Crash Barriers
HERMEQ supplies crash barriers that protect people, vehicles and structures on construction sites, in car parks and on industrial premises. Our Armco barrier systems are built from galvanised steel and made in the UK for low-speed traffic areas, from cars and vans to forklifts and HGVs. In car parks, residential developments and industrial sites, the corrugated beam absorbs a vehicle strike and spreads it along the run, limiting damage to vehicles and property. The modular system includes straight corrugated beams, curved beams, Z and RSJ posts, safety ends, corners and fixings, so a layout can be built to the exact site. For roadworks and roadside hoarding, the range also includes temporary barriers crash-tested to EN 1317.
Armco crash barriers and crash-tested temporary barriers
The range divides into permanent Armco beam barriers for car parks, yards and buildings off the public highway, and crash-tested temporary systems for roadworks and hoarding beside live traffic. The trade also calls the permanent system vehicle crash barriers, crash barrier fencing or anti crash barriers, and each name describes the same beam and post construction.
Armco corrugated beam barriers
The corrugated beam, also known as a beam barrier or corrugated rail, is the main run of an Armco crash barrier. It bolts between posts, holds the line and deflects a vehicle along the barrier face before it can reach the wall, walkway or plant behind. Armco corrugated beams are the choice for straight runs in car parks, loading areas, yards and along building edges, where traffic moves at low speed. Every beam is galvanised to BS EN 1461 and fits both post profiles and both fixing methods, so one beam suits every post choice set out below.
Curved Armco beams
Where a run follows a sweep, such as a gated vehicle entry route or a curved wall, curved Armco beams keep the barrier continuous without cutting and splicing straight sections. They come in concave and convex profiles: a concave beam curves inward and a convex beam curves outward, and the check before ordering is which way the curve faces the traffic. A right-angle turn around a building is a job for a barrier corner, described with the accessories below, while a curved beam follows a radius. Curved beams take the same posts, bolts and ends as the straight beam.
Temporary concrete crash barriers for roadworks
Armco protects low-speed areas off the highway, and a work zone beside live traffic needs a barrier tested for that impact. The SVEA system, designed by Chevron and supplied by HERMEQ, is a set of temporary concrete crash barriers crash-tested to EN 1317 classes T2, T3, N1 and N2, used for motorway interventions, road upgrades and urban construction zones. The units interlock end to end and stand freestanding on asphalt without anchors, and hinge units turn the line on angled or confined sites. For lane separation and pedestrian routes where a crash-tested system is not specified, road barriers and water filled barriers cover the work.
Crash-tested hoarding
CityWall is a hoarding system with an integrated crash-tested barrier, tested to BS EN 1317-2 classes N1 and N2, for inner-city and roadside projects where the site boundary runs alongside traffic. Noise-reducing panels and anti-climb protection up to 5m high sit on a slim footprint, so one line of crash-tested hoarding deals with vehicle impact, security and noise together. Where the boundary is set back from traffic, temporary site hoarding secures the perimeter and acoustic barriers control noise.
Z posts or RSJ posts, bolt down or dig in
Two choices settle every Armco post: the profile, which follows the heaviest vehicle the barrier faces, and the fixing, which follows the ground it stands on, so the vehicle is decided first and the ground second.
Z posts and RSJ posts
The Z post is a lighter, slimmer profile for car parks, pedestrian routes, boundary marking and internal zones, where the barrier separates people from cars and collision forces are limited. It is more economical per post and quicker to handle, which suits long runs of light-duty barrier. The RSJ post is a rolled steel joist section with greater rigidity, and it is the post for forklift routes, loading areas, depots and HGV zones. Any run that faces forklifts or HGVs takes RSJ posts along its whole length, because the Z post is designed for light vehicle and pedestrian areas.
Bolt-down and dig-in posts
Bolt-down posts stand on a pre-fabricated base plate fixed with floor anchor bolts into a concrete slab, reinforced concrete or tarmac. They need no excavation, which makes them the usual choice for adding barriers to a car park, warehouse floor or yard that is already in use. HERMEQ supplies bolt-down Z posts for light-duty runs on slabs and bolt-down RSJ posts for hardstanding used by forklifts and HGVs.
Dig-in posts go into soft ground, earth sub-bases, grass or unpaved land, set in a pre-dug hole with compacted fill or postcrete. They suit new developments, verges and perimeter lines with no hardstanding to bolt to. Dig-in Z posts cover pedestrian edges and visual demarcation, and dig-in RSJ posts carry heavy-duty rigidity into unmade ground beside HGV routes. Where one run crosses from slab to soft ground, the two fixings can be combined, with the post profile kept the same throughout.
Vehicle crash barriers for car parks, yards and warehouses
Each setting has its own mix of vehicles and people, and that mix decides the post profile, the end type and how the run turns.
Car parks and pedestrian routes
In car parks and on residential developments, Armco separates parked and moving cars from footpaths, doorways, landscaping and building walls. Z posts suit most of these runs, with RSJ posts on the stretches that delivery or service vehicles use. Every end that finishes on a footpath or beside a door takes a pedestrian-safe end, since people walk past it all day. Control of the entrance and exit itself belongs to car park entrance barriers, while Armco protects the edges inside.
Warehouses, loading bays and forklift routes
Inside warehouses and factories and around loading bays, the barrier keeps forklifts and delivery vehicles off walkways and away from doors, cladding and internal walls. Forklift traffic calls for RSJ posts, and the concrete floors and dock aprons of these buildings suit bolt-down fixing. Runs that line a walkway finish with pedestrian ends, and ends facing a forklift aisle or yard road finish with fish tail ends.
Depots, yards and HGV areas
Transport depots, service yards and terminals bring HGVs close to buildings, plant and pedestrian crossings, so the barrier has to stand up to the heaviest vehicles on site. RSJ posts are the profile here, bolted down on hardstanding and dug in along unmade perimeters and verges. Exposed ends on vehicle routes take fish tail ends, and corners carry the run around yard buildings without breaking the line.
Armco barrier ends, corners and fixings
Ends, corners and fixings finish an Armco run, and each is chosen by the layout and by the people and vehicles that pass it.
Pedestrian safety ends and fish tail ends
Barrier end caps are chosen by who passes the end of the run. Pedestrian safety ends have a pedestrian-safe edge profile for walkways, doorways, car park paths and visitor areas, where a person could otherwise walk into the end of the beam. Fish tail ends have a curved profile that turns the end of the beam away from the traffic face, for exposed ends on vehicle routes where a low-angle strike could catch it. Both fit straight and curved runs on bolt-down or dig-in posts.
Barrier corners
Armco barrier corners turn a run through 90 degrees around a building or boundary. Internal corners fit the inside of an angle and external corners the outside, chosen by the site geometry and the direction vehicles approach from. For angles other than a right angle, flexible corners are made to order to the specified angle and radius. Factory-formed corners keep the barrier continuous and avoid the weak points left by angled cuts or bends made on site.
Post bolts, lap bolts and floor anchor bolts
Three fixings hold a run together, each with its own job. Armco post bolts join the beam to each post. Lap bolts join beams where they overlap and fix corners and ends to the run. Floor anchor bolts hold bolt-down posts to the slab and are not needed where posts are dug in. All three are supplied with washers.
Planning a run with the Armco calculator
The Armco barrier calculator turns a run length and layout into a full parts list of beams, posts, ends, corners and fixings, and it compares bolt-down and dig-in builds side by side. Ordering from the calculated list means no bolt or anchor is missing when the installation team starts, and it avoids over-ordering.
Popular Categories
V Mesh Perimeter Fencing
View Products >
Palisade Fencing
View Products >
Domestic Fencing & Railings
View Products >
Frequently Asked Questions
How does an Armco crash barrier work?
The corrugated steel beam takes the strike and spreads the force along the run into several posts, and the beam and posts deform to absorb energy. The corrugations stiffen the beam along its length and guide the vehicle along the barrier face. Spreading the load in this way reduces damage to the vehicle, the barrier and whatever stands behind it.
What height should a crash barrier be?
The height of an Armco barrier is set by the post, because the beam bolts to it at a fixed point. RSJ posts come in heights for forklifts, cars and HGVs, and the post is chosen so the beam meets the bumper line of the vehicles that use the area. A beam set too high or too low for the traffic can be struck above or below its face.
What do N1, N2, T2 and T3 mean on a crash barrier?
They are containment classes from EN 1317, the European standard for road restraint systems. T classes are temporary containment levels for barriers used at roadworks, and N1 and N2 are normal containment levels. The SVEA temporary barrier is crash-tested to T2, T3, N1 and N2, and CityWall hoarding to N1 and N2. Armco for car parks and yards is an off-highway system and is specified by post profile.
What is the difference between a crash barrier and a safety barrier?
A crash barrier is built to take a vehicle impact and contain or redirect the vehicle. Safety barrier is a broader term that also covers pedestrian barriers, crowd control barriers and plastic traffic barriers, which mark or separate an area without being designed for a vehicle strike. The trade often calls Armco a safety barrier too, but wherever vehicles can hit the line, a crash barrier is the product to specify.
Are Armco crash barriers galvanised?
Yes. The Armco beams, posts, ends and corners in the HERMEQ range are galvanised to BS EN 1461, the standard for hot-dip galvanised coatings on fabricated steel, and the zinc coating protects the steel from rust in wet and dusty conditions. The components are manufactured in the UK, with the steel processed in-house.
Can crash barriers be fitted to an existing car park or yard?
Yes. Bolt-down posts fix to an existing concrete slab or tarmac with floor anchor bolts through a base plate, so the barrier goes in without excavation and the area can stay in use around the work. The surface needs to be sound and flat enough for each base plate to sit level. Where part of the run crosses grass or unmade ground, dig-in posts of the same profile complete it.