Bollards that are shaped in a specific way and built with concrete material are often done so for security reasons as well as aesthetic appeal. These concrete bollards are often constructed with steel rebar encased in concrete in order to provide additional strength to the structure. The benefit of bollards is the fact that this structure isn’t only functional, but also pleasing to the eye. Another positive contributing factor of concrete bollards in the business industry is the fact that these bollards don’t only keep your company safe, but also your workers.
Concrete bollards act as a security barrier, using their visual and physical placing to offer guidance and protection. Bollards often vary in size, shape, and design. As we have established, concrete bollards can be useful in protecting lives as well as properties. It would be beneficial for you to know the different types of bollards to pick the best one for all your protection needs. Read this short guide on all the protection concrete bollards can provide in all kinds of settings.
When investing in concrete bollards, the possibility of protection isn’t the only factor that needs to be considered. When installing concrete bollards, you should avoid unwanted cluttering. Don’t press the structures too close together as this might dissuade people from entering the premises entirely. You are trying to keep your clients safe, not preventing them from entering your business at all. Concrete bollards have the ability, if installed correctly, to protect any businesses or properties from the damage and also allows for the guided flow of customers while accommodating for their safety.
What are your needs regarding security?
Each property or building comes with some common risk factors to consider. Besides security, you should also consider what your aesthetic and access needs are. Security bollards can ensure that no unauthorized individuals enter the premises. By setting up bollards, you can allow the influx of people into the building while preventing cars and other vehicles from getting in too.
The threat factors to consider when installing concrete bollards:
Vehicles that drop off supplies to a business can be damaging to the building as well as occupants or pedestrians. It would be important for you, as a company owner, to consider these possible threats when evaluating your surroundings for bollard installation. Here are some threatening factors that need to be considered when installing the best bollards for all your security needs.
1. The first and most important thing for you as a business owner to consider is the proximity and access to traffic around your property. In other words, how close of an access do vehicles have towards your business? Other factors to consider are parking lots, public streets, or even onsite roads which can also be threatening to your building in some cases.
2. Now that you have considered the access and proximity of traffic, you should look at the amount of traffic that clusters around your business. If there are frequently a lot of motor vehicles moving around your business, you can see why this might be threatening. For example, things like traffic accidents.
3. Speed is something to consider because if cars are driving fast, they can potentially lose control of the steering wheel which in turn increases the potential damage to properties or occupants.
4. The type of traffic that is occurring is also crucial as this lends itself to what types of vehicles are moving around the business. For example, a bicycle might be much less damaging to an individual or a property than say, for instance, a semi-trailer truck. These huge vehicles can be very damaging to anything in their way.
5. You should consider the direction of the traffic around your building. Downhill trajectories can have some brake failures and be increasingly detrimental to the business, even long unobstructed run-ups allow for vehicles to increase their speed and drivers might find it hard to break or stop immediately when needed. With regards to parking, front-in or nose-in parking can also cause damage to a building. Using one wrong shift error or pedal move can potentially send a car flying through the building.
6. Lastly and surely the most unpredictable threat to consider is the actual driving behavior of the individual behind the wheel. You should consider things such as seasonality, the rush around the building, the surrounding environment, and any potential distractions around the building or on the road. All these factors need to be considered which contribute to the driver’s behavior around your business.
Now that we have established the threats around the building of your business you can now understand why it would be beneficial and, in some instances, crucial for you to consider installing bollards around your business. These concrete bollards ensure that you have done everything in your power as a company owner to protect your business and your people. Bollards are less restrictive than installing gates or walls around the business. The customers still feel comfortable and invited into the business, but also safe in the instances of the business being on a busy road.
Bollards for protection against crime:
Security bollards are used in order to prevent burglaries, and smash-and-grabs from occurring. The bollards are installed, and this prevents vehicles from having easy access to the store or to smash through the windows and steel products. Bollards that are used for security reasons are often much stronger in build in order to ensure protection for both people and property. Security bollards, due to the importance of their structure, aren’t as appealing to the eye, but there are covers made especially for this reason.
Attacks are something that often occur, especially in high-profile locations and buildings such as financial buildings, government or even simply buildings that accommodate a large number of people. The use of vehicle ramming, and explosives are common methods for attacks. If a business is seen as being vulnerable, it should invest in some bollards to ensure as much safety as possible from potential attacks.
Light fixture bollards:
Bollard lights are often used in order to illuminate landscapes and pathways to improve the safety of pedestrians. These types of bollards provide light during the night hours not only for you to see where you are going, but also so you can evaluate your surroundings while walking at night. The pathway lights are often square or round in style, depending on your preferences. The light is often very bright, and it projects downwards or horizontally.
Bollards in the protection of the warehouse system:
When you think of bollards, you often think about how they are placed in direct traffic, downtown areas, and parks. In the warehouse industry, bollards are used less for directing traffic and more for protecting the building itself and the people moving around it. Warehouses often receive loads of products that are transported by trucks which can be dangerous for the people and the warehouse building if something were to go wrong. Bollards are placed around the vulnerable places of the warehouse to make sure that the building is kept intact. People who work for warehouses can use safety precautions such as staying behind bollards until the trucks have stopped to ensure protection of the warehouse workers.
Bollards for bank teller protection:
Bollards can be placed around bank teller windows as well as the bank building itself. This allows the building structure to be protected as well as the people working at or visiting the bank. It often happens that drivers misjudge their turns and end up bumping into things on the sidewalk. Bollards can also be installed around automatic teller machines (ATMs) for extra protection of the clients and to prevent theft.
Park safety:
Bollards, as previously mentioned, are installed in places such as parks. You might be wondering why you need protection in a park, but these bollards are installed so vehicle access is limited, and people who are exercising are protected. The bollards that are found in parks often include all shapes, sizes, and designs including flexible or retractable bollards. These are used to designate hiking and biking tracks. Protection in parks is especially important for parks that are located in city centers where traffic is often found.
Safety in the stadium:
The vertical safety columns, also known as bollards, are installed to provide extra protection for sports lovers. Stadiums often host hundreds of people whether they are buying tickets, walking around, smoking cigarettes, standing in line, or waiting for friends. Therefore, it’s important to not only erect bollards around the stadium structure but inside the stadium as well. Bollards that are installed outside of the stadium can protect people from vehicle accidents and inside the stadium, bollards can be used as a spot to wait or provide some structure for lines and ques.
Bollards to protect your home:
Many families often make use of fences to protect their privacy, this also plays a role in feeling secure in your home. There are still families that use wooden fences to protect their properties, but after a long time of use, the durability will decrease and it can damage easily. Unlike bollards, if a car crashes through a wooden fence, the home will be damaged as a wooden fence doesn’t provide the same protection that a bollard can. Nowadays many homes make use of steel or iron fences to protect their homes. These materials aren’t only strong, but also beautiful in their many varieties of shapes and designs.
In some private homes, higher security is often required, and these locations often make use of automatic bollards. These bollards protect residents of the home, but also the property itself. When needed, the bollard is lowered into the ground, but after the owner has driven into the yard, the bollards rise again into their normal spot. The bollard provides residents with additional protection from vehicles that might crash into the property. The automatic bollard is often controlled by a remote and functions the same as if one would have a gate to open and close.
Bollards from StreetScape:
Now that you know all about bollards and how they can provide you with some additional safety, you are probably wondering who will install these bollards around your business. StreetScape is a Cape Town-based company that can provide you with all your bollard needs. We have a lot of experience with bollards and other landscaping elements, and we will know exactly what bollards you might need for your chosen location. StreetScape creates bollards from either concrete or steel materials and both these materials are durable and will provide your company with the best protection.
We hope that you have learned the importance of concrete bollards for your safety. StreetScape is the ideal company that can provide you with these services.