By Mark Oakes, PSP, Chief Executive Officer, Concentric Security, LLC
Security professionals and facility managers today are overwhelmed with safety and security problems arising from aging, inoperable vehicle barriers.
While vehicle barriers have been a principal anti-terrorism tool for decades, many in use today are years beyond their recommended lifecycle.
The operational problems are expensive.
Many owners simply turn barriers off and wait for capital funding to arrive to purchase a new one… a decision that may take years and leaves a facility vulnerable to terrorist attack.
-
Do your security professionals dread that call saying, “It’s broken again” or “We had another traffic accident because of the vehicle barrier”?
-
Are your facility management teams plagued with costly vehicle barrier repairs and downtime?
A reliable, cost-effective solution does exists!
Through a collaborative effort between its Vehicle Barrier Engineering, Controls Manufacturing and Field Service teams, Concentric Security regularly solves barrier-related problems at a fraction of the cost of a new barrier.
Their solutions regularly extend the functional life of a vehicle barrier by 3 to 5 years.
“Most barriers that our customers consider E.O.L. (End of Life) are still mechanically sound,” David McInturff, Vice President of Concentric Security’s Service Division.
In fact, returning barriers to a fully functional, highly dependable state of operation is standard practice here at Concentric Security.
Our customers can use their operating budgets (versus capital budgets) at a fraction of the price.
“Our customers often think poorly manufactured equipment is the reason for their barrier problem when in fact the responsibility is a combination of factors beginning with an improperly designed ‘Sequence of Operation’ followed by poor installation and maintenance,” added McInturff.
”These factors result in undue wear and tear, poorly marked control panels, improper lighting, incorrectly installed hydraulic hoses, bad wire splices and numerous other deficiencies.”
The starting point for barrier refurbishment is determining whether a barrier is structurally sound.
Concentric Security’s engineers evaluate a barrier’s structural steel, the critical element for its ability to meet its as-tested crash rating.
Two things compromise structural integrity; rust and steel deformation (caused by a traffic accident).
Presuming neither of these conditions exist, the barrier’s life is extendable.
Once the engineering review is completed, Concentric Security’s subject matter experts assess the barriers and Access Control Point (ACP) and recommend a variety of retrofit steps to extend barrier life and establish a smoothly running ACP.
They include one or more of the following:
- Controls replacement
- Complete wiring replacement and controls upgrade
- Barrier component upgrades
- Barrier refresh (cleaning/painting)
- Access control point upgrades (signage, traffic control arms, loop detectors, proper lighting, etc.)
- Sequence of Operation review/design
- Training
Concentric Security takes a consultative approach that balances the three components of an effective security system: People, Procedures and Equipment.
This approach is especially evident when a controls upgrade takes place.
Controls design must begin with a ‘Sequence of Operation’ review.
This consultative security approach requires input from a variety of stakeholders including security professionals, the guard force and facility managers.
Concentric Security sits with the appropriate stakeholders and customizes the ideal sequence of operation to maximize barrier efficiency.
This mitigates unnecessary barrier wear and tear and enhances the ACP’s safety features… thereby drastically reducing the likelihood of a future vehicle accident.
Then, and only then, do they start engineering the controls and designing the ergonomic interface.
“The benefits of custom-designed master control panels cannot be overemphasized,” explains Vebi Livoreka, Concentric Security’s Director of Security Controls Engineering.
“Our security and controls experts work with the owner’s team to make sure the control panel design reflects the right ‘Sequence of Operation’.”
“This insures they are clearly designed, marked and that the controls require deliberate activation to assure the officers are confident with regards to which lane they are opening and closing every time.”
“Once the design reaches final stages, our engineers work hand-in-hand with our manufacturing group to produce a controls system catered specifically to their barriers (make/model/type) and to the site operations.”
“After upgrading the barrier controls and central operator stations, we then conduct training with the guard force on the new equipment and Sequence of Operation.”
Concentric Security’s Controls Manufacturing group produces a state-of-art line of PAC/PLC-based barrier controls, adapted to every barrier make, model and type: hydraulic or electrically operated barriers, wedges, bollards, drop arms, and gates.
These innovative control systems include VFD (Variable Frequency Drives) that increase barrier lifespans, HMI (Human Machine Interface) interfaces that allow operators to trouble-shoot the barrier, and a variety of advanced precision sensors that increase safety.
Commissioned by its field service offices geographically positioned in the Northeast, Southeast and West Coast, Concentric Security has performed barrier retrofits on as few as one barrier all the way up to full enterprise-wide rollouts upgrading hundreds of barriers simultaneously.
Barrier renovations also require point-by-point mechanical reviews of the existing barrier.
Concentric Security has tens of thousands of documented hours of barrier service and repair.
For decades, this information has been uploaded into their proprietary database of vehicle barrier-specific knowledge.
Data includes barrier makes, models, parts, service history, typical failure points, COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) parts equivalents and design best practices.
McInturff iterated this point, “We have vast range of vehicle barrier knowledge.”
“Our many years of experience combined with our database of alternate parts, vendor resources and best practices within the industry gives Concentric Security a singular ability to offer its customer’s expert recommendations on all the perimeter security related fabricated components, systems and subsystems that are available.”
Every barrier retrofit starts with a detailed upgrade plan. The plan includes a full analysis of every primary system, sub-system and individual component.
Once this is complete, budgets are submitted to the owner for approval. The systemic approach taken by Concentric Security leaves customers with a truly revitalized barrier system.
Is your vehicle barrier a constant, expensive pain point?
Remember, barrier retrofits are not only feasible and possible; they also offer a cost-effective way to insure the integrity of your barriers and ACP.
This gives your facility managers and security professionals peace of mind and allows them to focus on other tasks within their security mission.
Concentric Security has your reliable solution!
Give Concentric Security a call today 410-552-9950.
We look forward to serving you today!
Mark Oakes, PSP, Chief Executive Officer, Concentric Security, LLC
