Techniques For Target Hardening During Construction

Every structure requires some level of protection from criminal activity and potential attacks. These situations are often unforeseeable, so it is better to invest in target hardening sooner than later. A great time to implement target hardening techniques is during the construction of your facility. Once the structure is up and running, building features that make the environment safer will already be in place. The goal of target hardening is to reduce the likelihood and severity of dangerous incidents and make your facility less attractive for intruders and attackers. We are here to provide and explain some target hardening techniques that can help you accomplish that goal.

Secure Perimeters

You can secure the perimeters of your facility by installing strong physical barriers such as walls, gates, fences, and bollards. These kinds of barriers can make it very difficult for intruders to sneak inside or break in. The strength of the barrier is what really counts, and you should aim to install material that can take on the force of various vehicles that could be used to crash through an entry point.

Detection systems such as motion detectors are very helpful, especially near perimeters as they can notify you when somebody reaches any particular area of the premises. Surveillance cameras pair well with motion detectors because security personnel can see what caused the motion alert without leaving their post. It’s also important to ensure that all entrances to the facility are secured with screening stations to help prevent criminals from sneaking weapons, explosives, and other dangerous objects into the building.

Minimize Impact from Explosion

The shockwave from an explosion can result in sever injuries and damages to a facility. One of the most notable impacts are on windows as glass is likely to shatter creating a higher risk of more injuries from sharp pieces of the glass flying at high speeds. Metal and other debris can also do considerable damage in that kind of situation. The impacts from an explosion can be minimized by the physical elements of your facility. Blast barriers and ballistic glass are two installments that should be considered during construction.

The impact from an explosion may also cause progressive collapse meaning that other areas of the facility that weren’t damaged initially will start to overload and malfunction or fall apart resulting in more debris falling. To prevent this, you should consider the material used to construct the columns of your buildings. You can cover concrete columns with steel plating or encase steel columns in concrete to add thickness.

Isolate the Riskiest Areas

Another useful idea for target hardening is to isolate the parts of your facility that are the most vulnerable to threats and hazards. Mailrooms, loading docks, elevators, control centers, lobbies, and parking lots can be labeled as at-risk areas. For many buildings, the parking lot or the lobby may be the first point of access for individuals before security screenings take place. You should place a heavy focus on these areas during construction and consider a structural design that improves safety. Adding ballistic glass to windows or blast rated material to doorways are good examples of making that area less at risk.

Contact Kontek Industries

Kontek creates, designs, manufactures and implements wholistic target hardening solutions to protect structures from physical attacks. Contact Kontek Industries and we will review your security objectives and design a custom plan to harden your facility. We provide custom solutions that provide covert and overt protection to project a culture of safety and target resilience. Our solutions will help prevent, deter and protect against ballistic, blast or vehicle impact threats to your facility. We are here to help guide the conversation on what steps can be taken to harden your building, making it a safer and more resilient place to work in, whether you are a civilian or law enforcement officer.