Building and Security

Any building is built to get a security and to live a sophisticated life. A building provides us a shelter and saves us from the sun, cold and rain and weather related aspects. Every building is built with many types of materials to withstand various types of attacks may it be natural or may it be from human beings. There are many kind of materials used in building which provide a security from various kinds of attacks. These materials are of many types. Now let us have a brief idea of what are the different kind of materials used in building so that the built building provides us a security from various types of attacks. Building material is something which is used during the construction to build a building. There are many types of materials which are used in construction they include the natural substances like clay, wood, sand, logs, timber etc. These were more prominent during the time of civilization. During those times these materials formed the most important materials while constructing a building. Later on as time progressed, there are been gradual changes in building materials as well. Man started using artificial man created materials like concrete, hollow blocks, bricks etc. The man made materials are all derived from the natural materials only. A proper mixture of natural raw materials went through some process form the construct material. It is assumed that, these man created artificial materials give a better security when compared to the natural materials which are used to build a building. Apart from this fabrics are another type of the materials which are used in building. Tents are the best examples wherein the fabrics are used. Fabrics are manufactured using different kind of synthetic materials which are properly mixed and processed. This provides a better shelter from the sunlight and rain. These are temporary kind of structures which cannot withstand for a longer duration. Any kind of higher end attacks will easily collapse these structures. Next type of material is mud and clay. These were used in the olden days during the time when technology was not grown. Buildings were built using these materials during those times. Mud and clay is now days replaced by another material called cement concrete. Next kind of materials are the rocks. These were used from long back by our ancestors in building the forts and palaces. During the olden days, hills are been broken and the rocks got from those hills are used in construction of the forts and palaces. Even the houses were been built using the rocks. Till today rocks form the best material in the construction. The buildings which are formed using the rocks provide a much better security from many kind of attacks. The basic security of providing the security from sunlight, cold and rain is met. Apart from this many kinds of manual attacks like shooting from bullets, small bomb attacks are resisted if the building is built using the rocks. The biggest disadvantage of using the rocks is its weight. It takes a greater effort in constructing a building using the rocks, but the security is also better when compared to other kind of materials. Next kind of materials which can be used to construct a building is the grass. Grass is easily available raw material which can be used for the construction. Thatches are the best examples which are been constructed using the grass. As mentioned earlier, woods are used to construct the buildings during the olden days. These provide basic security from the natural attacks. Next is the most common kind of material that is cement concrete. It is the mixture which is formed and used in the construction. In the present scenario cement concrete forms the basic building material. The best known cement material is Portland cement. It is used in the construction of the buildings, flyovers, smaller houses etc. These provide the security from many kind of attacks. may it be natural or manual. Metal is another kind of material used in the construction. Metal rods which are made of steel are used in the pillars while constructing a building. Metals are also used in the windows, floor (in industries) and many other areas of the construction. Metal forms one of the very strong material of construction which gives greater security from both natural and artificial attacks.

A building to withstand attacks has to be built using the proper material. Apart from this a building also needs to have a proper perimeter security system. A perimeter security system gives a security from many kind of attacks and keep us safely. Now let us know how perimeter security system can be made use in the security to resist various kind of attacks. For any facility first step in providing defense is perimeter protection system. This can be done by placing fences, outside lighting, lockable gates or by appointing a guard force. Perimeter protection may also include other barriers like walls, lockable doors, lockable windows, grills and bars and fire escapes. Apart from defining the physical barriers of the provided facility, a perimeter protection also creates a physical and a psychological hurdle to an intruder. Firstly after delaying the intrusion of an intruder into a facility, a perimeter protection also makes the detection and apprehension of the intruder more likely. It also helps security forces in controlling the flow of the persons in designated entries.

There will always be vulnerable points in any perimeter protection and they need to be protected so as to deter or prevent the unauthorized intrusion or entry into the facility. Most of the times the roof, basement and walls will be containing the potential vulnerable points. Apart from this a perimeter security should give the information about tunnels and manholes, gates leading to the basement, ventilation facilities, skylights and elevator shafts and for that matter any opening in facility which is 96 inches or larger and that is within the 18 feet of the ground. Based on the survey report of the perimeter security system, the extent of the perimeter controls will be determined by the facility manager.

Now let us look onto the types of physical barriers. There are basically two types of physical barriers in perimeter protection they are natural barriers and manmade or structural barriers. Natural barriers will include mountains, hills, cliffs, rivers, tunnels etc which are difficult to intrude and natural or manmade barriers include roofs, walls, gates etc which are as mentioned in the first paragraph of this page. As a matter of the fact, if a natural barrier is forming one side of a perimeter security protection, it in itself shouldn’t be considered as adequate as there is a possibility of intrusion by a determined intruder. So, depending on the perimeter survey report, structural barriers can be provided depending on the requirement. A structural perimeter system mainly makes use of fencing. There are two types of the fencing, chain link and barbed wires. A chain link should be placed straight and should not be less than 7 feet tall. It has to be made up of 11 gauge or heavier wire mesh. There can be vulnerable areas in the chain link. These include, the rusted portions of the wire, improper joints etc. Another type of fencing which is used in perimeter security system is barbed wires. A barbed wire should be a double stranded, twisted 12 gauge wire. Barbed wires are basically used in gates which are to prevent the trespassing. A barbed wire should not be less than seven feet tall and properly jointed. A top guard is to be fixed to the barbed wire. A top guard includes a group of four or more strands depending on the requirement, which are fixed at the top. A top is used to deter or to protect the intrusion into the roof which is one of the vulnerable areas in the in the perimeter security system. Next comes the gates in the perimeter protection security system. Gates are built to break the security of fencing or walls and allow the authorized persons to get into the facility. The number of gates to a facility should be limited at the same time should be adequate to handle the peak traffic flow of the authorized persons. The gates should be locked when not in use and should be periodically checked by the guard force. The small openings in fence which are not used as the gates should be locked when they are not in use because they can form the easy vulnerable areas in the perimeter protection security system for the intruders. In case of a higher requirement of the security, other systems like coded card keys and CCTVs can be used to provide greater security in the perimeter protection. Lighting can be used as one of systems in the perimeter protection. Lighting basically provides better visibility and helps in deterring the intrusion of the unauthorized. It provides better visibility to view the badges and helps in checking the people at entrances. It also helps in inspecting vehicles, stopping the illegal entry and helps in recognizing the intruders on the ground.

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