Steel Crowd Barriers – 6 Reasons to invest in them!

Steel Crowd Barriers are a key staple to any line of crowd management from physical structures to signage as an integral aspect of a communication plan for events across our county.

Events are part of a booming industry that continues to grow both domestically and internationally. This increase in popularity has lead to larger and more diverse attendees, making crowd management and crowd control a necessary and integral part of the planning process for any event. Coordinating an event can be stressful and time-consuming, whether you are an event planner, vendor, or simply someone planning a special day.

They say you can sue anyone for anything nowadays. They might be right. In the United States alone, around 40 million lawsuits are filed every year. As events come with their own share of chaos and unpredictability, even the smallest missteps could spell disaster and lead to one of these lawsuits.

With society as a whole becoming more litigious than ever. You need to protect yourself as much as possible from the unforeseen and worst-case scenarios that can come with such events as concerts, shows, festivals, performances, dances, exhibitions, video shoots, fundraisers, meetings, celebrations, receptions, ceremonies, athletic events, and much more.

Distinctions between crowd management and crowd control:

Crowd management refers to the proactive steps that can be taken to prevent potential problems at a facility. Crowd control refers to what happens after a crowd has gone wild and police or others are needed to try and prevent further harm or danger.

Crowd management is concerned with effectively organizing the movement of crowds (an area where an investment in steel crowd barriers is key), a crowd being defined as a large number of persons collected into a somewhat compact body without order (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 1993). More specifically, crowds contain a large number of faceless individuals that follow a certain lead without really contemplating the reasons why. Crowds can be furious and perform acts leading to possible destruction, hooliganism, and murder. However, individual members of a crowd generally would not perform any of these acts without the anonymity that the crowd provides.

Communication is key to prevent potential issues from occurring and from an event manager’s perspective clear, consistent messaging through signage (such as Steel Crowd Barriers, barrier jackets, or stanchion signage) is an important part of the overall event communication plan! Signage serves to warn (e.g., slippery when wet), instruct (e.g., No alcohol beyond this point), inform (e.g., Exitonly), and direct a crowd (e.g., Car park entrance 100meters). In so doing, signage fulfills the requirement to advise spectators of potential dangers and risks. Signage should be clear, concise, unambiguous, well written, and must be readily recognizable for maximum effect.

Event managers must consider appropriate measures for facility management at the initial level of crowd control planning. Proper facility layout and design are crucial to effective management. The area must be inspected before the crowd gathers to ensure that “no explosives, fire hazards, or other panic-producing conditions are present”(Berlonghi, 1994, p. 224). Attendance must be checked daily to be sure maximum capacity is not exceeded. Aisles or barricades may also prevent the accumulation of excessive crowds.

In addition, proper entrance and exit procedures should be implemented. Gate supervisors should communicate regularly with the control center to impart the status of the traffic flow. At times, gates may need to be opened earlier or closed later than originally planned to reduce the possibility of overcrowding. Additional entrances may need to be created if overcrowding is an issue and steel barriers are a part of that access control.

In summary, adequate signage combined with high-quality barrier systems are an effective aid in preventing crowd control problems.

Here are 6 good reasons to invest in these products as a part of your first line of protection to your attendees and to mitigate any potential liability challenges your event may have:

1. High Durability Steel Crowd Barriers: The steel barricades are designed in such a way that they are highly durable and able to take up a lot of load. Their interlocking design makes them even safer and prevents people from slipping in between the barriers. The barriers are so strong that they prevent the barricaded area from getting squeezed up by people. These are much better than the wooden barriers which could easily be pushed and resulted in a stampede causing a lot of fatalities. That is why they were been replaced with steel barriers which provide a lot more safety and security compared to the wooden ones. 
2. Steel Crowd Barriers offer Light Weight and Easy Mobility: The steel barriers are lightweight compared to concrete ones and hence can be easily moved around and installed where they are required. This increase in mobility is very useful as it becomes very simple to transport the barricades from one location to another. They can also be stored in an efficient way as they can be dismantled and hence take up very low storage space. 
3. Powerful Crowd Management Tool: The steel barriers give an impression of a physical as well as a psychological barrier thereby acting as a wall separating the two areas. This prevents the crowds from attempting to spill over on the other side. The interlocking mechanism makes them much stronger and more difficult to breakthrough. They are designed in such a way that they secure the crowd as well as the area that they are supposed to secure. They are also useful to direct the crowd and vehicles along a designated path, thereby becoming a powerful crowd management tool.
4. Cost-Effectiveness of Steel Crowd Barriers: The steel barriers come for a very reasonable price and are very cost-effective and affordable. In addition to that since steel is a very common product, there is a chance that you already have an inventory of steel in your company. If you do, the steel barriers can easily be made by using up all the material in your existing inventory. This saves you the material cost and also makes use of the material already available.
5. Steel Crowd Barriers are available in Multiple Variations: There is a huge variety available in the steel barricades market. The users are spoilt for choice as there are different kinds of steel barricades in use today. The barricades are designed in such a way that they are able to be installed in different kinds of landscapes and locations. Some of the barriers that are available are: Square stacking barriers, high barriers, mini barriers, painted barriers, custom-made barriers, jacketed steel barriers, steel barriers carts, and even barriers in the form of gates or arches. Thus the user can select a suitable steel barrier from such a wide range of barriers.
6. Longevity of Use: The galvanized steel that is used in the manufacture of the steel barriers is processed in such a way that it is able to withstand a lot of pressure and extreme conditions. Steel does not rust in humid conditions and it is not possible to melt steel very easily. These properties make the steel barriers very strong and hence increase their life.