Using Bollards in the Workplace for Additional Safety

Pro Traffic Supply

Traffic bollards are generally thought of as being used to control the flow of traffic in areas where pedestrians and buildings need to be kept safe, but they’re also often used in other applications, such as within industrial workspaces. Places like warehouses, factories, and paid parking lots all use bollards to ensure more security and safety.

Warehouses

In warehouses where there are areas that need to be separated, heavy duty plated bollards work well because employees can still get to the area easily. Bollards can section off spaces in the warehouse without requiring walls to be built. They can also be used to regulate the accessibility of entryways such as garage doors.

Factories

Factories that have a lot of heavy machinery in them can benefit greatly from installing concrete or stainless steel bollards. Bollards warn employees about a machine—they can boost safety by preventing someone from accidentally getting too close and getting injured. And because OSHA guidelines dictate that industrial bollards need to be a specific shade of yellow, commonly referred to as “OSHA yellow,” it’s unlikely that an employee would be able to miss the warning.

Paid or Regulated Parking Lots

Parking lots that require clearance by way of either a badge or a paid attendant often use traffic bollards to control who enters the lot. These bollards may also have gates that have to be lifted in order to allow cars to pass through, or they may stick out from the ground and only be lowered when a car needs to pass over them. Regulating parking lots in this manner ensures no one can enter the lot who is not supposed to be there, and it does so in a highly efficient way. If the parking lot ever needs to be unrestricted, removable bollards provide the perfect solution.

6” Domestic Surface Mount Removable Locking Bollards

The 6” domestic surface mount removable locking bollard is most often used where security is needed temporarily or on a revolving basis. Removable bollards are best used in situations where embedded bollards aren’t ideal, such as in docking garages where trucks unload, events where unauthorized vehicles need to be blocked, and other situations where temporary or as-needed security is necessary.

Pro Traffic Supply’s lockable bollards are easily removable and surface mounted for non-permanent
usage. These 48” stainless steel bollards are made in the USA, have a welded steel dome cap, are powder coated yellow, and are lightweight & easy to install.

Customers purchasing bollards from Pro Traffic Supply can expect a well built and durable product. Removable surface mount bollards from Pro Traffic Supply lock in place at the top of the main base plate for simple assembly and tear down. Keys can be made to unlock multiple locks for bulk orders.

About Pro Traffic Supply 
Pro Traffic Supply offers affordable traffic safety supplies including machine guards, safety bollards, channelizers, delineators, traffic cones, and much more. Most of their products are manufactured in the USA and all are made from high quality and durable materials. Visit www.protrafficsupply.com or call 425-336-2711 whether you need traffic safety supplies for personal or public use.

Using Different Types of Security Bollards to Improve Safety

Security bollards can be found just about everywhere – parking garages, highways, warehouses, schools, grocery stores, and many others. Bollards are simple yet versatile pieces of security equipment that are used for many different purposes.
These short, thick posts are mainly utilized to improve security, direct traffic or restrict access to an area. Common types of accidents that can be avoided by using bollards include:

• Clipping a building corner or wall in a parking garage
• Driving off of a dock
• Cars striking pedestrians on sidewalks
• Cars crossing over into bike lanes
• Falling down staircases

There are three main types of bollards that together have a virtually endless variety of uses: embedded bollards, removable bollards and surface mount bollards.

 

Permanent Embedded Bollards

Embedded bollards are entrenched in the ground or built into a structure and are meant to be permanent.
Embedded bollards are used in situations where there is a constant need to restrict access or slow the flow of traffic.

 

Removable Bollards

Unlike permanent bollards, removable bollards can be removed quickly and easily, making them ideal for areas where there is restricted access only at certain times of day. The base of the removable bollards is implanted in the ground much like an embedded bollard, however, the post is independent of the base.
Removable bollards like the ones found at Pro Traffic Supply have an in-ground sleeve with a stainless steel hinged lid that locks the bollard in place. When the bollard is removed from the sleeve the lid closes flush with the surface and a flat head bolt secures the lid in place. The locking mechanism ensures that the bollard isn’t tampered with or removed by an unauthorized party.

Removable bollards are often used to keep vehicles from going through sensitive areas, for example loading and unloading docks. They are also useful for mixed-use areas where bikes and pedestrians are allowed but an emergency vehicle would still need to gain access.

 

Surface Mount Bollards

Surface mount bollards offer a level of installation convenience not found in embedded versions. Rather than going in the ground, these bollards are affixed to the surface and bolted in place with a
heavy-duty mount plate, which makes them suitable for indoor and outdoor use.
Surface mounted bollards are the best option in areas where digging holes isn’t optimal, such as in multi-level parking garages. They are also perfect for projects that require a bollard to be quickly installed since they can be easily bolted to the ground.

  

Bollard Materials and Finishes

Bollards must be sturdy enough to withstand a high level of impact in order to maintain traffic control, property protection and pedestrian safety. There are a lot of material options, but to be effective, safety bollards should be made of durable materials like steel or concrete. Anything less may not stop a moving vehicle.
Bollards can be painted to improve safety and blend better with the existing architecture. To limit chipping, peeling and wear choose a powder coat finish, which is weather resistant and extremely
resilient. You can also use reflectors to make the bollards more visible at night or opt for an internally illuminated bollard.
Bollards can be customized to fit a number of needs from holding trash bins to being fitted with emergency communication services in public areas. It’s one simple safety product that can be used in an almost unlimited number of ways.

About the Author: Pro Traffic Supply sells embedded bollards, removable bollards, and surface mount bollards at www.protrafficsupply.com. Pro Traffic supply bollards are proudly made in the USA with quality, care, and attention to detail.

Security Bollards Offer a Variety of Protection

Most people probably pay little attention to the various devices that help to keep us safe on the road each day. Although traffic lights, stop signs, and painted traffic lanes play a prominent, high-profile, and sometimes frustrating role in our daily lives, there are many other safety devices that are just as important to road safety, but are much less obvious to the casual observer. For instance, guard rails keep traffic moving in opposite directions separated, staving off head-on collisions; and channelizers and traffic drums let drivers know that there is construction, to slow down, and exercise extreme caution. Bollards, despite their bright colors, are another great example of these more subtle safety devices. Bollards come in permanent, removable, and surface mount varieties.

 

Permanent Embedded Bollards

While there is a considerable amount of effort made to prevent vehicle collisions and road construction tragedies, there is also great attention paid to reducing the likelihood of vehicles destroying static objects or hitting pedestrians. Traffic bollards, while often hidden in plain sight, play an important role in protecting equipment such as exposed AC units, ATMs, parking garage ticket dispensers, and pedestrian lanes. In many cases, bollards are permanently embedded into the ground 3-4 feet below the surface (much like the way a basketball hoop is cemented in place). Embedded bollards are used in areas where there is little to no chance they would ever need to be removed. However, in certain situations, there is a need for bollard security to be more adaptive.

 

Removable Embedded Bollards

Although bollards can serve as a first line of security for truck docking stations and loading garage openings when not in use, they do little good if the use of a docking station or loading garage is denied by a permanently installed bollard. This is where removable embedded bollards can come in handy. Removable bollards offer the same amount of security as their static, permanently fixed cousins, but are quickly and easily removed when necessary. As such, they make for a perfect security addition in areas such as docking stations, preventing determined thieves and other unauthorized vehicles from backing up to loading stations. Of course, removability is only a desirable quality if it’s exclusive to the person or persons responsible for managing a warehouse or business. As such, embedded removable bollards have a locking mechanism which allows them to be securely removed and replaced by simply turning a key and removing a padlock. When removed, the empty hole can be covered by a built-in cover and locked in place.

 

Surface Mount Bollards

Surface mount bollards, also known as surface plate bollards, are permanently fixed to the ground. While they are placed in permanent places like their embedded brothers, they are not embedded into the ground, but instead bolted to concrete surfaces. Surface plate bollards are preferred over permanently embedded bollards in areas like multi-level parking garages as they don’t compromise the structural integrity of the foundation as much as the deep holes used in permanent embedding. Surface mount bollards are also optimal for adding crash security to areas that may have been overlooked during initial construction, or to protect quickly developed pedestrian lanes on city streets, saving the extra time and money needed to otherwise dig holes for permanent installation.
While technology will always continue to change our means of transporting people and goods, safety and security will always be needed. So until cars can fly, bollards will always serve a purpose in the ongoing endeavor to keep us safe during travel and supporting the transportation of goods needed to drive the American economy. And who knows, by that point bollards may have evolved as well- giving rise to air bollards to protect those soaring cars!

About the Author:
Pro Traffic Supply sells traffic safety devices, including all types of bollards, through their website, www.protrafficsupply.com. Pro Traffic supply has products featured on their website in stock at low prices, and all bollards are proudly made in the USA with quality, care, and attention to detail.