Access time is the schedule during which a credential is valid at a given door or area. Outside that window the controller denies the same card that opens the door at midday. The rule lives in the access control platform, not in the lock, so changes take effect without new hardware.
Access time turns a credential into a conditional permission. The card identifies the person; the schedule decides whether this moment is one of the times that person is expected to be there.
Schedules beyond opening hours
A schedule can set days, hours, holidays and exceptions, and a second one can govern when a door stays unlocked for a shift change. Cleaning crews, contractors and deliveries usually need narrow windows that are separate from staff hours. A door held unlocked on a schedule is a different control from one that releases per credential, and both belong in the same plan.
Where schedules go wrong
Time zone settings, daylight saving changes and a controller that has drifted off the network clock all shift a schedule quietly. Holiday calendars need maintaining too. Review exceptions and test a door after any schedule change rather than assuming the platform applied it.