Package rooms are growing in popularity. Nowadays, deliveries are on the increase all of the time. In the USA, 36 million packages are delivered per day. It’s going up year on year too. Getting items delivered offers ease of use and in a lot of cases, cheaper pricing. However, it does mean that deliveries can be problematic, especially when they’re coming in high volume.
Package rooms do offer an easier mode of delivery management where needed, with higher security. However, they need to be set up in a certain way so that you truly get the best out of them. At Nimbio, we’ve had experience with package rooms and we find that more people tend to enquire about them nowadays. This is mainly driven by the fact that 36% of Americans have had a parcel stolen. Package rooms are more popular in apartments than in houses, but due to the increase in parcel delivery and theft, they’re going to become more prevalent.
These are our best tips and thoughts for getting the most out of your package room.
Gated Community Package Room: Outside or Inside the Electric Gate
If you live within a gated community you’ll have to decide whether to house a package room just inside, or outside your electric gate access system. At first glance, most would say inside but there are a few considerations to think over first.
If your package room is inside the electric gate, and you live within a larger gated community the chances are you’ll have couriers ringing the bell all day. The gate will be opening and closing all of the time rendering the security aspect of the gate less effective. Just think about how many deliveries there are each day. The bigger the community, the worse the problem gets.
However, if the package room is just beyond the gate it becomes far easier for the couriers to leave a package in the room and leave without having to use the electric gate access system. Of course, the downside here is that your parcel isn’t protected by an electric gate…so if you’ve ordered something that’s quite expensive you might worry about it. This is where the quality of your package room shines through.
If you’re using a good package room with a strong, secure door lock you’ll have the peace of mind to leave the package room beyond the electric gate itself.
You can use cellular access technology on the door so that you always know who has access. In our experience, using a cellular keyless entry system on a gated community package room makes the whole thing so much easier to manage. Especially if you’re already using the system on your electric gate.
Package Room Access Control: Know Who Has Access
Whether you’re using a package room for a gated community, your private residence or a business, you need to ensure that only the right people can access it. In our experience, Nimbio works well as an access control system for a package room. Using Nimbio, you can choose who has access to the package room using the app. This means that only certain people can retrieve packages from the room. It’s a great tool if you often accept packages that are worth a lot of money.
A package room is only going to be worthwhile if you use good access control procedures. Pin codes aren’t any good nowadays; it’s too easy to share the code far and wide. Buzzer entry is a pain and intercom means having to be available which negates the point of a package room. Nimbio cellular access control works on any electric door and can ensure your package room has strong access control.
Nimbio works well because it’s so easy to grant and revoke access as people move in and move out etc. Same for business usage. If you hire someone all they need to do is download the app and you grant them access.
Package Room: Further Security
Depending on your package room and its location, you might want to implement further elements of security around your package room. These can include:
Build The Package Room In Sight
These depend on where the package room is. For example, if you don’t have a concierge in your apartment or gated community, you might not be able to build the package room in sight. If someone is looking at it at any given time, it’s going to lessen criminality.
Use A Strong Door
A strong door is necessary if the package room is outside your electric gate. It can lessen any determined attempts to break into the room.
CCTV Inside and/or Outside The Package Room
CCTV is pretty obvious. If anything goes missing you can quickly work out why and how. Also, it acts as an impactful deterrent. It depends on the makeup of the package room regarding whether or not you want the CCTV to go inside or outside your package room.
Are Package Rooms Worth It?
It depends on your individual situation. Live in a huge gated community with one gate that’s in use all day due to deliveries? Yes. If your private residence is gated you might find it easier just using Nimbio to open the gate when necessary. Then again, if you have a lot of items delivered, whether for work or a hobby, you might see the benefit of a package room.
Apartments see the most benefit, followed by businesses.
Remember, Nimbio can make package room access extremely easy to access for you and couriers. A simple electric gate or lock can be made cellular; giving you extreme ease of access going forward.
If you don’t get that many deliveries and enjoy the security of an electric gate you’d probably be better off leaving the package room and instead focusing on electric gate accessibility.
Our blog is full of articles regarding electric gates and how best to use them. If you are looking for more information on Nimbio head over to our features section, or contact us if you are thinking about an installation.
