SubscribeA terrorist attack on the City of London is only a matter of time according to the police officer responsible for the capital's financial district. James Hart, commissioner of the City of London Police, told the Financial Times that there had been "hostile reconnaissance" of the City on several occasions since September 11 2001.
In light of this, Hamish Bryce, head of the London Business Resilience Group, has urged businesses to take appropriate measures to "withstand unexpected events and give confidence to those visiting, working, and investing in London". Businesses must become resilient and increase their ability to withstand and recover quickly from external events, such as terrorist attacks.
Is your business vulnerable to attack? Business continuity is now just as important to company boards as financing, employees and day-to-day operations, and it impacts on all aspects of a business. In the event of an explosion, PCs, servers, printers, fax machines and copiers could be damaged or destroyed. And the biggest single cause of this destruction - and injury to people - is flying glass. If windows are better protected, the impact of a bomb blast can be mitigated.
In its advice to business managers, The Home Office recommends the use of safety film - such as LLumar® from CPFilms - to protect people and premises from flying glass. It increases resilience to terrorist bombings and is a proven and cost-effective method of protecting people and property. Applied to the inside of windows, it holds shattered glass in place - saving lives, preventing injury and protecting offices and equipment.
The security service MI5 has also published security advice for businesses and other organisations. The details are available to the public its website, www.mi5.gov.uk, and the advice includes a Top-10 list of safety tips and a section advising organisations on protection against flying glass:
"Glazing protection is an essential casualty-reduction measure in the event of an explosion. Most casualties from urban terrorist attacks are from flying glass, especially from modern buildings. Extensive research has been carried out on the effects of blast on glass, and tested solutions are available that will minimise the degree of shattering and casualties, as well as the costs of re-occupation. Protection may also be achieved by the addition of anti-shatter film, which holds fragmented pieces of glass together."
Safety window film has a certain lifespan and warranty. Most of the existing installed safety window film that was installed in the 1980s and 90s after the Canary Wharf and Baltic Exchange bombings will be out of guarantee and its effectiveness may now be seriously compromised - and therefore should be replaced.
CPFilms uses a patented peel test to determine whether films should be replaced, an effective method that involves minimum disruption to the buildings users. To keep the premises and staff safe in the event of an explosion, the simple peel test by CPFilms will determine whether a new application of film is required.
