Is Standoff Enough?

Did you know… even if your building meets the required standoff distance, hardening measures are still most likely required to provide protection to occupants.
Required (or recommended) standoff distances (the distance between your structure and your protected perimeter) are developed by governments and agencies based on their analysis of the most likely threats that might be used against their facilities, the level of risk that is acceptable to their organization, and their ability to cost effectively harden their structures to the blast loads from an explosion at the prescribed standoff distance.
If you are involved in security planning and implementation for your facility, I recommend that you gather as much information as possible about the background of the prescribed standoff distances. Some of the information may not be available due to security concerns, but even a little information can help you better protect the people under your care.

• What vehicle or package size is the standoff distance based on?
This information can help you make decisions regarding physical protection, screening and surveillance in and around your building.

• Has your facility been designed or retrofitted to mitigate the effects of an explosion at the required standoff distance?
Standoff distance alone is rarely sufficient to offer adequate protection. Regularly designed buildings, while adequate for their original design intent, are not capable of providing protection against explosive forces.

• What level of protection is your building expected to provide based on the assumed charge size at the required standoff distance?
Even when buildings are designed to mitigate blast effects, they are not designed as bunkers, rather they are designed to provide a specific level of protection to the occupants. It can be important to know what level of protection was included in the design and what that means for sheltering in place, evacuation and other operational considerations.

• What building hardening measures, if any, were assumed to be implemented when the required standoff distance was decided upon?
Standoff distances are not developed in a vacuum and they often assume that certain blast mitigating measures are implemented (such as the installation of blast resistant windows or anti-shatter film). In order to get the intended benefit of the required standoff distance, it will be important to make sure that all the assumed mitigation measures are in place.

Want to learn more:  Attend our latest class, Protective Knowledge – Blast Resistance By Design, May 4 – 8, 2015.   Click here for more information.

Stone In The Middle East – ASIS International Middle East Presentation

Our own Khaled El-Domiaty, Vice President and Associate Principal of Stone Security Engineering, will be the lead speaker at an upcoming technical dinner seminar on February 9, 2015 in Al-Khobar Saudi Arabia.  The seminar has been jointly organized by Support Lines General Contracting Est. and ASIS International Middle East Dhahran Chapter 72.   Mr. El-Domiaty will be presenting “Blast Effects and Innovative Mitigating Techniques and Materials”.   The presentation will cover:

• An overview of Design Basis Threats as a process  to identify the most likely threats for a particular facility or infrastructure system.
• A brief introduction to blast sources and effects on structures and their occupants.
• A discussion of a variety of validated conventional and innovative blast mitigation techniques and materials, highlighting their advantages, applicability and potential limitations.

Protective Knowledge – Blast Resistance By Design. Save the Dates!

The Problem

Have you ever been involved with a design or construction project with blast requirements, and been unsure about:

• The design implications.
• Which standards or guidelines to use.
• How to make sense of the standards or guidelines.
• Where to find the required products. 

The Solution

“Protective Knowledge – Blast Resistance By Design” is a 2 or 4-1/2 day face-to-face class created to help you navigate the process of building blast resistance into your project.  Whether you are working on a Federal Courthouse, a Department of Defense housing project, a commercial high-rise, or an industrial plant, this class is for you.

The Details

Part I – 2 days, May 4th and 5th, 2015 – Arlington, Virginia

The first portion of the course is designed for both technical and non-technical professionals and includes:

• Overview of blast effects from both accidental and man-made explosions.
• Discussion of the existing array of guidelines and standards – and what types of projects go with each document.
• Blast resistance qualities of typical construction.
• Impacts of blast resistant design on new and existing buildings – including real-world case studies.
• How blast resistant design fits into the overall design process.
• Blast-resistant products (doors, windows, curtain walls, louvers, etc.).
• Tips on how to meet blast requirements in cost effective ways.

Part II – 2-1/2 days, May 6th, 7th, and 8th, 2015 – Arlington, Virginia

The second portion of the class builds on Part I and provides attendees with in-depth analytic approaches and methods.  The information in Part II is geared for the engineer with a solid background in structural engineering who wants to understand what blast resistance requirements will do to their projects.   This portion of the course will include:

• Calculation of blast loads.
• Analytic methods for estimating structural response to blast loads.
• Consequence vs. Risk-based design.
• Blast-resistant products (doors, windows, curtainwalls, louvers, etc.).
• Retrofit solutions, including innovative materials and approaches.
• Design examples.

Registration Opens Monday, January 26^th 

Stay tuned for more details or email us at: Training@StoneSecurityEngineering.com