Security bollards aren’t standalone entities. No matter how advanced their design characteristics or technological aspects are, these barriers only function properly when they’re used correctly.
Designers, engineers, planners and security teams must consider diverse environmental, structural and situational factors to implement and maintain effective vehicle security barriers. Here are some important factors to think about.
Threat-Conscious Protection
Many modern security risks involve vehicle-borne attacks. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other devices may be employed to conduct layered or independent acts of violence that result in severe human casualties.
Bollards and other vehicle security barriers, or VSBs, provide 24 hours a multilayered physical defense against these threats. By controlling access to assets like buildings and public spaces, they may be able to minimize the impacts of vehicle-borne IED attacks.
Hostile vehicle mitigation, or HVM, techniques are most effective when they keep IEDs and similar threats as far away from protected assets as possible.
Maximizing the blast stand-off distance between potential threats and a building or space requires an awareness of diverse factors, such as:
- The speed and force with which vehicles could travel during attacks
- The distance between VSBs and other structural elements
- How debris, fire, shock waves, and other blast effects might propagate
Considering Asset Particulars
Different assets necessitate unique protection schemes. In some cases, service and utility vehicles must access otherwise blocked areas or pedestrians routinely have to move through public spaces. Vehicle access control points need to consider these situations and institute appropriate oversight to maximize the efficiency of bollards and eliminate security backdoors.
VSBs are commonly combined with planning features like route controls that force vehicles to approach protected spaces indirectly or at limited speeds.
When employed with bends and other roadway features that calm traffic, bollards may be used to totally or temporarily prevent vehicle transit in specific areas.
Active or Passive VSBs?
Passive VSBs include architectural, environmental and structural features that perform their function while remaining largely unchanged. Permanent bollards, walls, fences, and trees all fit this category.
Active VSBs are generally deployed as needed. They may include actuated gates, retractable bollards folding blockers and other devices. Many are configured to activate in response to electronic vehicle speed monitors, mechanical triggers or manual security controls.
Active and passive VSBs both have their strengths and weaknesses. Active devices are more flexible, for instance. They may take the time to deploy correctly, and they lose efficacy when security staff or automated mechanisms fail to identify threats. They’re also vulnerable to mechanical deficiencies and system errors. On the other hand, passive VSBs may disrupt public spaces or pedestrian activities although these effects are generally easy to mitigate with proper planning. Some passive VSBs also demand additional hardening or protection to resist environmental forces or tampering. Neither HVM tool is right for every situation, and each requires intelligent, proactive security management.
Selecting Threat-Appropriate Bollard Solutions
As with any security device, bollards must be tested thoroughly. Publicly Available Specification, or PAS, documents are commonly used to define what constitutes correct testing methods and procedures.
PAS 68:2013, “Impact test specifications for vehicle security barriers,” identifies tolerances, test methodologies and vehicle criteria that barriers must satisfy to be granted satisfactory impact test classifications. PAS 69:2013, “Guidance for the selection, installation, and use of vehicle security barrier systems,” defines how different barriers should be employed to minimize risks.
Although vehicle impact tests and selection guides seek to cover a range of situations, usage remains an important factor long after initial installation.
For example, natural VSBs, like trees, are only functional when used in groups, and they require regular inspection and maintenance. While bunds and other embankments are effective when they have a front-facing angle of at least 50 degrees and heights of 1.25 meters or more. Earthworks that lack geotextile reinforcement may lose their efficacy over time.
Natural VSBs aren’t the only HVM tools subject to strict oversight. Individual security bollards each have to satisfy demanding requirements, and testing must be administered every seven days following the pouring of concrete. In the same vein, active barriers and their support systems, such as speed-detecting high-speed cameras, timing gates, and pressure pads, also require routine conformance auditing.
When used properly, security bollards save lives and help authorities mitigate terrorist activity. These devices are most effective when they’re employed in conjunction with smart threat management practices, so it’s important that designers, property owners, and security personnel all understand what’s at stake and work together to reduce risks.
To learn more about the positive difference security bollards can make, please contact us, it is our pleasure to assist you.