With the New Year upon us, many facility security managers are looking for ways to improve the overall security at the locations they are responsible for. One such incremental improvement may be upgrading the existing parking booth or guardhouse or adding a new installation. A well designed parking booth or guard shelter can make a big difference – both in terms of security officer comfort and morale as well as providing an actual security presence at important access points on the perimeter.
So if your New Year’s resolutions and plans include overhauling an existing gate or construction of a new access control point, a new parking booth or guard house is a must if the gate is to be staffed at any time during the day or week . The amount of time the gate post or parking booth is staffed, along with the amount of traffic expected, plays a big part in determining the size of the portable steel building. Simply put, the more man hours, the larger the booth. Plus, if the guardhouse or parking booth is 24/7, a built in restroom w/sanitary facilities should be considered. Another location specific design question is based on the booth’s location relative to traffic. Will the parking booth or guardhouse be in the middle of traffic, or off to one side? Will visitors drive to the booth, or will they be required to get out of their vehicle and come to the booth? The answers to these questions will help determine the number and type of doors (sliding versus swinging) as well as the size of the portable steel security building and if there are any partitioned areas within the booth for visitors to check in.
Once the size of the parking or security building has been determined, deciding on an architectural style is next. The customer and/or designer will need to pick from a basic appearance, a premium design, or somewhere in between. Par-Kut offers its parking booths in a wide variety of styles, finishes and options to suit all neighborhoods, campuses and threat levels. Even high end architectural styles such as the Par-Kut Presidential Series can be provided in bullet resistant construction.
To totally incorporate the parking booth with your facility’s access control system, include built in preps for gate controls, phone and data, and electronic door strikes and cameras. All of these options are available, along with “old school” options of dimmable interior lights and exterior flood lights to illuminate the area around the parking booth. If the facility has a lot of truck traffic, the security booth can be elevated on a factory built or customer supplied platform that enables guards and truck driver to be at the same level. The above are some of the points to ponder as you consider the design of your new parking booth or guard station. A simple site survey and sketch is very helpful with you begin to start the budgeting process by contacting the sales & estimating department at Par-Kut. The sales staff will assist with necessary code compliance modifications and can ask the right questions to help you develop the initial design and the final product. Portable steel buildings, parking booths and operator shelters are Par-Kut’s primary business. Give us a call or email us for a quote.
