What is perimeter protection barriers? Do you need it?

Modern perimeter security

Today, with the invention of the burglar or intruder alarm, the world has seen a dramatic shift away from perimeter security to internal building security. Domestic and business owners have relied on electronics to secure their buildings internally, which, over time reduced property owners and dwellers’ dependency on physical perimeter security.

However, buildings like ministries, military stations, embassies and other critical facilities continue to use tough barricades to stop intrusions using, bollard, road blockers and tyre killers etc. And these solutions too have gone through several evolutions and are today operated automatically with the use of sensors and automatic controls.

Passive barriers and active barriers:

Passive barriers are fixed barriers that act as fencing to block access to a vehicle or a person. Passive barriers include all of the following – fences, walls, moats, bollards, heavy trees, or even just big rocks.

Majority of them keep out all types of traffic. Meanwhile, active barriers are usually mechanised or automated. They act as gate/entry system that can control the flow of traffic manually or automatically.

Passive Barrier Types

As mentioned, passive barriers have no moving parts; their effectiveness depends on the deterrence they offer to stop incoming vehicles.

Walls, fences, wedges: Concrete walls are one of the most common perimeter protection system used by facilities to demarcate their areas. Terrains and landscapes can be used as an effective vehicle barrier as well. Another common perimeter barrier is bollards – they are short, vertical posts used to protect potentially vulnerable structures or objects from damage by moving vehicles.

Fixed Bollards: Fixed bollards are usually made of concrete or reinforced steel, their deterrence is rated in order of typical impact ratings (Eg: K-rating & M-rating). Fixed bollards are the most common type of bollards, they are permanent fixtures and provide strength and deterrence. They are built in steel and filled with concrete. Even though they provide better deterrence, they are not ideal for places like parking lots and garages where there might be a need for free passage at times.

Active barriers types

Active barriers usually work as access control points, are primarily found in a facility’s access control points. The main form of active barriers that most people associate with is the arm gates, automatic gates etc.

Access control systems: Access control systems serve to restrict entry only to authorized personnel. By a pin, fingerprint or biometric pattern identification system, access to the perimeter of the plant is allowed, preventing the access of intruders. It also serves to delimit the spaces of the factory that can be accessed by staff and to dispense with keys.

Automatic Bollard & Barriers: Retractable Bollards are another common type of active barriers. They are frequently used where there is mixed vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Automatically rising bollards rise and retract in and out of the ground-based on their control device and they are operated by either a hydraulic or electronic motor. They’re an efficient, versatile way to control traffic without any human interference. Made with steel, or other composite material, they provide different degrees of deterrence.

Other frequently used active barriers include- road blockers, tyre killers, and rising ramps operated by electronic or hydraulic motors. These are usually powered with sensors to detect oncoming vehicles and activate the barriers automatically.

Advantages of Perimeter Protection & Security

Introducing perimeter protection to your facility is a brilliant way to keep your assets, resources, and people safe. Here are some of its key advantages:

Control Who Can Access Your Building

Strong perimeter protection gives you control over who can access your building. Plus It gives intruders a hard time entering your facility and causing potential damage.

Budget-Friendly and Customizable

Most people misunderstand perimeter protection to be expensive and ideal for meeting security requirements. However, that’s not true, perimeter protection solutions can easily be tailored to your budget and security needs.

Avoid Crowding and Maintain Social Distancing Rules

Another great advantage of having an effective perimeter security system enables you to control the flow of vehicles and visitors in your commercial facility remarkably. This helps in avoiding crowding and facilitates social distance norms in the best possible way.

Do you need perimeter protection?

Vehicles: How do you decide, if you choose active or passive barriers for your facility. There are a few points you need to keep in mind. The first, most important point to take into consideration is if the site will have both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The other important factor is knowing traffic patterns, types of vehicles, peak times, flow rates, access requirements and authorization level. Barriers can be either active like automatic boom gates or passive like a fixed bollard.

Pedestrians: If perimeter protection is required to block people on foot from entering the facility then, gates or turnstiles are the best options. One needs to understand foot flow patterns and mixed traffic possibilities. The vehicle barriers also have to be planned according to how they will allow pedestrian.
The stipulated clear gap between vehicle barriers along a perimeter within the PAS 68: 2013 standard is 1,200 mm.

Security provided by barriers has many different degrees of safety options. Safety access, the value of the secured property, and the risk of intrusion associated are all essential questions to look at while you decide on while you are planning for perimeter protection solutions.