Monday 22 April 2013

Physical Security: Protecting Lives

By Cindy Hess


Physical security refers to the security measures utilised by industrial engineers and architects to a structure's design to keep intruders and explosions from penetrating the building. This involves putting up structures and barriers that could protect the structure from hostile attacks. Setting up guard houses and CCTV cameras may not do much for building security, especially for large buildings, which is why physical security should always be a clever mix of good design and appropriate safety measures.

A building's security is sure to incur heavy costs and might never be ideal. each structure's needs are different from another's. There's no surefire way on how to fully secure a building, but risks can be minimized successfully. therefore, the principle of defense in depth is applied to protect structures from intrusions. This involves a number of overlapping protection protocols, equipment and structural program 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 individuals work, of course, as much as possible. It also involves 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 is done by layers. The first of which is creating a detection system where strict surveillance of every bend of the property is observed. Generating an environmental design for the structure is the next layer and requires putting up deterrents such as warning signs, fences, vehicle barriers, security light posts and trenches. The third one is concerned with implementing mechanical, electronic and procedural access monitoring for personnel and the last one concerns laying down a suitable response procedure should intrusions are found out.

Properly developing the physical security of a structure can guarantee the safety of the buildings and the people in it. By allotting some part of your company's budget on devising a good physical security program, you can save hundreds of lives and millions of dollars in repair and operations.




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