Creating a safe zone within a commercial building and practising how to use it is just as important for staff members as having fire drills. Businesses can be attacked by robbers, criminal gangs, looting vandals, or terrorists. Knowing what to do in such a situation could save lives. Trellidor is a global leader in the design and manufacture of customised safe zone security barriers and shares the following tips to install them at business premises.
1. Safe Zone Location
A safe zone is a designated area that is well secured to protect people when the building is under attack. It must be clearly demarcated and easy to access by staff members. This is where they will assemble in the event of an attack. It doesn’t matter whether the business is large or small, there is always a space within it that can be properly protected using physical security barriers.
The location will depend on the floor plan of the building, so expert advice may be needed to help with pinpointing the best area for the safe zone. It could be an office or a wing of the building, or a particular floor that can be isolated. The designated area should, of course, have access to toilets, water, and communication with emergency assistance such as the police.
2. Roller Shutters for Safe Zones
To keep people safe within the secure zone, it needs to be well protected with physical security measures that block out the danger. Trellidor has developed a roller shutter door to quickly isolate the space in which staff have gathered during an attack. It is called a ‘Rollerstyle Shutter’ and has the following features that make it fit for purpose:
- It has a strong, durable double-walled aluminium construction that seals off the space to protect those behind it.
- The shutters can be fitted to windows in the safe zone as well as the entry door, shutting off all points of access by criminals.
- It locks down the area or building quickly and efficiently with minimal staff training.
- It creates a safe environment for people to sit out the incident until it has been resolved.
- One of the main benefits of this rollerstyle shutter is that it is automated and can be lowered in 25 seconds at the press of a button.
- The roller shutter door can be operated by security staff in a central control room or by using a hand-held remote control.
- No bottom track is required, leaving floor space clear and avoiding a tripping hazard during the high-pressure phase of rushing into the safe zone.
- The Rollerstyle shutter can be installed in just a few hours by highly trained Trellidor technicians.
3. Comprehensive Building Protection
Rollerstyle shutters are an important component of safe zones created inside a business building. But they can also be used to lock down the exterior of a building in preparation for a planned event such as a protest march. A double walled roller shutter built for strength under attack presents a formidable obstacle to looters and vandals.
Trellidor Rollerstyle shutters can be fitted to all exterior points of entry to a building such as windows, doors, points of public access, and despatch departments. The shutters can be installed discretely to maintain the pleasing design of the building and to avoid alarming people using the building about possible security breaches.
Accessible escape routes from a safe zone can be just as important as locking them down. If there is a fire, for example, people sheltering in the safe zone may need to escape through windows. If they are barricaded with burglar bars, it could lead to a disaster for the people trapped inside. Roller shutters on the windows solve this problem because they can be raised to open up the windows, allowing the occupants to climb out to safety.
4. What Makes the Trellidor Rollerstyle LDS65 the Ideal Roller Shutter for Safe Zones?
Roller shutters can be described as doors that consist of horizontal slats hinged together to form a ‘curtain’ that travels up and down inside guide channels in the walls on either side of the opening. The shutter rolls up into an overhead box where it wraps around the motor shaft, ready to be rolled down when needed.
The Trellidor Rollerstyle LDS65 takes this design a step further for highly dangerous situations such as an invasion by an armed gang. It has a double row of slats, which is much stronger than a single wall. Each slat has windlocks inside the guide channels that lock the shutter in place to prevent pull-out. And in between each slat is an s-shaped ‘actuator’ which is a type of slat that combines with the double row of slats and other in-built technical features to lock down firmly if any force is applied to the shutter.
If someone tries to lift the roller shutter door, a multitude of contact points within the shutter lock so that the shutter does not move. The more the shutter door is forced, the tighter it locks. Experiments done by Trellidor show that even a forklift truck applying extreme pressure struggles to lift a locked down Rollerstyle LDS65 shutter.
5. Make Use of Expert Assistance to Create a Business Safe Zone
Finally, the answer to the question ‘Can I create a safe zone in my business using Rollerstyle shutters’ is a definite ‘yes’ because these shutters seal off entry to a designated area, keeping people safe until help arrives or the criminals leave the building.
The Trellidor team has the expertise to assist with the creation of a safe zone for businesses. They offer a consultation and quoting service that ensures you purchase the right products for the location of the protected area within your business premises.
