looking.

Fobs are also harder to lose in the sense that they travel with keys, and easier to lose in the sense that they travel with keys.

Many sites issue both: a printed card for identity and a fob for people who spend their day in a vehicle or on plant.

The access system should be able to hold more than one credential against one person, so this is an administrative question rather than a technical one.

A moulded clamshell for heavy industrial use; a composite laminate card where the card must be printed and still last several years.

Thin printable cards are made to a standard thickness so they fit printers, wallets and badge holders. Pure PVC is the cheapest and the first to crack and delaminate.

Composite cards mixing PVC with polyester resist heat and flexing much better and are worth the small premium on any population with a multi-year card life.

Clamshell cards are moulded around the electronics and are considerably tougher, but cannot take a direct print - identity has to be a stuck-on label or a separate badge.

Slot punching weakens any card. A vertical slot with a reinforced eyelet, or a clip holder that grips the edge, extends life significantly.

For wet or heavily gloved work, a wristband or tag is usually a better answer than a tougher card.

Record the format, the facility code and every number range issued - and quote them on every reorder, or a later batch will duplicate cards already in use.

Duplication is the classic failure: a top-up order years later, a supplier who restarts numbering, and two credentials that the system cannot distinguish.

Keep the record with the access system documentation rather than in a purchasing folder, because it is the access administrator who needs it.

Note the date and quantity of each range as well as its bounds. It makes reconciling the active population against the stock room possible.

Some manufacturers operate managed number ranges that guarantee uniqueness across their customers, which removes the risk at the cost of tying the site to that supplier.

When ordering, state the format, the code and the last number issued explicitly. Do not leave the choice to the supplier.

Yes, with a card printer - and the decision is really about volume, turnaround and who maintains the printer.

In-house printing gives same-day badges for new starters, replacements and visitors, which is its main value.

The costs are a printer, ribbons, cleaning kits, blank stock and someone who knows how to clear a jam without damaging the head.

Direct-to-card printing is cheaper and leaves a small unprinted border. Retransfer printing covers the full edge and handles uneven card surfaces better, at higher cost per card.

Do not print on clamshell cards - the surface is uneven and the result is poor. Use a printable card with the electronics laminated inside.

Outsourcing suits sites with low turnover or infrequent large batches, and removes the consumables and maintenance entirely.

Disable it the day the person leaves, whether or not the card comes back - recovery is desirable and revocation is mandatory.

Leavers routinely keep credentials, deliberately or by accident. The card is only harmless if the system has stopped accepting it.

Tie revocation to the leaving process rather than to the return of the card, and ideally to the identity system so it happens automatically.

Deposits and return incentives improve recovery rates and are worth having, but they are a cost-control measure rather than a security one.

Audit the active credential list against the current staff list periodically. Every credential that does not match a person is either an error or an uncontrolled key.

Destroy returned credentials rather than reissuing them to someone else unless they can be fully re-encoded, because the printed identity and the number will not match.

Enough to cover normal joining and replacement between orders, plus a small pool of pre-encoded temporary credentials - and no more, because unissued stock is a security item.

Annual attrition from loss, damage and non-return runs at several percent on most populations, and joiners add to it.

Blank or unassigned credentials that will open doors once enrolled should be stored securely and counted, not left in a drawer at reception.

Temporary and visitor credentials benefit from being a visually distinct colour so an unreturned one is obvious.

Lead times matter. If a reorder takes weeks, the buffer has to cover that period plus a margin.

Reconcile stock against the issued list on a schedule. A discrepancy is worth investigating immediately rather than at the next audit.

The electronics generally outlast the card body, so physical damage is the usual end - but access systems can and should apply an administrative expiry.

There is no battery and no scheduled failure. Cards fail by cracking, delaminating, having the antenna broken by repeated flexing, or being punched through the chip.

Heat is an underrated cause. A card left on a dashboard warps and can delaminate.

An administrative expiry date is separate and genuinely useful. Contractor and visitor credentials should always carry one so that forgetting to revoke is not catastrophic.

Some sites apply an annual expiry to all credentials, forcing a yearly re-validation of who should still have access. It is an effective control if the renewal process is quick.

Where a card is also photo identification, a printed expiry gives a visual check at the door that no electronic system provides.