How Safety Bollard Protect Your Employees

Safety bollards protect site workers and the general public alike from accidents, vandalism, and crime.  Statistics show that many devastating workplace injuries are caused by errant vehicle traffic.  Safety bollards decrease the likelihood of injuries in the following ways:

1. By creating a physical barrier between people and sources of danger – Safety bollards vary greatly in size and strength, from short steel posts to massive concrete structures.  Yet they’re remarkably similar in their ability to repel danger.  This makes them an excellent shield against all types of hazards, from stray vehicles to terrorist attacks.  Yet they need not look imposing or intimidating.  In fact, they often do double duty as planters, statues, fountains, entryways, and other decorative public works.
   
2. By serving as a deterrent to both careless behavior and deliberate acts of destruction – Safety bollards are powerful visual reminders that an area is off-limits to vehicles, human beings, or both.  In today’s information-saturated society, thousands of messages compete for everyone’s attention on a daily basis.  Safety bollards remind passersby that they should pay attention to their surroundings.  They also serve as a warning to those who would cause harm on purpose.
   
3. By channelizing traffic away from sensitive areas – For example, walking and biking paths are increasingly common sights across the country as people place greater emphasis on personal fitness.  As they do, however, the need to make motorists aware of their presence grows as well.  Safety bollards serve this purpose, helping to keep car and foot traffic separate.  They do the same for pedestrian walkways, construction zones, and entrances to public facilities. 
   

Today’s world offers unprecedented opportunities for education, income, and personal enrichment.  Along with these advances, however, comes expanding infrastructure and an increasing need to safeguard human beings from harm, be it intentional or otherwise.  Safety bollards play a crucial role in these efforts.  As the planet grows more interconnected, the need for these structures will only increase.  Public officials and private business owners should keep this fact in mind as they strive to make their locations safer.

Originally Posted HERE.

Seven Major Uses for Safety Bollards

Safety bollards are the workhorses of the security and traffic management world.  They serve an almost endless variety of roles, from directing traffic to protecting sensitive installations.  Here’s a look at seven of the most important ways in which they serve.

1. Traffic calming – Safety bollards are used to delineate car-free zones, prevent spillover parking on sidewalks, and reduce traffic speed by narrowing lanes.  Additionally, studies by the Transportation Research Institute of Israel have found that strategically placed safety bollards can reduce the frequency of automotive accidents.  In some cases, these purposes are best served by flexible metro bollards that bend upon impact.  In other instances, officials use heavily reinforced safety bollards made of steel with concrete cores.  In recent times, portable bollards have begun to replace traffic cones for use around roadway worksites.
   
2. Illuminating darkened areas – Wrongdoers typically seek dark, poorly lit places to commit crimes.  To discourage such behavior and enhance visibility, many modern safety bollards are outfitted with lighting devices.  In some cases, the bollard is a totally self-contained unit that operates via small solar panels, a built-in battery, and LEDs.  In other cases, safety bollards are connected to the power utility and joined in an electrical network.  Reflective bollards are often used to mark sensitive areas; officials rely on their ability to reflect oncoming headlights.
3. Deflecting vehicle tires – Bell-shaped safety bollards are used for this purpose in many parts of the world, including continental Europe and the United Kingdom.  They help to safeguard both property and pedestrians from stray vehicles.
4. Enabling periodic traffic control measures – Some facilities require concentrated traffic management during certain periods of time.  These include school zones, houses of worship, and factories that employ shift workers.  In such cases, portable safety bollards serve an important role.  Sometimes these products are temporarily mounted into permanently affixed metal sockets at road or ground level.  Other times, safety bollards are outfitted with electric or hydraulic mechanisms that operators can raise or lower as needed.  With advances in artificial intelligence, officials are using so-called “smart bollards” in some areas.  These devices can position themselves as needed based on incoming sensory data.
5. Enhancing driver safety during racing events – In some cases, sporting officials use safety bollards to mark sharp corners and other segments of raceways that might compromise the safety of the competitors.  These products are designed to break away from their base very easily, should a vehicle strike them.
6. Controlling access – Many types of safety bollards serve in this capacity.  They range from simple flexible structures joined together by yellow caution tape to substantial monuments that do double-duty as raised flowerbeds or sculptures.  Police officers use safety bollards to direct civilians away from crime scenes, as commonly shown on television and in motion pictures.  Permanent safety bollards can weigh many tons, and are designed to deflect oncoming vehicles traveling at high speeds.  This particular use for bollards has become increasingly common in the years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
   
7. Helping to preserve historic sites – In the United States, the National Register of Historic Places includes more than 90,000 buildings, objects, sites, districts and structures.  Many of these locations are easily damaged or defaced.  In such cases, officials often use safety bollards to discourage both careless activities and outright vandalism.  The bollards used range from lightweight portable structures to sizable fixtures, depending on budgetary priorities and changing circumstances.

Conclusion

The world becomes more crowded with each passing day, creating an ever-growing need for effective security measures.  Safety bollards serve an important role in this regard.  Their value as public protectors will only increase in the coming years.

Parking Bollards Help Ensure Parking Lot Safety

Parking bollards help prevent accidents in parking lots across the United States.  Installing them is one of the most effective steps lot owners and managers can take to ensure safety on the properties they are responsible for.  These bollards can take one of three different forms, depending on local needs:

1.      Solid bollards - these are permanently mounted into the lot’s substrate.  Their purpose is to provide an unyielding barrier against vehicle owners that try to park or drive in unauthorized areas.  They are usually made of steel, filled with concrete, and painted bright colors, such as yellow, to make them more noticeable.  These are among the most common parking bollards found in the United States due to their strength and low maintenance requirements.  However, embedded types cannot easily be relocated to meet changing demands.  There have been advances in surface mount bollards that are stronger than traditional welded plate bollards.

2.      Retractable bollards - these can be raised or lowered as needed during particular events or times of day.  When not in use, they drop into pre-drilled slots buried in the ground, and are then raised by manual or mechanical means when needed.  These parking bollards are ideal for use in locations with changing layouts.  However, their higher cost makes them unworkable for some organizations. 

3.      Flexible bollards - these are used on an as-needed basis.  They bend when struck by a vehicle, so they provide little deterrence to those who are determined to break the rules.  However, their affordability makes them a perfect solution when parking bollards are needed for short-term use, such as during special events like community festivals or concerts.  Their lightweight construction keeps them from damaging vehicles when struck while also safeguarding them from being damaged themselves.

Deciding which type of bollard is best for your location depends on factors such as budget, ongoing needs, and local conditions.  Given their role in helping to ensure parking lot safety, however, some type of bollard is necessary for virtually any property where drivers park.

Originally posted at SlowStop.com

Frangible Bollards for Structural Concrete

Protecting assets and pedestrians in a concrete structure often poses particular challenge to designers and architects.  Any bollard used must be strong enough and imposing enough to prevent errant vehicle traffic from causing damage, but yet cannot be a liability to the entire structure.  For this reason, embedded bollards are rarely used in pre- and post-tension concrete structures.  Should a vehicle impact and embedded bollard that does not give, potential for catastrophic structural failure exists.  Further, options to repair bent bollards are severely limited, leaving the property owner stuck with unsightly bollards.

This has left architects and property managers with only welded steel plate bollards as a safe option.  Even when used, often the anchor have to be design for shearing to avoid the possibility of damaging tendons. Unfortunately, as most parking garage owners know, welded-plate bollards are extremely weak and easily damaged, as this outdoor photo demonstrates.

Today there is a new type of bollard that offers the protection rivaling embedded bollard, while maintaining the integrity of the structural concrete.  The patented SlowStop Rebounding Bollard system is a surface mounted bollard that absorbs impacts using a unique energy absorbing disc hidden in the bottom of the bollard system.  This disc allows the bollard to tilt approximately 20 degrees upon impact, then rebound to upright (see DEMO VIDEO).  It is attached to concrete by way of concrete screw anchors, however the base of the bollard system, and the bollard pipe itself, are both designed to bend or break before the anchors pull out the foundation concrete.

Not only does this system provide for a superior safety in a structural concrete building, but it reduces damage to vehicles that may impact the bollard.  It also takes reduced damage itself, due to the shock absorbing properties of the rebounding bollard.  Should any part of the system become damaged, each part can be changed out in modular fashion.  The system is easy to install and usefully in retro-fit situations once tendon locations have been identified.

The system is available in 3", 4", and 6" sizes, each of which is specified based on quantifiable energy absorption testing data.  The 4" bollard is even particularly useful for creating bollard enhanced handicap parking sign posts.

Visit www.slowstop.com to learn more about this innovative new product and how it solves one of today's trickiest design problems for parking garages and structural concrete buildings.