Set It, But Don't Forget It: TLC For Data Center Perimeter Fences

An effective perimeter security fence is the strong, silent type, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have needs of its own.

“With the fence, it is very easy to think, ‘OK, we're just going to set it and forget it and walk away from it,’” said Brandy Byrd Chapman, a data center security expert for Ameristar Perimeter Security. 

That would be a mistake, she said, because while a good fence is designed to be largely maintenance-free and withstand almost any weather conditions, routine inspections and preventive maintenance — particularly of moving gate parts — will help ensure it protects the property for years to come. 

Chapman will lead a discussion of physical security best practices on opening day of Bisnow’s National Data Center Investment Conference and Expo, which runs May 12-14 in Rockville, Maryland. Click here for more information. 

Recently, Chapman walked Bisnow through the top ways to ensure a perimeter fence continues doing what it was designed for: keeping the site safe. 

Bisnow: What’s the best way for a data center to maintain the integrity of its perimeter fence?

Chapman: When your security people patrol your site, it’s important for them to just stop and take a second to look at the fence and make sure it's OK because it can be damaged by day-to-day things that aren't threat-related. 

Maybe the lawn crew ran the zero-turn mower into the fence or hit it with a weedwacker. That can damage its coating. If you notice the coating is broken, you just spray it down with a can of coating. It’s a quick fix versus, if you just leave it, becoming a bigger issue in the long term.

The impacts of heavy storms or winds also require observation. In an extreme example, I was recently sent a photo where a big rain had washed out all the dirt on either side of and below a portion of a data center’s fence foundation. The fence — not one of ours — was falling over as a consequence.

Bisnow: OK, we’ve made a note to tell the groundskeepers to be more careful and the guards more vigilant. What else should we look out for?

Chapman: The big place where maintenance can get overlooked is at entrances and exits where you have gates, barriers, arms and anything that runs on a motor. Just like your car, it needs maintenance every three months. Things need to be oiled, and there are parts that might need to be replaced over time.

Hopefully, too, the gates were selected and are maintained for their particular usage: Are we opening and closing a gate per vehicle? Or, are we going to open it as everybody gets there at eight in the morning and close it at 10, and then open it up again as they leave? Those scenarios impact wear and tear differently.

Bisnow: It seems like any problem with a gate would be pretty obvious, right?

Chapman: I see a lot of sites with a back entrance that is hardly ever used once the site goes live. It’s there for bringing in big pieces of equipment or for use as an emergency exit.

If it's not used and maintained until a situation happens, a lot of times, they'll find that the gate has become stuck in place because no one has touched it for five years — which is not something you want to find out in an emergency.

Bisnow: What are some ways a data center can buy a little peace of mind, at least concerning the fencing?

Chapman: As a manufacturer, we are very proud of our steel-coating process. Ameristar actually reached out to the people who do the coating for Ford, and our system is very much based on the same kind of coating that is on your vehicle to keep it not just from fading but from rusting. 

The ASTM standard requires a coating to resist saltwater corrosion for 1,000 hours, and we test ours to 3,500 hours. You can even find our Impasse steel palisade fence installed in the San Francisco Bay, where there's a gate to let the ships in and out of the docking area. When that gate is open, the bottom of that fence is fully submerged in the water.

We engineer our fence foundations to withstand poor soil conditions or wind loading in hurricane-prone areas like Florida. Our fasteners, too, are designed to withstand the test of time.

In addition, the contractors who install our fences and gates offer two different kinds of support services. One is a break-fix service, where they're on call if something should go down. They will respond on-site within a certain amount of time to get the problem fixed.

Contractors also offer a maintenance service to avoid the sort of situations we’ve been talking about. Data centers and others can overlook getting that type of support, but my advice is to always have both contracts for each site. That way, things are being properly maintained and you won't have to use that break-fix service as often.

Click here to register for the Bisnow event. 

This article was produced in collaboration between Ameristar Perimeter Security and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.