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Effective estate security solutions

Public opinion seems to favour estates as superior in terms of residential security. They are revered as almost impenetrable fortresses that enjoy the protection of imagined force fields and are completely immune to crime of any size, shape or form. Sure, there might be an inside caper every now and again, but that is the exception rather than the rule. For the most part, residential estates are as secure as the hallowed halls of Asgard itself.

But just how accurate is this perception? After all, a few booms and a guard or two does not a reliable access control system make. In this article, access automation giants Centurion Systems will be looking at some solutions they have on offer to help estates live up to this fabled state of security.

Boom with a brain

When it comes to vehicular access control, traffic barriers are nothing if not an institution. Whether it be at the entrance of a housing estate or guarding a shopping centre parking area, it is difficult to imagine anything that is more synonymous with residential and commercial security than the trusty old boom.

But the trouble with traffic barriers has always been that they leave a considerable amount of room for error; especially within an estate setting where not only property but also the lives of the residents are at stake, one cannot afford to leave anything to chance. For example, a power outage (an occurrence which is sadly commonplace in this country) might render many a conventional barrier inoperative and the residents on the other side of its ever-outstretched arm vulnerable.

Centurion’s Sector is no ordinary barrier. Clever engineering has resulted in this high-security access control product drawing minimal current and getting significantly more bang from a 7 Amp hour battery. It is able to perform in excess of 3000 operations during a 24-hour power outage.

One feature is the ILAC (Loop Autoclose) Mode. The premise of ILAC Mode is as follows: an authorised vehicle is granted access, the boom raises, the vehicle clears the closing loop and immediately upon doing so the boom lowers behind him. This is to ensure that the boom remains raised for as short a time as possible and thus acts as a deterrent to tailgaters. This security feature is made all the more effective due to the fact that the Sector’s DC gearbox facilitates rapid raising and lowering of the boom pole.

Centurion’s design team has gone as far as custom-engineering a mode of operation specifically for use in multi-user applications. Known as Complex Mode, this feature works best at unmanned entrances where the boom has been interfaced with access control devices such as keypads and proximity card readers; freeing up guards previously employed to man estate entrances to undertake other tasks.

Closing the gaps in access control

Centurion has developed the aptly named Claws to help persuade criminals to reconsider a brute-force entry or exit. The high-security companion piece to Sector, these barrier spikes are fast becoming the solution of choice in settings such as car dealerships. Its popularity is in part due to the fact that it offers greater site versatility since it is available in both direct and independent drive configurations and works equally efficiently alone as it does paired with a Sector. The spike modules are also available in lengths of one and 1,5 m, and installers, security managers and property developers alike are cutting costs by only procuring as many modules as are necessary to keep their sites’ entry and exit points protected.

Of course, the CLAWS’ real power lies in its ferocious bite and, with a trench load bearing capacity of two tons per axle, estates armed with these can be rest assured that its residents’ mobile assets are secure.

To combat felons on foot, Centurion recommends outfitting barriers with Trapex, a barrier fence designed to prevent pedestrians from circumventing the Sector vehicle access control system. Like Claws, Trapex is available in modular sections to accommodate booms of various lengths, and extends past the boom pole to prevent intruders from skirting the pole. The fence boasts all-weather construction to suit outdoor applications.

In the near future, estates may very well be the havens of safety and security they have been made out to be and the tranquillity of estate living will be second only to the overall sense of protection that residents enjoy.

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