Crowdguard, specialise in a turnkey solution offering accredited risk assessment, supply, installation, service and maintenance of safety systems for events, venues and public realm locations, is to extend its portfolio to semi-permanent solutions following a new partnership with Unafor.
Crowdguard is already a market leader in temporary safety solutions for events and pedestrianisation schemes, providing hostile vehicle mitigation systems (HVM), vehicle security barriers (VSB) and perimeter protection to aid security and defend against vehicle as a weapon attacks and errant vehicles. As an accredited and certified Unafor distributor and installer for the UK and the US, Crowdguard can now offer event organisers, venue operators and local authorities an even wider range of flexible solutions, providing the appropriate solution to mitigate the assessed threat, whilst considering the operational requirements of each event and location.
Deborah Ainscough, founder and director of Crowdguard explains: “Our temporary HVM and perimeter protection solutions are ideal for a huge range of environments. However, customers sometimes need the flexibility of a solution that can be deployed and then removed quickly, easily and cost-effectively for events and open spaces whereby the event occurs in the same footprint multiple times a year.
“The Unafor Core has a shallow mount foundation, including a socket and lid, with a deployable post, which locks into position with a one person lift and provides an ideal solution for this type of application. It can also be integrated with various practical and aesthetic features, including planters and street furniture, while offering robust and certified protection, making it ideal for public realm locations.”
Unafor has created innovative, certified solutions specifically to enable safe aesthetically pleasing urban spaces with flexible, easy to install protection, tested and certified at both 1500kg and 3500kg at 48kph with as little as 0m penetration ‘The Core’, a galvanised steel shallow mount foundation system, can be complemented with a choice of standard shroud options, including the Unafor Bollard, Unafor Bench, Unafor Green Screen Planter and Unafor Planter or a bespoke shroud as per the required architectural design. The Unafor core system can be deployed by a single trained technician once the foundations are in place. This is because the system has been designed with an innovative click and lock mounted installation method, enabling posts to be inserted into the sockets and locked into place with a firm and stable fit.
An all-in-one IWA14-1 approved foundation, Unafor Core requires no extra rebar and has a structural foundation depth starting from 200mm, making it a viable solution for almost all environments. Paving or finish surface between 100mm and 150mm deep can be placed around the sockets, enabling the installation to blend into its surroundings. The sockets can be supplied with cover plates, allowing them to be removed, resulting in easy access and easier maintenance and a practically invisible foundation when the system is not in use.
“The speed and ease of use of the Unafor system makes it an ideal solution for event organisers that hold regular events in the same location and need effective protection with rapid deployment every time.
“It’s also the ideal choice for pedestrianisation and outdoor dining, allowing local authorities to pedestrianise certain streets during the spring and summer months or the Christmas period, for example, or even on certain days of the week.”
Alongside the versatility of the system, Crowdguard expects the variety of integrated streetscape features compatible with the Unafor range to make it a very popular choice for public realm environments, pedestrianisation and outdoor events.
The Unafor steel planter is a robust and minimalistic planter than can easily be adapted to its surroundings and is custom designed to meet the requirements of a specific location, and the Green Screen planter features a lattice for greening. Meanwhile, the Unafor bollard is available in rectangular or rounded standard forms and made and designed to fit the proportions of the local site, while the Unafor bench, provides street furniture to suit the aesthetic of the local area, in galvanized, untreated or corten steel.
“With the integrated shallow mount foundation, click and lock installation and range of streetscape features, the Unafor system allows us to provide flexible, rapid deploy safety protection that looks just like ordinary street furniture,” adds Deborah. “But these are all IWA-14-1 certified protection systems, that also offer an effective defence against terror attacks and errant vehicles, as well as providing an aesthetically pleasing approach to pedestrian safety.”
The Unafor system adds to a broad portfolio of solutions offered by Crowdguard, including the ATG Surface Guard HVM system and FenceSafe temporary fencing and hoarding products.
Wyatt Harding, CEO of Unafor adds: “Event organisers and those responsible for the public realm are increasingly looking for solutions that will allow them to keep people safer without compromising the aesthetic of the location or appearing threatening. We believe the Unafor system provides the ideal response to this need and, with their extensive experience, integrated end-to-end service and national installation capabilities, Crowdguard are an ideal distribution and installation partner for us in the UK as well as in the US.”
