/ By Gateway Team / anti-terrorism bollards • bollards/ 0 Comments

Bollards – a vital tool to protect the public from vehicular assaults

Bollards - a vital tool to protect the public from vehicular assaultsUnimposing and commonplace in public areas, bollards are often ignored or only subconsciously acknowledged by the public as they go about their business. However, they play a critical role in their safety and increasingly are being turned to by councils and organisations as a security tool.

While bollards have always played a crucial role in defending pedestrians from road traffic accidents and diverting traffic away from areas where there are lots of people on foot, today we see their role being adapted for a new purpose – defending against terrorist attacks.

Over the past few years, terrible attacks against pedestrians have been witnessed in some of the world’s biggest and most populous cities including Barcelona, Charlottesville, Berlin, London, New York, Nice, Stockholm, and the West Bank. The attacks have seen vehicles being used as weapons and driven into large groups of people causing mass casualties and deaths.

This new form of terrorist attack presents challenges to the security services as they are often unexpected, and can be undertaken without too much advanced planning and preparation. In some cases, the drivers have then gone on to exit vehicles and begin a melee attack on innocent pedestrians who are left standing after the attack, and this continues until emergency services are able to make it to the scene and apprehend the attackers.

To prevent these kinds of attacks, many city planners and organisations are turning to security tools such as bollards to deter vehicular assaults and stop terrorists in their tracks. Iconic landmarks such as London Bridge and York Minster are being fitted with anti-terrorist bollards to provide protection against impact collisions from vehicles, thereby protecting flocks of tourists who visit these landmarks every day.

Here at Gateway Automation, we provide a range of equipment that can be used down to halt vehicular attacks including Crash Tested Road Blockers and purpose built Anti-Terrorism Bollards like the XPass B 330/1200, XPass B 275/800, and Ranch D 275/800. To find out more, please call us on 01522 682 255 or request a quote

/ By Gateway Team / automatic barriers • barriers • bi-folding gates • bollards • car park security • gates • height restrictor barriers • manual barriers • perimeter security • sliding gates • swing gates • unauthorised parking/ 0 Comments

How to tackle the problem of unauthorised parking

clip_image002With an ever increasing number of vehicles on the road, the problem of parking, particularly in inner city areas, has begun to reach boiling point with thousands of land owners becoming increasingly frustrated by vehicles illegally parking on their land, obstructing their day to day activities.

However, this issue which is affecting businesses and landowners nationwide is not something that can be handled by the police, as it is a civil matter rather than a legal one. While in the past land owners were able to use clamping as a deterrent, this is no longer allowed, with The Protection Of Freedoms Act (2012) making it an offence to clamp a vehicle in England or Wales. So with this in mind, what alternatives are still available to businesses to tackle the issue of unauthorised parking on their property?

Barriers
One way to limit access to your site is to use barriers. Automatic barriers, height restrictor barriers and manual barriers all act as effective solutions for limiting access to vehicles or particular types of vehicles. They can be operated either manually – remaining up in business hours and locked down in the evening, or automatically – with access granted via CCTV, proximity cards, a key pad or tokens.

Gates
One of the most effective ways to limit access to a site is to install gates, a particularly effective choice if you are aiming to lock down a specific area such as a staff car park. Having unauthorised cars using up your employees’ parking spaces, or spaces reserved for clients and guests can be infuriating and cause real problems for your business, so gates, bollards and barriers are all good options. Read more about our swing gates, sliding gates and bi-folding gates.

Bollards
If you require a simple but effective solution for dealing with unauthorised access then bollards are a good option. Bollards are particularly effective if you are looking to prevent unwanted parking but also preserve the view of your business site. For example a car showroom might want to retain the views of their property for passing traffic so may opt for a bollard system rather than high fences which obstruct the view of the cars on their lot. Our GA7276H automatic bollards have been built for optimum performance and intensively tested to ensure reliability for over 3000 movements per day. In the event of an emergency or power failure they can be lowered manually and can also be operated simultaneously. Click here to read more about our GA7276H Automatic Bollards.

Gateway Automation provide a range products to help businesses and individuals to secure their sites and also provide nationwide servicing and repairs to gates, barriers and other perimeter security equipment. To find out more, please call us on 01522 682255.

/ By Gateway Team / bollards • crash tested road blockers • security • sliding gates • terrorism • vehicle attack • vehicular attack/ 0 Comments

How to protect your premises from a vehicular terrorist attack

truck-1910871_640If you operate in a sensitive field of business that puts you at risk from protest or terrorism then it’s particularly important that you find ways to mitigate the risk of an attack. In recent years there has been a rise in the number of attacks from vehicles which are driven by terrorists fuelled by religious or political agendas. But how exactly can businesses prevent a vehicular attack which could happen at any time?

While we trust the great job that our security services do in the UK, there are occasions when terrorist operations sadly fall through the net and in those times it’s important that your business and your employees don’t come to any harm. Let’s look at some of the ways that you can restrict the impact of a vehicle, whether armed with explosives or using its size and weight to cause damage to your infrastructure.

Crash Tested Road Blockers are the go-to solution for many financial, government and private organisations looking to reduce the threat and subsequent damage of a terrorist attack. Crash tested road blockers prevent vehicles from gaining access to important or restricted areas of your premises while simultaneously doubling up as a deterrent. Our GA100000 Shallow-Mounted Road Blocker was crash tested by the Motor Industry Research Association and passed with ‘0’ penetration and remained operable under the strain of various tests.

One option for reducing access to your site is that of heavy duty sliding gates. Sliding gates are used throughout various industries where important equipment or data is being protected. Our own GA900 Automatic Cantilever Sliding Gate is easily fitted with optional extras such as razor wire extensions, anti-climb spikes, electric fences, traffic lights and warning sirens. The gate’s movement is controlled via a rack & pinion system monitored by an encored which allows for precise and controlled operation. Our GA900 is also made from hi-grade aluminium which is extremely rigid and dependable.

For small vehicles such as cars and motorbikes, bollards may well be an effective solution. They are designed to stop vehicles from passing but still allow pedestrians to make it on to your site. They may be particularly effective if you are looking for a way to stop access to an area but still retain a friendly and open appearance.

Gateway Automation provides free, no obligation quotes and feasibility surveys for your premises. To assess your security requirements, please contact us

/ By Gateway Team / access control equipment • automatic rising kerbs • barriers • bollards • crash tested road blockers • flow control plates • gates • risk assessments • security • security posts • speed ramps • turnstiles/ 0 Comments

Why physical security is crucial in protecting your business from crime

While many businesses fall back on CCTV as a low maintenance form of security, as we explained in our recent blog it is anything but an all-in-one solution. CCTV has indeed proven to be weak in many areas and it is particularly worth remembering that a camera cannot physically prevent a crime from happening, only document it taking place. It simply records the event in the hope that police or private guards can be informed in time and a conviction can be secured later on.

Here at Gateway Automation we provide full risk assessments so that we can identify any vulnerabilities and then recommend the best tailored approach to protect your business. This often means a variety of different physical barriers designed to make your property unattractive to criminals and could include one or a combination of the following protections:

Creating a robust physical perimeter around your business site should be high on your agenda, but equally it is just as important to maintain your gates, fences and other types of security solutions, for if they are damaged over time due to intrusion attempts or even just accidentally damaged in your day to day activities then they could leave you vulnerable.

This is why we offer a nationwide reactive callout service with engineer response times of 8 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours and 7 days meaning that we can get to you quickly to repair any damage and keep your business safe and secure.

To find out more about our servicing and repairs options, please visit https://www.gatewayautomation.co.uk/servicing/ or contact us on 01522 682255 for a free, no-obligation quotation and feasibility survey to assess your perimeter security needs.