Overview
Commercial Access Control Systems in Dallas-Fort Worth
PDK
Powered by ProdataKey cloud access control
Z-Tech Communications designs, installs, programs, and supports commercial access control systems across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. We handle the entire project — system design, card readers and keypads, electric strikes and magnetic locks, door controllers, and full programming on the PDK (ProdataKey) cloud platform — for offices, warehouses, healthcare facilities, schools, and retail properties.
You get one contractor from the site walk through to training day. We specify the hardware, mount the readers, wire the electrified door hardware, install and configure the controllers, build out your users and schedules in pdk.io, and stay on as your support contact afterward. One point of accountability, one warranty conversation, one number to call when a door needs attention.
Commercial access control installation and service — Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
The System
Scalable Door Entry — From One Door to Hundreds
PDK's Red controller line scales with your building. The Red Cloud Node acts as the main panel and gateway to the pdk.io cloud platform; additional controllers connect to it as you add doors, buildings, or sites. Controllers are plug-and-play with self-discovery, update their own firmware automatically, and run on your existing network — no separate infrastructure required.
Hardware
Application
Red Cloud Node
Main system panel and gateway to pdk.io — includes a single-door controller and stores data locally so doors keep working if the internet drops
Head-end
Red 1 / Red 2 / Red 4 / Red 8 controllers
One, two, four, and eight-door controllers — mix and match to match your door count exactly without overbuying
Interior doors
Red Gate & Red Pedestal
Outdoor-rated controllers for parking gates, perimeter entries, and yard access points
Exterior / gates
Red Wireless Locksets
Wireless door hardware for interior doors and hard-to-reach openings where a wire pull would be disruptive or cost-prohibitive
Retrofit
PDK readers
Bluetooth, standard prox, keypad, and vandal-resistant readers matched to the door and the environment
OSDP / Wiegand
Electrified door hardware
Electric strikes, magnetic locks, door position switches, request-to-exit devices, and power supplies
NEC
Day-to-Day Management
Run Your Building From Your Phone
pdk.io runs in any browser and on the PDK mobile app, so whoever manages your facility can do it from the front desk, from home, or from another city. No on-premise server to maintain and no software to install on a dedicated workstation.
Grant and revoke access instantlyAdd a new hire or cut off a departing employee in seconds, across every door and every site.
Remote lock, unlock, and buzz-inLet a delivery or contractor in without anyone walking to the door.
Facility-wide lockdownSecure every opening at once from the app — critical for schools and healthcare.
Schedules and access groupsSet who gets in where, on which days, during which hours — down to the individual door.
Full event loggingEvery unlock, denial, and door-held-open event timestamped and searchable.
Alerts and reportingGet notified on forced doors and after-hours entries; export activity reports for one site or all of them.
Multi-site managementManage every building from one login instead of separate systems per location.
Automatic updatesFirmware and software update themselves — no maintenance window, no syncing.
Credentials
Let People In However Makes Sense for Your Facility
PDK supports mobile and physical credentials on the same system, so you can issue phone-based access to staff and printed badges to contractors without running two platforms. Most facilities we deploy use a mix.
Mobile & Bluetooth
The PDK Access app turns a phone into a credential — nothing to issue, nothing to collect back.
Printable badge cards
Print photo ID and access credential onto one card for staff and visitor badging.
Clamshell prox cards
Durable standard prox cards — the workhorse credential for larger headcounts.
Key fobs
Compact prox fobs that live on a keyring. Leather and standard options.
Stickers
Adhesive prox credentials that attach to a phone case, badge, or existing card.
Wristbands & bracelets
Wearable credentials for gyms, plants, and environments where pockets aren't practical.
Keypad / PIN entry
Code-based entry at doors where issuing a credential isn't practical.
High-security credentials
PDK Red encrypted credentials for openings that need protection against cloning.
Two-factor at the door
Pair a credential with a PIN on sensitive openings like server rooms and pharmacies.
Integrations
Access Control That Talks to the Rest of Your Building
Access control is more useful when it's tied to what else is happening on site. PDK integrates with video surveillance, video intercom, visitor management, and intrusion detection platforms, and publishes an open API and mobile SDK for deeper IT integration. Because Z-Tech also installs cameras, intercoms, and the network they run on, we can deliver the whole stack in one project instead of coordinating three vendors.
Video surveillanceTie door events to camera footage so every badge-in has a matching clip.
Video intercomSee and speak to whoever's at the door before you release it.
Visitor managementCheck in guests and issue temporary credentials that expire on their own.
Intrusion detectionCoordinate the alarm system with door state so disarm and unlock work together.
Directory syncProvision and deprovision access from your existing employee directory.
Open API & SDKHooks for your IT team to automate against, if you have one that wants them.
Existing Systems
Already Have Access Control? You Probably Don't Need to Replace It All.
If your building already has a system that's aging out, losing support, or tied to software nobody wants to maintain, a full rip-and-replace is rarely necessary. In most cases the door hardware is fine and the problem is the controller and the software behind it.
PDK controllers support standard Wiegand prox readers as well as the OSDP protocol, so existing readers can frequently stay in place. We swap the controller — the brain of the system — and bring the doors into pdk.io. Where readers do need replacing, it's usually because you want to move to mobile credentials, not because they've failed.
Reader, controller, and electrified door hardware installation
What we determine during the site walk
Which readers can be reused, which strikes and maglocks are still serviceable, whether existing cable runs are usable or need to be re-pulled, where the controllers should live, and what the realistic door-by-door cost looks like. You get that in writing before you commit to anything — retrofits are where hidden costs usually surface, and we'd rather find them on the walk than during the install.
Why Z-Tech
The Cabling Behind It Is Ours, Too
Access control fails at the cable more often than at the software. A reader that intermittently drops, a maglock that chatters, a controller that can't see a door — those are almost always installation problems, not platform problems. Z-Tech has been a structured cabling contractor in DFW for years, which means the infrastructure under your access control system is held to the same standard as a data center backbone.
Site walk, door schedule, and fixed-price proposal before any work begins
All low-voltage cable pulled, terminated, and labeled in-house — never subcontracted
Fluke DSX testing and certification on all network cable runs
Controllers mounted, powered, and connected to your network with IT coordination
System programmed in pdk.io — users, groups, schedules, and access levels configured
Hands-on training for whoever will administer the system day to day
As-built documentation and door schedule delivered at project close
Evening and weekend installation available by arrangement so doors stay in service during business hours
Industries We Serve
Access Control Across Commercial Environments
Every environment has different door requirements. A warehouse needs perimeter and dock control; a medical office needs audit trails on a drug room. Z-Tech designs the system around how your building actually gets used.
Corporate offices
Lobby, suite, server room, and executive area control with mobile credentials and tenant-by-tenant access groups.
Healthcare facilities
Restricted entry for pharmacies, labs, records, and clinical areas with full audit trails on every opening.
Warehouses & distribution
Dock doors, yard gates, and office entries on one system — with outdoor-rated controllers where the weather gets to them.
Retail locations
Stockroom and back-office control across multiple stores, managed centrally from one pdk.io login.
Government & municipal
Controlled entry for government offices and municipal buildings, documented to TIA/EIA standards throughout.
Schools & churches
Single-point-of-entry control with one-touch lockdown from any staff phone — for private schools, charters, and places of worship.
Credentials & Standards
Installed to Standard, Documented at Close
PDK is sold and supported exclusively through trained integrators rather than direct to end users, so the quality of a PDK system depends heavily on who installs it. Z-Tech brings both the platform training and the structured cabling discipline to the same job.
PDK Partner · Legrand / Ortronics Certified Installer
Our technicians are trained on PDK hardware and the pdk.io platform, and certified on Legrand / Ortronics passive network infrastructure. Every deployment is tested, labeled, and documented to TIA specifications before project close — you receive a full door schedule and as-built set, not just a working system.
PDK / ProdataKey
TIA/EIA Standards
Fluke DSX Certified
TIA-606-B Labeling
NEC Compliant
Full Documentation
Frequently Asked Questions
Common Questions About Access Control
QWhat access control platform does Z-Tech install?
Z-Tech installs PDK (ProdataKey) cloud-based access control. PDK is a mobile-first platform managed through pdk.io, which runs in any browser or on the PDK mobile app. It scales from a single door to hundreds across multiple buildings, and it's sold and supported only through trained integrators rather than direct to end users.
QDo you install the whole system or just the cabling?
Both. Z-Tech designs the system, installs the PDK controllers, readers, and electrified door hardware, programs the system in pdk.io, and pulls and certifies all of the supporting low-voltage cable. Because we're a structured cabling contractor first, the cabling behind your access control system is installed and tested to TIA standards rather than subcontracted out.
QCan I keep my existing readers and door hardware?
In many cases, yes. If your existing door hardware, strikes, and maglocks are in working order, they can usually stay. PDK controllers support standard Wiegand prox readers as well as OSDP, so existing readers can often be reused and only the controller replaced. We confirm exactly what can be retained during the site walk, before you commit to anything.
QWhat credentials can employees use to unlock doors?
PDK supports mobile and Bluetooth credentials through the PDK Access app, plus clamshell prox cards, printable badge cards, key fobs, adhesive stickers, wristbands, and bracelets. Most facilities mix types — for example mobile credentials for staff and printed badge cards for contractors and visitors — all on the same system.
QCan access control be integrated with our cameras and intercom?
Yes. PDK integrates with video surveillance, video intercom, visitor management, and intrusion detection platforms, and offers an open API and mobile SDK for further IT integration. Z-Tech can install the cameras and intercom stations alongside the access control system in the same project, so you're not coordinating multiple vendors.
QWhat happens if the internet goes down?
The system keeps running. Access decisions are made locally at the controller and the Cloud Node retains your access data on site, so doors continue to unlock for valid credentials during an outage. What you temporarily lose is remote management and live event reporting, both of which resume automatically once the connection is back.
QCan you work in an occupied building without disrupting operations?
Yes. Z-Tech works in active commercial environments daily and schedules cutovers for evenings and weekends where needed. Our regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and off-hours or weekend installation can be arranged as part of the project schedule. That matters most in healthcare, retail, and warehouse environments where doors can't be out of service during business hours.
QDo you serve locations outside of Dallas-Fort Worth?
Yes. Z-Tech is based in Dallas-Fort Worth and covers the full Metroplex, and we take multi-site access control projects across Texas and surrounding states — using the same standardized deployment and documentation process at every location.
