5 of the best ways to secure your site’s perimeter

Perimeter protection is an essential part of any business’s security solution. It’s what keeps your building, staff, and assets safe from unwanted or unauthorised people or vehicles accessing the site with malicious intent. There are several components that could be included to ensure maximum protection but, in my opinion, there is a clear top five for ultimate security.

1.      Barriers

Barriers are a great way of controlling traffic onto your site. They can work with access control so the person gaining entry uses either an access card, or punches a number into a keypad, or biometric technologies to raise the barrier. Or they can work in conjunction with security guard assistance once the person needing access to the site has been verified. They are a great way of preventing overfilling in car parks and stopping traffic using your car park or premises as a cut through, both of which pose a risk in terms of pedestrian safety and creating a block to an evacuation.

2.      Fencing

Fencing is pretty low maintenance and cost-effective in terms of security solutions. The materials that it’s made out of are durable (in relation to both vandalism and weather) and low maintenance so you don’t have to budget for replacements or upgrades. The most popular for many commercial premises are either vertical bar fencing or welded mesh – both look neat and professional and solid enough to act as a deterrent to a would-be invader.

3.      Gates

Gates are a great deterrent and an effective physical barrier. They look imposing, particularly when they are incorporated with a well-installed fence and they create a powerful obstacle in the prevention of unauthorised people or vehicles accessing your business premises. They offer any site a greater level of protection and the ability to control who is allowed to enter and the times they are allowed to enter. At Zicam, we think it’s important to look at the entire site before advising which gate would be the most effective. The advice we give will be influenced by the site’s requirements such pedestrian and vehicle access and traffic flow around site – that’s why you should always engage a reputable company before spending the money on a new security gate.

4.      Turnstiles

Turnstiles are purely about controlling pedestrian flow and access on a site. They are an integral piece of a perimeter protection solution because of the high levels of safety they deliver and the security they provide. In relation to safety, they are great at managing the flow of foot traffic and they enforce a one-way system to prevent congestion or accidents, and they provide easy access and exit control in an emergency situation. In terms of security, they control who has access to a site and are good for keeping a person at the perimeter until their credentials have been verified. As with the other methods of perimeter protection they offer an effective visual deterrent to potential intruders.

5.      CCTV

CCTV is an all-round crowd pleaser when it comes to security systems, and that’s because it’s so effective. It literally gives you 24/7, 365 eyes on your premises and is up there on the visual deterrent scoreboard as well. If you combine the other four methods with CCTV, then you’re onto a winner with respect to property protection. It can be used with each of the methods to increase their effectiveness, for example, it can provide visual confirmation of the identity of a person wanting to use a turnstile and can be used in with number plate recognition technology to optimise the role of your barriers. Ultimately, the more security elements you can include in your perimeter, the better you’ll be protected.

We work with companies of all shapes and sizes across the UK and Ireland and firmly believe there is the perfect perimeter protection for each and every one of them. If you’re interested in talking to one of our in-house experts, get in touch – we’d love to help out.

Bradley Ellis, Gate Automation Engineer, Zicam Integrated Security Limited

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