A building's security needs often guided by site

Oct 1, 1997 12:00 PM, EMILY HARWOOD

Security strategies are as varied as the buildings they are designed to protect. For example, a building with hundreds of tenants will have completely different security concerns than one housing mostly equipment or machinery. Events such as the bombings of the World Trade Center and the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City have heightened awareness of the violent activities we must continually guard against.

Geographical conditions have inspired building designs that will withstand high winds, floods and earthquakes. Likewise, recent acts of terrorism have led to the design of blast-resistant buildings. Although there will probably never be a truly bomb-proof building, design features can help reduce injuries, facilitate rescue and expedite repair in the event of a blast.

A variety of physical hazards associated with a blast must be considered, including flying debris, broken glass, smoke and fire, blocked egress, and loss of power and communications. The main goal in blast-resistant building design is to devise a structure that can endure significant damage and remain standing, thus limiting serious injury and death.

Weidlinger Associates, with offices in New York; Cambridge, Mass.; Los Altos, Calif.; and Arlington, Va., provides a consulting service on bomb-resistant building design. Weidlinger divides the blast scenario into three phases that require engineering consideration. In the first phase, only exterior walls, columns and windows are affected; in the second phase, floor slabs and roofs, columns and beams are also damaged; and in the third phase, the lateral load resisting frame is affected. The goal is to provide a design that takes all three phases into account. By using heavy exterior walls, decreasing the size of window and door openings and adapting seismic code requirements, a blast-resistant structure can be achieved.

In addition to new building design, Weidlinger analyzes existing structures to provide detailed vulnerability reports that suggest preventive measures. Possible preventive measures include passive protection such as the placement of bollards and the installation of gates that prevent traffic in close proximity to the building. An example is blocking of Pennsylvania Avenue to restrict traffic directly in front of the White House.

Defense against criminal assault

Defense against a bombing is important for high-profile buildings, but it is not practical for every situation, nor does it address the other criminal assaults. However, research has shown that crime can be substantially reduced or eliminated by designing crime-deterrence features into buildings.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), a concept involving the use of physical environment as protection against attack, is a natural outgrowth of that research. In fact, more and more municipalities are adapting Building Security Ordinances that reflect CPTED philosophies. Where these ordinances exist, building certificates and occupancy permits may be withheld until security code requirements are met.

Basic principles of CPTED include:

* target hardening - controlling access to neighborhoods and buildings and conducting surveillance on specific areas to reduce opportunities for crime; and

* territorial reinforcement - increasing the sense of security through activities that encourage informal control of the environment.

CPTED combines architectural design, landscape planning, security systems and visual surveillance to create a potentially crime-free environment. Because code requirements change from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, it is wise for the security installer to investigate local requirements before submitting security system proposals.

Pentagon security

In these modern times, we place a lot of emphasis on technological features when designing security, though not all effective security measures are technology driven. One of the world's largest office buildings and most well-known government facilities relies heavily on human forces in conjunction with technology for protection. With 6,636,360 square feet of floor space, 17 miles of corridors, 7,754 windows and 67 acres of parking lot area, the Pentagon undoubtedly presents one of the most challenging security problems in the United States. Although pentagon officials are unwilling to disclose specific electronic security measures, for obvious reasons, they are proud to discuss the officers who provide the human element of the guard process.

The Defense Protective Service (DPS) is responsible for providing law enforcement and security services at the Pentagon, as well as 40 other Department of Defense (DoD) office facilities in the national capital region. Approximately 220 DoD civilian employees make up the DPS police force that controls access to the Pentagon, conducts patrols on the Pentagon Reservation and investigates reported incidents and criminal offenses.

DPS personnel receive eight and a half weeks of basic training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga. Upon returning from the training center, each trainee is assigned to work with a field training officer for 12 weeks of on-the-job-training. After successfully completing the training process, approved officers must undergo annual training programs and satisfy bi-annual firearms qualifications.

Established in October 1987, the DPS specific mission includes: Developing and implementing programs that preserve public order, prevent crime, provide timely response to life-threatening events, maintain security and perform other public assistance service. The DPS plays a vital role in the protection of the massive structure and its 25,000 employees.

Spiderman

Just when we think we have covered every possible security issue involving buildings, more come to light. Not only must people with nefarious intent be kept out of buildings, but in some cases people also have to be kept off of buildings.

Early this year, a 34-year-old Frenchman was arrested for attempting to climb the world's tallest building, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Alain Robert, a.k.a. "Spiderman," made it to the 60th floor before police pulled him into a window and made the arrest. Robert has, however, made several "legal" climbs, including the Empire State Building in New York and the Centerpoint Tower in Sydney, Australia.

BASE Jumping is another variety of thrill seeking that has become a security problem for tall buildings. BASE is an acronym for Building, Antenna, Span (as in bridge) and Earth (earthbound edifice such as a sheer cliff or waterfall). For those involved in this unlikely sport, a BASE number is achieved by successfully completing a jump (with parachute) from each type of structure.

More unfortunately, there are also people who wish to jump from buildings as an act of suicide. This was the situation when a woman gained access to the rooftop of a 22 story building at One Arizona Center. She told the guards on duty that she wanted to show her daughter the view. When she reached the roof, she threw herself and her young daughter to their deaths. Incidents such as these add to the burden of building security by making rooftop and window access control a vital security issue.

Whether buildings are used for private, public or federal purposes, the same security objectives prevail - the provision of a safe yet pleasant and non-restrictive environment for occupants. Security service and product providers are in a constant race to meet these objectives. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed." The speed at which security technologies, philosophies and legislation are changing and developing allow us to believe that we can safely traverse the icy terrain of effective building security.

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2012 Penton Media Inc.

This month in Access Control

• Targeting The Customer
• Electronic Pedigrees
• One Hero Among Many
• Who? What? When? Where? Why?
• More from September's issue