Hardened Structures - Construction

Construction

Client confidentiality, Project Secrecy/Security, Clandestine Construction

By their very nature, HARDENED shelters, facilities and underground bunkers require highly specific life safety and threat mitigation features in order to perform their primary mission. This is not a job for the common contractor.

To be successful, HARDENED construction requires unique engineering expertise in shelter dynamics, threat mitigation measures, advanced HVAC systems, structural steel/concrete and earth work operations.

At Hardened Structures we analyze all options of concrete, steel, fiberglass or composites to find the best fit for our client's unique shelter, sustainability and funding requirements and implement a design/build program for that particular client. Experience has shown there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to Shelter construction. Simply stated, we work for you as your private Facility Staff providing single point responsibility for the fast and efficient delivery of your Facility in a stealthy and secret atmosphere.

Our experienced has proved that the basic fundamental rule necessary to successfully execute Covert Construction and Clandestine Contracting techniques is "Need to Know." The level of secrecy is established by our Client and is a direct determinant affecting the overall cost.

We can bring in our own specialized workers and we have perfected the protection process to ensure that no one subcontractor or supplier will fully know the final function or true capability of our Client's facility. Some of the techniques we employ include:

• Compartmentalized and Furtive Construction Scopes
• Phased Critical Path Construction Techniques
• Specialized Out-Of-Town Subcontractors and Suppliers
• Multiple Surreptitious Project Identifications
• Correlated CAD Drawings and Specifications
• And Other Time Tested (and Secret) Clandestine Strategies

The importance of Client Confidentiality and Project Secrecy/Security cannot be overstated. We serve as our Client's Agent and Representative by implementing and enforcing Client/Project specific security and confidentiality parameters throughout the Design, Planning, and Construction Process.

Hardened Structures - Threat Mitigation

Threat Mitigation

Highly Specific Engineering Expertise

By their very nature, shelters and underground bunkers require highly specific life safety and threat mitigation features in order to perform their primary mission: protecting your family. This is not a job for the common contractor. Success requires a unique expertise in WMD's, blast effects mitigation, adversarial assaults, shelter dynamics, threat mitigation measures, advanced HVAC systems, structural steel/concrete and earth work operations.

We mitigate various threats by employing a Multi-Hazard Engineering methodology that not only recognizes individual hazards/threats sequentially but also address all hazards/threats simultaneously as a problem of optimization under constraints. The facility/shelter/building can be protected against a wide range of threats including WMD's, forced entry, armed assaults, climate change, 2012, chemical, biological, radiological, explosive (CBRE) agents, airblast, ground shock, penetration, fragmentation and damage to the structure and equipment due to explosive loading.

As Professional Architects and Engineers, Security Specialists, Project Managers and Ex-Navy SEALs with over 30 years in shelter construction experience, our approach methodology is to professionally and confidentially complete the designs, and covertly construct the facility while ALWAYS working in the best interest of our Clients.

Nuclear

Biological

Chemical

Earthquake

EMP

Zombie

Fortified & Hardened Homes

Commercial

Military

Special Projects

Hardened Structures - EMP Protection

EMP Protection

Hardened Structures provides world-class expertise in Electromagnetic Pulse protection

A nuclear explosion creates a very powerful energy pulse called an HAEMP (high altitude electromagnetic pulse), capable of causing damage hundreds of miles away. HAEMP is similar to an invisible lightning strike, but contains higher frequencies that may render standard lightning protection measures ineffective.

Similar to HAEMP, a geomagnetic storm (associated with solar flares) can create a long-duration pulse that can burn out utility power transformers and cause widespread power outages. The effects of HAEMP and SOLAR FLARES will readily penetrate an unprotected shelter and couple onto all electrical conductors, damaging or destroying appliances, personal computers, HDTVs, and medical electronics such as pacemakers.

Mitigating the catastrophic effects of HAEMP and Geomagnetic storms (SOLAR FLARES) requires highly specific engineering know-how. Almost half of the world's specialists work for Hardened Structures. Our engineering methodology employs a double-layer strategy.

• First, the equipment or rooms that require protection (e.g. communications console, utility room, electrical service room, entertainment room, or even the entire shelter), are covered with an overall shield. This is the first line of defense and provides excellent, although not perfect, protection. The shield must be very carefully designed and constructed; e.g., improper materials selection may not achieve enough shielding, incompatible materials may result in corrosion, and incorrect seams or bonding may greatly reduce or even destroy the shield's effectiveness.
• A second layer of protection is provided, including additional shielding and/or local protective clamp devices. Although the amount of HAEMP that will penetrate the outer shield is greatly attenuated, a small amount of residual energy may still be sufficient to harm delicate electronics.

In cases where equipment or room shield is not desired or practical, HS installs specialised equipment (including power generators) that has been specifically "hardened" to withstand EMP.

Hardened Structures - Design and Planning

Design and Planning

Thorough preparation enables Hardened Structures to deliver a solution perfectly tailored to our client needs.

"Our Clients priorities are our priorities"
- Company Mission Statement

A Hardened Structure Facility can be constructed in most localities, urban, suburban or rural. By its nature, a Hardened Structure is usually designed to perform its PRIMARY MISSION both during and after a war-like or criminal attack, a major natural disaster, or accidental/man-made emergencies.

We address these challenges by employing a Multi-Hazard Engineering methodology in our design and planning stages that not only recognizes individual hazards/threats sequentially, but also address all hazards/threats simultaneously as a problem of optimization under constraints. A Hardened Structures facility can be designed to protected against a wide range of threats including:

• Cataclysms
• Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Explosive (CBRE) agents
• Airblast
• Ground shock
• Fragmentation and damage to the structure and equipment due to explosive loading
• Penetration

"HARDENING" a primary requirement and a significant part of the cost.

Along with the Client's particular living, function and storage requirements, designs can also incorporate active defense and manned and mechanical responses to reduce the effectiveness of any given threat while providing for individual/family long term living requirements.

Our Spectrum of Services include:

• Architecture and Programming
• Engineering (Structural, Civil, Mechanical & Electrical)
• Asset Value Assessment
• Threat Hazard Assessment
• Vulnerability Assessment
• Full Risk Assessment
• Site Selection and Layout Design
• Building/Site Design Management
• Blast Effects and Mitigations
• Chemical, Biological and Radiological Protective Measures
• Ventilation, Air Filtration and Sorbent Filtering Systems
• Sustainable, Alternative, Climatic and Solar Energy Designs
• Budgeting and Estimating
• Permitting and Local Jurisdiction Approval
• Full Construction Contracting
• Long Term Survivability, Food Storage and Equipment
• Client Move-in and Start-up

Hardened Structures - Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

Hardened Structures uses a Balanced Survivability approach to mitigate the full spectrum of risks.

The first steps in determining the feasibility of constructing a Hardened Structure in a specific location is to completely understand the client's priorities/goals/budget, thoroughly examine the site and its surroundings, be fully aware of all regulatory agencies having jurisdiction and to conduct a full Risk Assessment. Once this information has been assimilated, the development of the Hardened Structures Feasibility Study can be completed and submitted. This study is a condition precedent to establishing a Program of Requirements, which then allows the Client to modify the Program or continue to the next phases. The planning, design and construction of a Hardened Structure is technically specific, complex, and is executed through the following phases:

• Feasibility Study
• Design Documents
• Pre-Construction
• Client Move-In Management Plan
• Permitting (if requested)
• Construction
• Systems Orientation

Because it is impossible to protect against all threats and hazards, adopting a balanced approach in designs that considers intended functions, threat mitigation and budget is imperative. There is no one-size-fits-all and there is no formula of security features and programs that will ensure 100% safety against all violent attacks or natural disasters. Designers and owners must understand the limitations of designed facilities and proposed countermeasures. Mitigating measures or countermeasures are specified to meet a particular anticipated threat, not all possible threats. At Hardened Structures we design your facility to achieve a Balanced Survivability, ensuring that no one system or component is the "weakest link." No matter if it is nuclear war, armed assaults, any civilization altering scenario, our experienced team of engineers and scientist can design and construct your facility efficiently, covertly, and cost effectively anywhere in the world.