Most entrance control projects go wrong at sizing, not at product choice. This page shows you how to size the lanes, what a complete system includes, what it costs to run — and the six mistakes that cost money after the floor is finished.
Enter your numbers. This uses peak-hour flow, not a daily average — which is the single most common sizing error.
Indicative only. Door width, fire escape routes and visitor flow all affect the final design — we confirm on site survey.
The lane unit is usually around half the installed cost. These are the parts that get left out of budgets.
The lane hardware itself — tripod, flap, swing or full-height. Priced per lane.
Card, fingerprint or face. One per direction if you need entry and exit records.
Drives the lane and holds the access rules. Some turnstiles have this built in.
Turnstiles draw more than a door lock. Size for the full lane count plus 20% headroom.
Data and power to every lane. Floor conduit must be laid before the units are fixed.
Needed when you want central rules, reports or multi-site. Not needed for a single standalone lane.
Wheelchairs, trolleys and luggage. Most buildings need at least one.
Keeps lanes powered through load-shedding. Without it a power cut means an open or locked gate.
Fire code in many buildings requires the lane to free-open on alarm.
Four types, and the honest trade-offs between them.
| Consideration | Tripod Turnstile | Flap Barrier | Swing Barrier | Full-Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Footprint | Compact | Medium | Wide | Largest |
| Throughput per lane | ~25/min | ~40/min | ~30/min | ~20/min |
| Appearance | Industrial | Premium | Premium | Industrial |
| Tailgating resistance | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Highest |
| Wheelchair / trolley | No | No | Yes | No |
| Outdoor capable | Yes | Indoor only | Indoor only | Yes |
| Typical use | Factory gate, campus | Corporate lobby, bank | Accessible lane | Perimeter, unmanned site |
| Relative cost | Lowest | Higher | Higher | Highest |
Floor conduit. Every lane needs power and data underneath it. This has to be laid before the final flooring goes down — cutting finished marble to run cable is expensive and never looks right.
Fixing surface. Turnstiles bolt to a solid floor. Raised access flooring, thin tiles over sand or an unreinforced screed will not hold under daily use.
Lane clearance. Standard lanes are around 550–600 mm; accessible lanes need 900 mm or more. Confirm your door opening can take the lane count you are planning.
Power circuit. A dedicated circuit sized for the full lane count plus 20%. Sharing with lighting or air conditioning causes intermittent faults that are very hard to diagnose later.
Fire alarm interface. Many buildings require lanes to free-open on fire alarm. Confirm this with your fire officer at survey stage — retrofitting drop-arms costs more than specifying them.
Entrance control has genuinely low running costs, but they are not zero. Over a five-year period:
Power. A turnstile draws a small standby load plus a brief spike per rotation. Across four lanes running continuously this is minor, but it is a permanent circuit load worth planning for.
Consumables. Cards get lost. In a workforce of 2,000, budget for replacing 5–10% of cards annually. Biometric readers avoid this entirely, which is often the stronger argument for them.
Mechanical wear. Tripod arm mechanisms and flap actuators are the moving parts. At high traffic, expect servicing every 18–24 months.
Software. Basic access software is usually included. Central multi-site management may carry a licence — confirm before you commit to a platform.
The cost nobody budgets: an unsupported system. A grey-market turnstile with no local spare parts means a failed lane stays failed. That is the real total cost of ownership question, and it is the reason authorized supply matters more here than on almost any other product.
Every one of these has cost a real project real money.
A factory with 2,000 workers does not arrive evenly. 70% arrive inside a 20-minute window at shift change.
Do this: Size for peak. Our calculator uses a peak-load assumption, not a daily average.
Turnstiles block wheelchairs, trolleys and luggage. Buildings discover this at inspection, after the floor is finished.
Do this: Include at least one swing barrier or wide lane in every install.
During load-shedding a turnstile either fails open (no security) or fails locked (people trapped). Both are bad.
Do this: Specify a UPS sized for the lane count, and decide the fail-safe or fail-secure behaviour deliberately.
Turnstiles need power and data at each lane, under the floor. Cutting finished marble to run cable is expensive and ugly.
Do this: Fix lane positions before flooring. We provide a conduit drawing at survey stage.
A turnstile with no reader is just a gate. And entry-only readers give you no exit record — so anti-passback and attendance do not work.
Do this: Budget readers on both sides if you need attendance or anti-passback.
Many buildings require lanes to free-open on fire alarm. Retrofitting drop-arms after installation costs more than specifying them.
Do this: Confirm fire requirements at survey, not at handover.
Specifications, models and pricing sit on the product pages.
Divide your peak-hour headcount by the lane throughput. A tripod turnstile handles roughly 25 people per minute, a flap barrier around 40. For 2,000 workers arriving over 20 minutes, you need about 4 tripod lanes or 3 flap lanes — plus one accessible lane. Use the calculator above, or send us your headcount and we will size it.
A tripod uses three rotating arms — compact, affordable, robust, and suitable outdoors. A flap barrier uses retracting glass or acrylic panels — faster, sleeker, better for a corporate lobby, but indoor only and more expensive. Tripods suit factory and campus gates; flap barriers suit head offices and banks.
Only with backup power. Without a UPS a turnstile either fails open, which removes your security, or fails locked, which traps people. Neither is acceptable, so specify a UPS sized for your lane count and decide the fail-safe behaviour deliberately at design stage.
Yes, if you fit readers on both sides. Entry-only readers give you arrival times but no departure, so attendance hours cannot be calculated and anti-passback will not work. For attendance, budget readers in both directions.
The lane hardware, an access control reader per direction, a controller, a regulated power supply, cabling and floor conduit — plus optionally management software, an accessible lane, UPS backup and emergency drop-arm release. The lane unit alone is typically around half of the installed cost.
For a straightforward lobby with conduit already in place, a two to four lane installation usually takes two to three days including commissioning and staff enrolment. If floor conduit still has to be laid, the civil work governs the timeline, not the hardware.
Free site survey across Dhaka and Chattogram. Our engineers confirm lane count, conduit routing and fire requirements before anything is quoted.