Thursday, April 25, 2013

Ensuring The Physical Security Of A Structure

By Cindy Hess


Physical security refers to the security measures incorporated by architects and industrial engineers to the design of structures to prevent intruders and blasts from having access to the structure. This entails putting up barriers and structures that can safeguard against hostile attacks. Putting up guardhouses and CCTV cams may not be enough for buildings, especially large-scale ones, thus, physical security must be a clever mix of great design and physical safety measures.

The security of a building is costly to ensure and might not always be perfect. This is mostly because a structure's needs is different from another's. But while there is really no clear-cut standard on how to physically secure a building, risks can definitely be minimized. Defense of depth is applied to make up for this reality. This involves incorporating a variety of devices, defense protocols, structural plans and testing.

Another key strategy in reinforcing the physical security of the building is to make it Blast Proof. This entails creating a Blast Design that deters intruders and contain the blast in one area, far from where people work, of course, as much as possible. It also entails delaying the attack by putting up obstacles that can shield individuals, give them time to relocate or escape the area, and frustrate the intruder.

The physical security design of a building can be finished by layers. The first of which is making a detection system where every nook and cranny of the property can be monitored. The next layer is creating an environmental design that involves setting up deterrents like warning signs, vehicle obstacles, fences, trenches and security light posts. The third one is concerned with implementing mechanical, digital, and procedural access tracking for personnel and lastly, the final one is designing a suitable response procedure must intrusions are discovered.

Properly planning the physical security of an infrastructure could guarantee the resilience of a structure against an assault and protect the sake of individuals who work in it. By considering the company's funds and understanding the layout of your structure's environment, you could create a solid design that could save your companies million of bucks in repair as well as hundreds of lives.




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