Structural Design For Physical Security

Prepared by the Task Committee on Structural Design for Physical Security of the Structural Engineering Institute of ASCE. This report provides guidance to structural engineers in the design of civil structures to resist the effects of terrorist bombings. As dramatized by the bombings of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, civil engineers today need guidance on designing structures to resist hostile acts. The U.S. military services and foreign embassy facilities developed requirements for their unique needs, but these the documents are restricted. Thus, no widely available document exists to provide engineers with the technical data necessary to design civil structures for enhanced physical security. The unrestricted government information included in this report is assembled collectively for the first time and rephrased for application to civilian facilities. Topics include: determination of the threat, methods by which structural loadings are derived for the determined threat, the behavior and selection of structural systems, the design of structural components, the design of security doors, the design of utility openings, and the retrofitting of existing structures. This report transfers this technology to the civil sector and provides complete methods, guidance, and references for structural engineers challenged with a physical security problem.

"The first edition of this book was published in the aftermath of the bombing attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, New York in 1993 and on the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1995."--Preface.

"In recognition of this void, the ASCE created a Task Committee to produce this State of the Practice Report, which provides guidance to structural engineers in the design of civil structures to resist the effects of terrorist bombings. This Report includes unrestricted government information, which is for the first time assembled collectively and rephrased for application to civilian facilities. Eight chapters outline the steps commonly followed in this practice. These are the determination of the threat, methods by which structural loadings are derived for the determined threat, the behavior and selection of structural systems, the design of structural components, the design of security doors, the design of utility openings, and the retrofitting of existing structures.".

This book provides a brief overview of worldwide terrorist activity and reviews technologies and methods for designing blast resistant buildings. These techniques, primarily developed by the military, have applicability and relevance to the design of civilian structures. The volume recommends that a program of applied research and technology transfer be undertaken to hasten the availability and utility of these techniques to the civilian building community.

This collection contains 36 papers presented at a specialty conference on enhanced safety and physical security of structures, held in Arlington, Virginia, March 8-10, 1989.

Over 1,600 total pages .... Application and Use: Commanders, security and antiterrorism personnel, planners, and other members of project planning teams will use this to establish project specific design criteria for DoD facilities, estimate the costs for implementing those criteria, and evaluating both the design criteria and the options for implementing it. The design criteria and costs will be incorporated into project programming documents.

A practical reference written to assist the security professional in clearly identifying what systems are required to meet security needs as defined by a threat analysis and vulnerability assessment. All of the elements necessary to conduct a detailed survey of a facility and the methods used to document the findings of that survey are covered. Once the required systems are determined, the chapters following present how to assemble and evaluate bids for the acquisition of the required systems in a manner that will meet the most rigorous standards established for competitive bidding. The book also provides recommended approaches for system/user implementation, giving checklists and examples for developing management controls using the installed systems. This book was developed after a careful examination of the approved reference material available from the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS International) for the certification of Physical Security Professionals (PSP). It is intended to fill voids left by the currently approved reference material to perform implementation of systems suggested in the existing reference texts. This book is an excellent “How To for the aspiring security professional who wishes to take on the responsibilities of security system implementation, or the security manager who wants to do a professional job of system acquisition without hiring a professional consultant. * Offers a step-by-step approach to identifying the application, acquiring the product and implementing the recommended system. * Builds upon well-known, widely adopted concepts prevalent among security professionals. * Offers seasoned advice on the competitive bidding process as well as on legal issues involved in the selection of applied products.