Run a vehicle dynamic assessment to define a credible threat vehicle, approach angle and impact speed for a site.
Security Management
Hostile Vehicle Mitigation and Perimeter Barrier Engineering for Sites
Specify vehicle security barriers, bollards and perimeter defences that stop hostile vehicle attacks while still meeting a site's access, streetscape and maintenance requirements.
🗓️Duration5 training days
📚Content4 modules · 8 sessions
🎓On completionAccredited attendance certificate
About the programme
Course Overview
Vehicles driven deliberately into crowds, gatehouses or building frontages have become one of the hardest threats for site security teams to design against, because the defence has to stop several tonnes of moving mass without turning a workplace or public venue into a fortress. This course teaches hostile vehicle mitigation as an engineering discipline: how to run a vehicle dynamic assessment, define the threat vehicle and its likely approach speed, and translate that into a stand-off distance and an impact rating a barrier can actually meet. Participants work through the recognised impact test standards, including PAS 68, IWA 14-1 and ASTM F2656, and learn to read a test certificate for penetration and debris distance rather than take a supplier's claim at face value. Sessions cover bollards, blockers, sliding and swing gates, and shallow-mount foundations for sites where buried services rule out deep footings, alongside the streetscape and access trade-offs that planners and architects will raise. Case-style exercises take a real site layout and require a written operational requirement, a barrier schedule and a maintenance plan, leaving participants able to brief a manufacturer and defend the design to site owners.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Calculate stand-off distance and select an impact rating a perimeter barrier must achieve to protect a frontage.
Interpret PAS 68, IWA 14-1 and ASTM F2656 test certificates to compare penetration rating and debris distance.
Specify bollards, blockers, sliding gates and shallow-mount foundations for sites with congested underground services.
Draft an operational requirement that balances vehicle mitigation against pedestrian access and streetscape design.
Coordinate barrier foundation design with architects, landscape designers and utility owners before construction.
Build a maintenance and testing regime that keeps hostile vehicle barriers operable throughout their service life.
Who Should Attend
Security consultants specifying perimeter protection for corporate, government or public sites.
Facilities and estates managers responsible for vehicle access control at occupied sites.
Architects and landscape designers integrating security barriers into public realm schemes.
Risk and security managers commissioning hostile vehicle mitigation studies for their organisation.
Engineers and project managers delivering perimeter barrier installation projects.
Government and critical infrastructure security officers reviewing vehicle threat exposure.
Course Modules
Select any module to see its sessions and points.
01Understanding the Hostile Vehicle Threat
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Threat Vehicles and Attack Methodology
- Classify threat vehicle types by mass, from passenger cars through to loaded 7.5-tonne trucks.
- Analyse how ram-raid, encroachment and weaponised vehicle attacks differ in approach speed and targeting.
- Map pedestrianised areas, gatehouses and building entrances that present the greatest vehicle-borne exposure.
- Review historical attack patterns to identify recurring approach routes and acceleration distances.
Session 2Vehicle Dynamic Assessment and Stand-off
- Conduct a vehicle dynamic assessment to model achievable approach speed against a specific building line.
- Determine minimum stand-off distance from the assessed impact speed and the barrier's proven performance.
- Identify natural and constructed stand-off features, including landscaping, kerbs and level changes.
- Justify a reduced stand-off distance through compensating barrier specification when site space is limited.
02Impact-Tested Barrier Standards and Products
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Reading Impact Test Standards
- Compare the test methodologies behind PAS 68, IWA 14-1 and ASTM F2656 and what each rating certifies.
- Interpret penetration rating and debris distance figures on a manufacturer's test certificate.
- Distinguish crash-tested products from generically described anti-ram products lacking independent testing.
- Match a required impact rating to the threat vehicle and speed established during the dynamic assessment.
Session 2Barrier and Bollard Product Selection
- Select between fixed, removable and retractable bollards according to access frequency and operational need.
- Specify vehicle security barriers, blockers and sliding gates for vehicle checkpoints and loading bays.
- Evaluate shallow-mount and surface-mount foundation options where buried services restrict excavation depth.
- Assess shallow foundation trade-offs against full-depth foundations in terms of rating and installation cost.
03Integrating Barriers into Site and Streetscape Design
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Foundation Coordination and Below-Ground Services
- Survey below-ground utilities, drainage and structures before committing to a barrier foundation layout.
- Coordinate barrier foundation design with civil, structural and utility engineers during early design.
- Sequence excavation and installation works to minimise disruption to operational sites and existing traffic.
- Resolve clashes between barrier foundations and existing services through relocation or alternative products.
Session 2Streetscape, Access and Aesthetic Integration
- Position barriers to preserve pedestrian desire lines, disabled access routes and emergency vehicle movement.
- Work with architects and landscape designers to soften the visual impact of security hardware on site.
- Balance permanent, temporary and event-deployable barriers for sites with variable threat and occupancy levels.
- Present barrier layout options to planning authorities and site stakeholders for approval and sign-off.
04Specification, Delivery and Through-Life Management
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Writing the Operational Requirement
- Draft an operational requirement that states threat vehicle, impact rating and stand-off for a named site.
- Translate the operational requirement into a barrier schedule referencing tested products and fixings.
- Brief manufacturers and installers on site constraints, access hours and phased handover requirements.
- Verify tender submissions against the operational requirement before awarding an installation contract.
Session 2Barrier Commissioning and Through-Life Testing
- Witness commissioning tests to confirm installed barriers perform to their certified impact rating.
- Establish a maintenance schedule covering moving parts, hydraulics and foundation condition over time.
- Plan periodic re-testing and refurbishment cycles so ageing barriers retain their original performance.
- Record barrier performance history to support future upgrades and site security reviews.
What the participant receives
4 course modules
A structured syllabus
8 training sessions
across 5 days
32 detailed points
Applied, detailed content
Accredited attendance certificate
On completing the programme
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