Bollards can be the central tenet to protection of property. They prevent ram raiding, protect customers, and offers demarcation, protection and security for many a property. However, as with all things, when exposed to the elements, bollards run the risk of being corroded. As a business owner, you need to be aware of the state your bollards are in and take the steps necessary to keep them functional. There is plenty of maintenance that you can undertake without enlisting professional help. This post has been created to help you understand the needs of your bollards, catching any problems early.

Why might your bollards be damaged?

Bollards are exposed to humans and the environment, both of which may cause a problem. If monitored you can stop these problems in their tracks, sorting them out. Although bollards are specifically designed to withstand poor outdoor conditions, inevitably, the weather will eventually take effect. Humans can cause problems through driving, scrapes and bumps are common, especially with parking bollards. Equally, graffiti can be a problem for bollards and to add to the ugly appearance, it can cause erosion.

What damage to look for.

It can be hard to know what damage to look for when inspecting your bollards, we recommend looking out for the following:

• Vandalism
• Loose part of the bollards
• Reduced movement in telescopic bollards
• Breakdown in surface finish
• Build-up in residue
• General wear and tear
• Any vehicular impact

Any dents, breaks, cracks, or a build-up of rust should be looked at quickly to reduce any need for paying for a professional to fix the bollards. These can almost destroy your bollards if not looked at.

How to maintain steel bollards?

When you have steel bollards installed they will probably be galvanised for extra protection. It is commonly accepted that galvanised paint can almost heal itself when scratched. If you notice a scratch, keep an eye on this to see whether it is permanent or not. If you happen to notice a chip that will not budge, there are plenty of ways to fix this such as investing in repair paint or paste.

When you clean the bollards, it is vital that you use non-abrasive cleaning products so not to chip away at the paint. You should test all of you cleaners on a small area of your bollard before using them to make sure that they do not erode your paint. Try to avoid solvent cleaning products as these can have a negative effect on your paint.

We recommend logging all inspections, cleaning, and maintenance of your bollards. If you do need to call in a professional, such as Unison, this will really help to sort the issue. Use a table like ours below.

We hope that we have given you a few more pointers on how to look after your bollards, saving you money and time in the long run. Please note that our methods work for both telescopic and static bollards. If you are looking to install new bollards contact us via email at sales@unisoncctv.co.uk or phone us on 0121 544 8470.

Ever wondered why there are seemingly random bollards in the middle of busy pedestrian areas or perhaps you’re a town planner and you’re looking for a quick rundown of the traffic advisory leaflet from May 2013 to determine where you should place bollards as a security measure with as little disruption to pedestrians as possible. Well whoever you are, you are in the right place. Below we have summarised the leaflet into bitesize chunks, making it slightly easier to read:

Positioning

For security purposes, bollards must be positioned no more than 1200mm apart to be effective. When the bollards are placed this maximum, 1200mm, apart, they have been found to have little impact on pedestrian traffic. The bollards are shown to have less impact than other commonly occurring urban features such as kiosks.

Why might pedestrian movement be limited?

The leaflet finds four things that might limit pedestrian flow: route capacity, comfort, convenience and conflict. Route capacity is the rate at which people can pass through the space given and comfort being how comfortable it is to do this. Convenience is the ease at which they can pass through without changing their route and conflict is the added obstacles that cause a change in behaviour. These are used to assess how bollards have an impact on pedestrian flow. Below is a summary of the impact on each of these features:

Route Capacity

Behaviour was affected when the bollards were placed perpendicular to the direction pedestrians were walking but when placed parallel to the direction, more space was not being used.

Comfort

Comfort did not seem to have a negative impact across all the observed bollard placements.

Convenience

Speed was impacted by the bollard placement. Sometimes people who passed through the bollards walked faster than those who didn’t. However, the chosen path was not affected by the bollards.

Conflict

Conflict was observed and the route of direction was changed by pedestrians accordingly. They were observed to avoid conflicts by pausing or twisting while passing through bollards at the sam time as other pedestrians.

Guidance highlighted by the leaflet

The leaflet highlighted the following recommendations to meet security needs while minimising any negative impact on pedestrians:

• The width of the bollard placement should be larger than the protected exit
• Bollards should not be placed near narrow passageways
• Bollards should not force pedestrians to walk close to the road
• Potential pedestrian routes should be identified, and bollards should be placed to limit any disruption to these routes
• Bollards should be placed perpendicular to the direction of travel
• Areas that might have queues surrounding them or other conflicts should not be restricted by bollards
• Height and visibility should be taken into consideration
• Consider specialist site assessment in high or complex flow conditions