HVM Rated Security Fences

A HVM rated Security Fence is considered as a physical barrier that provides protection against penetration from hostile vehicles and also provides resistance to manual attack by hostiles on foot.

This category of product is best suited for securing perimeters against both HVM and manual attack and eliminates or reduces the requirement for separate security fencing and HVM measures. This may be particularly important where space is limited.

Depending on the assessed threat and considerations (such as space available, aesthetic and budget) there are a range of products available with ratings from 2.5t at 32kph to 6.8t at 80kph.

As well as products with foundations there are also products in this category that are surface mounted and can be used for either permanent or temporary deployment with no, or minimal, civil work required to the site on which they are deployed.

Those products suitable for temporary (as well as permanent) deployment have some of the highest HVM ratings in this category.

As well as the HVM rating the fence may also have a physical attack rating relating to hostiles on foot. This will further categorise the product depending on the delay it provides against manual attack from individuals. Ratings are provided by two principal bodies in the UK;

• BRE who provide ratings against the commercial standard LPS1175 which is available to download.
• CPNI for the Home Office.

Some products in this category have also been independently tested and categorised by their resistance to being pushed over by large crowds. This is known as “mob testing”.

HVM Security Fences may also have a ballistic/blast rating to further categorise them by their resistance to projectiles and explosions. The level of protection offered by the fence/barrier will depend on a number of factors such as the size of the explosive and the standoff from the asset being protected.

HVM fence products, both permanent and temporary, are available with a variety of solutions to connect with other HVM and physical security products. These include pedestrian and vehicle security gates, rising arm barriers, bollards, blockers and turnstiles. This ensures that a site can maintain its perimeter security with a variety of solutions rated to each different threat, access control and environmental issue.

Fences in this category can also be fitted with a wide range of ancillary security products to further enhance their efficacy.

These can include:

• Perimeter Intrusion Detection Systems (PIDS)
• Electric fencing
• Barbed wire or razor wire toppings.
• CCTV
• Access control
• Anti- tunnel mesh

Health and safety considerations when installing such fences should include (but not be limited to):

• wind loading
• stability of ground (consider also if this changes in wet conditions)
• impact of any security measure on general public (barbed wire, razor wire)

When selecting an appropriate fencing system, the user may wish to consider the following points over and above the normal considerations for HVM equipment;

• Manual attack risk to be mitigated
• Ballistic threat
• If there is threat from explosion:
  • Is the product to provide standoff distance or explosion resistance?
  • Does the equipment itself add additional risk from flying fragments?
• Temporary or permanent installation
• Footprint of the product
• Weight of the installed product and if this will impact on the site, including underground services
• Gross weight of equipment required to position the solution and the impact on the site
• Whether through visibility is required
• Cost of product, deployment and (for temporary) removal (and disposal) costs
• What associated equipment such as gates, turnstiles etc. can be incorporated.
• Suitability of the product to fit the line and level of the site.
• Compatibility with alarms (PIDS for example) or other detection technology
• Where the product is not surface mounted consider the depth and size of footings required.
• Minimum length of product that must be installed (some products will require a certain minimum length to provide the stated HVM ratings).

Further information on independently tested HVM Security fences can be found in the searchable product database on this website.