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Tell me about gates. Who establishes standards of construction for security gates? What features are nice to have on a gate? Which are important? Which are necessary? What type of gate designs are the most effective against which types of attacks?
Who builds the best gates? What can one do to strenghten and existing, medium security gate against various attacks?
Thanks,
John.
Well first you need to figure out what exactly is the gate to be used for. Are you looking to just simply control traffic flow in/out of a parking area, are you looking to secure a retirement community or Area 51? Is the gate going to be a vehicle gate or man gate? What is the threat against the facility? Is it a facility or home? Do looks matter? What is the security around the gate? Vehicle barriers should the gate be ran, guards working right there, guards operating remotely via CCTV and intercom, etc. Does the gate need to be wired into a alarm system or access control system like continuum, Diamond 2 or CCure? Will the gate be automated, or is it going to be manually operated? Locked? In short what exactly do you want to know about gates as there are a million different gates out on the market and they all have their uses.
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I've started out too broadly. Is there a body which sets standards for vehicle gate security? ANSI has standards for safe operation, but I could not find any information about resistance to brute force attacks.
Tell me about gates. Who establishes standards of construction for security gates? What features are nice to have on a gate? Which are important? Which are necessary? What type of gate designs are the most effective against which types of attacks?
Who builds the best gates? What can one do to strenghten and existing, medium security gate against various attacks?
Thanks,
John.
There's no general industry standard that I know of. However, in such cases we can often refer to military specifications - and the military has to have a "spec" for everything due to purchasing and contracting requirements. Doesn't necessarily mean you would impose the same standards, but it gives you something to work from - for instance, what are the pertinent parameters (e.g. cycle time, clearance, etc.) that should be considered with regard to gates, and what units of measurement are used for those parameters? Also, it serves as a reference point for comparing gates that you might be considering (i.e., how close do they come to meeting this standard?)...
Here's a milspec publication (MIL-HDBK-1013/10) regarding fence and gate standards - perhaps it will provide what you need. Notice that the second or third page also includes references to other standards publications, most or all of which you can probably find by Googling the specific number of the standard (as shown above), using quotes around it.
I would like to offer advice based on firsthand experience with gates over the years. If the gate is motorized, be sure the motor has the appropriate torque and power for the type of gate used.
We had a large gate that went through 200 open/close cycles per day. It was installed by in-house maintenance personnel and the motor selected was not powerful enough. Eventually, the constant strain of the gate burned the motor out.
Interesting question, what kind of gate, vehicle or pedestrian or both, might I ask and what kind of attack? Ramming? VBIED? Personnel? We secure against all those threats at work. I might have a few suggestions.
Quick answer though. If they are abandoned, and or low use and you can get a fork lift up to them, drop a Jersey Barrier against them to hold them closed or fill up some 55 gallon drums and do the same.
There are established standards for protective barriers. They are rated by the U.S. Department of State using test procedures in accordance with standard SD-STD-02.01.
This standard specifies a vehicular impact (perpendicular to the barrier) of a 15,000-pound vehicle at a speed of 30, 40, or 50 mph. The typical ratings are K-4, K-8, and K-12.
K12 indicates that the barrier will withstand a 15,000 lb (6810 kg) vehicle traveling 50 mph (80 kph).
K8 = 15,000 lb (6810 kg) vehicle traveling 40 mph (65 kph)
K4 = 15,000 lb (6810 kg) vehicle traveling 30 mph (48 kph)
The the K rating has to be combined with an L rating- L ratings let the Owner know how far the vehicle will penetrate the perimeter or protected area. There are 2 L ratings
L1 = the same attack vehicle can penetrate 20-50 feet maximum
L2 = the attack vehicle can penetrates 3-20 feet maximum.
The L is critical because it effects the buildings standoff distance. If you have a large amount of standoff, you can use a less costly L1 rated gate.
Aesthetically, I prefer retractable bollards in almost all cases over a rated gate. One important consideration for the bollard is its mechanism- electric over hydraulic or straight electric. From a LEED perspective, electric is preferred because the hydraulic device has a potential to leak its fluid into the ground.
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Last edited by john_harrington; 08-23-2009 at 08:55 AM.
Vehicle Gates
Linear Mode
