There are many reasons to install commercial fencing on your property. A fence can give an unattractive property a facelift and change the brand image. Fencing your business facility will add to curb appeal and keep eyesores like warehouses out of sight.
Fencing will also protect your assets and offer security. But the deciding factors for many business owners considering commercial fencing are safety and security.
Commercial fencing by Melbourne contractors can help you strive towards safety that extends beyond just your property and assets. It can help ensure your employees and customers are protected, as well as your independent contractors. With fencing customised to your needs, you’ll be able to guarantee as far as possible the welfare of everyone who enters your business premises.
No fencing can put you at risk of unpleasant surprises, such as workplace injuries or vandalism.
Commercial fencing is essential for most industrial and commercial properties. Application environments can include:
- Power companies
- Warehouses and factories
- Construction sites
- Entertainment and sports facilities
- Vehicle storage areas and workshops
The functional benefits of fencing as it relates to safety and security include:
Security: Fencing will protect your property from vandalism, theft, and other crimes that could hurt your business. It will also keep unwanted guests away from your property.
Access control: You can use fencing to control pedestrian and vehicular traffic or secure staff-only areas from general-access areas. A combination of bollards, wheel stops, and speed humps can help you regulate traffic. Park gates can help you restrict unauthorised access.
Protection against hazards: Safety fences can go a step further. They can protect employees against industrial machinery and other potential hazards in manufacturing facilities. A physical barrier between operators and machinery, robot cells, process control systems, etc. will make the manufacturing facility safer.
Safety fences will lower the risk of workplace accidents and injuries, downtime, and expensive lawsuits.
Factors To Consider In Safety Fencing
Space
How large is the area you want to fence? Once you have the dimensions measured, you can select fencing panels and doors that best fit the planned layout. You’ll have to decide where the doors go, and whether you want single or double doors. You also have a choice in which way you want the door to open.
Height
A suitable height will provide a protective barrier while also preventing injuries from reaching over the fence. There is no guesswork required in this area. The standards for safety distances in industrial settings have already been established in the ISO 13857. There are established principles to help you determine how large the opening to access machinery should be. There are formulas for how far from the potential hazard the fencing should be. The goal is to ensure upper and lower bodies don’t touch the hazardous elements.
The ISO 13857 also covers the risk of injury that could be caused by reaching through the fence. It is important to understand how the fence height, distance, and opening size are related. From this understanding, you can customise and build efficient commercial safeguards.
Safety Of The Operator
When the operator has to enter the fencing and carry out maintenance and repairs, he must be aware of the safety conditions. You can install a safety interlock door handle and buttons to “Enter” and “Reset.”
While the operator is inside the fenced area, the sensors on the door switching system can be programmed to shut down power to hazardous systems.
Durability
Safety fencing needs to be strong enough that it withstands collisions with carts, forklifts, and personnel. It must also be able to withstand harsh chemicals in manufacturing environments without damage.
Powder-coating doors and fencing panels can help with durability. Powder-coated steel is an excellent choice for safety fences in manufacturing industries.
Types Of Commercial Fencing
Maximum Security Fencing
Certain applications will require uber high-security fencing. You can use prison-grade security fencing for maximum security where needed. A variety of perimeter fencing is available with mesh screens for surveillance, solid horizontal rails, tubular fencing, chain link fences, and palisades. The cutting-edge design makes it possible to secure your extreme security premises with functional, formidable, and attractive fences. You can also consider the addition of razor wires and electrically energised fences in extreme-security environments.
In general, perimeter fencing is designed to prevent climbing. It may also have double-barbed rails or bent spikes at the top to deter intruders. Where privacy and security are both keys, fences should provide both. Ten-foot high chain link fences are the most popular security fences. Mesh and slats or other inter-woven material provides privacy.
High-security fencing is usually made of tubular galvanised steel or the more affordable chain link.
Timber fencing
Traditional timber fencing is effective as perimeter fencing for schools, service stations, and apartment blocks. They offer a balance of privacy and security. Fencing contractors in Melbourne treat timber used in fencing for all-weather use. A combination of timber garden retaining walls, pole and rail fencing, and bollards provide traffic control and access control in parks and gardens.
Timber fencing tends to be economical and aesthetic.
Colourbond fences
Opaque, solid, and fire-resistant Colourbond fences make good boundaries for commercial properties and detention facilities. Powder-coated Colourbond fencing is hard to climb, making it an excellent choice for security fencing compared with chain link fences or fences with rails.
Commercial Gates
Automated gates, swinging gates, cantilever gates, and sliding gates offer a range of entrance and exit options in commercial and industrial applications. Your contractor will help you choose depending on whether you’re protecting limited spaces, heavy-traffic areas, or low-traffic areas.
The Bottomline
Not only will a fence provide safety, and enhance aesthetics, it can also raise the property value. From wood to powder-coated steel, there are several choices in fencing open to you.
With the variety of fencing available for various commercial needs, you may need a consultation with contractors experienced in commercial fencing Melbourne zoning regulations will dictate the installation of your fencing. So will the industry safety standards established for commercial fencing.
When searching for a fencing contractor, look for businesses that keep to industry standards.
