Latin America. Concertinas, known for their help in perimeter protection, are physical barriers composed of blades or spikes attached to a wire. However, they come in different presentations, a matter that must be taken into account to choose the ideal one according to the project.
José Luis Calderón González, specialist in Perimeter Protection and Critical Infrastructures, director at EXIMCO and vice president of AMESP, shared a content entitled "The famous concertina, a very popular perimeter protection of which very little is known". in which he specifically broke down how to make use of this tool so widespread in scenarios of minimum, medium and high security. So, from the magazine Ventas de Seguridad we extracted their main ideas.
For José Luis, concertinas are extremely effective elements to prevent unauthorized intrusion, in addition to being dissuasive, of high duration and easy to integrate, since they can be combined with other physical and technological means, so they comply perfectly with the principles of perimeter protection.
However, when choosing the right one, 7 variables must be taken into account, namely: level of risk of the asset to be protected, aesthetics and perception, atmospheric conditions, installation, budget, safety design and configuration.
Risk level of the asset to be protected
As the perimeter protection specialist indicates, we must first answer two questions: What are we going to protect? And what are we going to protect it against? For this purpose, we must get information that allows us to know the adversary, his skills, his tactics and possible resources. Likewise, it will be necessary to know the response capacity of the security or protection bodies of the site to be protected and thus define the levels of deterrence and delay required.
Additionally, an inspection of the site will allow us to identify other situations, such as the risk of adjacents; the height and surface of fixation (wall, grille or barbed wire); the possible routes that the adversary can use and the distance from the perimeter to the asset to be protected, among other variables.
Aesthetics and perception
The great effectiveness of the concertinas is given in that being obstacles with blades are aggressive at first sight, an issue that deters intruders, but that affects the harmony of the facades. "Whoever decides for them, knows that they are making a security decision and not decorative. One of the first goals of these technologies is to act on the adversary's psyche and defeat him before he attempts an intrusion; that is, he will prefer to jump to another side that does not represent so much risk."
However, there are cases in which they are camouflaged with a little vegetation that is allowed to grow, so that a softer external image is obtained, but also unauthorized entry is difficult.
Atmospheric conditions
The expert explains that the same protection will behave differently depending on where it is installed: "Exposure to different conditions, such as UV rays, humidity, salinity and other external agents, can affect the performance and service life of materials. Therefore, it is extremely important to know which are the degenerative agents that predominate in the environment and thus determine the degree of resistance we require. This will result in an adequate selection of materials that guarantee a long life and an effective investment."
In other words, if a correct selection is not made, the concertinas may present oxidation and damage shortly after being installed. Not only that, but the fixing systems tend to be damaged even faster, which, in the face of poor planning, translates into the weakening of the entire system.
Installation
A well-structured project should consider aspects such as fasteners and installation procedure. Then, the fixing system, which is responsible for ensuring that the concertina is fixed to the wall, grille or physical space where it is needed, is usually composed of stainless steel wires, elements that must also stand out for their good resistance, the barb and wire guide, the supports and the fixing system of the supports.
Meanwhile, the elements of the fixing system must have a fixing subsystem, José Luis comments that the following elements will be essential for the proper functioning of a concertina:
• Guide to barbed wire and torsion wires
• Supports
• Bracket fastening system
• Roll performance and spiral separation
The aforementioned performance is of special attention because the concertinas can be made up of rolls that can stretch or contract like an accordion that must be used for the performance of the pre-established roll, following the manufacturer's instructions, whether due to ignorance or fraud, a roll of 8 meters is made to yield up to 12, using the most widespread material, which would be detrimental to the safety of the end user.
At this point, as the expert explained, the specialized workforce must also be added, to whom their experience must be validated before hiring. In addition to requiring and guaranteeing that they are equipped with safety equipment and equipment appropriate to the installation requirements, as well as the current social security. To ensure your safety at all times, but also to prevent you and your organization from facing accident lawsuits.
It should be noted that the great advantage of the installation process, despite all its components, is that they are carried out quickly, provided that you have the necessary equipment and good planning.
Budget
While many companies are looking for affordable options, José Luis warns about the disadvantages of acquiring imitations of the original products, which he says have flooded the Mexican market, "their effectiveness is very questioned and doubtful."
In this sense, it is important to remember that the performance of a perimeter protection system will be directly linked to the quality of the products and the correct installation. Therefore "similar is not the same".
The expert was emphatic: "Unfortunately perimeter protection in Mexico remains, in most cases, a responsibility of the construction or maintenance areas, and not of security; therefore, the selection of a suitable supplier and the specification of an efficient system is carried out on the basis of a price analysis, without considering other factors, such as the extended warranty.
Security Design
It is important to take into account if we are protecting a single perimeter or if the protection is in layers, where we will have other perimeters inside. If it is the second case, it is convenient not to use the same type of knife obstacle, because as the director of EXIMCO affirms, "with this we would force the transgressor to carry different cutting tools, a different one for each obstacle or perimeter, which would hinder his mission".
José Luis assures that at the moment in which we have considered the location, the purpose and type of protection that is sought, we can move to select the appropriate specification for the concertina that we are going to install. Remember that another versatility of this solution is that it can be used as a floor barrier, intermediate protection or finish on any wall or trellis.
In this framework, the diameter will be another elementary point to consider in the development of a specification for perimeter protection. Blade obstacles (concertinas) are manufactured from 45 cm to 1.5 m in diameter. For protection purposes, it is recommended to use diameters not less than 60 cm for top finishes and not less than 91 cm for floor finishing applications.
Configuration
Keep in mind that there are only two types of configuration. The simple or helical, which is not recommended for security because it is very simple and easy to violate. And the reinforced configuration, which has several points of union (3.5 or 7) between the spirals, which are secured with a 'joining clip', which make it extremely complex to cross these facilities.
José Luis recommends the joining clips that are known as "duck tail clip", since the others are very simple and easy to open. On the other hand, it also indicates that it is good to review the types of blades offered by the market, since its selection will depend on the analysis of different factors, but more importantly, take into account the type of material of which it is composed; be it stainless steel, galvanized or galvanized steel reinforcing wire. These variations, as explained above, respond to the climatic and resistance circumstances that the concertina must face.
For example, a blade obstacle made of stainless steel must be fastened with elements that are of the same material or, at least, equivalent in their duration and strength. Otherwise we may have uneven wear, where certain components of the system begin to weaken and thereby violate the protection system. One solution found on the market is that EXIMCO exclusively handles barbed wire made of stainless steel.
Finally, José Luis concluded that global challenges force us to take new protection measures, whose practice requires, in addition to mastering different techniques, to keep up to date in the use and application of various technologies. He added to this that concertinas are not just about installing a simple wire, it is about implementing a system of physical barriers of protection and should be taken with that seriousness. "If you think perimeter protection is expensive, wait to test the cost of an intrusion."
