Enhancing Campus Security & Saving Money w/ Prefab Steel Structures

This 3-color parking and information booth blends architecturally with the Central Washington University Campus.
 
Enhancing Campus Security and Saving Money Using Easily Placed Pre-Fab Steel Structures
-by Dave King
 
 

An article based on this story was published in American School & University, "Campus Security, Prefabricated Steel Structures Can Increase Safety and Save Money."

At a time when educational budgets on both the state and local school districts are stretched to the limit and with school shootings and gang violence on the rise in both urban and rural communities across the nation, school administrators are taking preventive measures and getting creative when it comes to campus security. 
 
Guard booths strategically placed on campuses can influence an atmosphere that instills confidence in personal safety for the student body. 
 
Marty Hoeffel, Principal of Alhambra High School in Phoenix, Arizona worked for five years to find a solution for his school's overall security and event management dilemmas. His guard booth that checked in visitors to the parking lot during home games was more like a Navajo sweat lodge in the hot afternoon sun on game days. His ticket booth that had to secure admission receipts and concession sales at major sporting events was secured with a hook and eye latch. Pre-fab steel construction allowed him to respond to his concerns. 

The beauty of the Guard Booth and Ticket Kiosk is that they can be moved should the need arise. "All you need is an electrician and a fork lift," said Hoeffel, "Just unbolt it." 
 
"On an interpersonal level, it is tough to always be nice when it is 110º in the booth," Hoeffel said. "You are stranded for a four-hour shift on small a concrete island in sea of asphalt. Now our employees have a better working environment and as a result, are more pleasant. Not only are they our first line of defense, but they are also are providing our guests with their first experience of hospitality and safety. This helps them do their jobs." 
 
Principal Hoeffel summed it up: "When you can't afford on-site construction, but still need a safe structure without sacrificing quality, looks and utility, pre-fab steel is the way to go. It met all our needs in a fraction of the time and toll that traditional construction would have taken." 
 
Author Dave King, has 25 years of experience in the pre-fab booth industry as V.P. of B.I.G. Enterprises, Inc™ (www.bigbooth.com). He is a recognized authority on parking, toll, info kiosk, and perimeter control/security/surveillance.