What are Magnetic Bollards?
Almost 1 in 5 escalator incidents are caused by the carrying of bulky items such as shopping trolleys and prams on escalators.
One way to deter such user behaviour is the installation of magnetic bollards. They can be positioned in close proximity to the entrance of the escalators, effectively preventing users with bulky items from accessing the escalators.
Magnetic bollards are designed to be sturdy to prevent dislodgement, while offering greater flexibility than conventional bollards as they can be easily installed or removed during emergencies to create an obstructed pathway.
Magnetic Bollard at Tampines 1 (Photo credit: Frasers Property Singapore)
Effectiveness of Magnetic Bollards
Frasers Property Singapore, in consultation with BCA, has installed these magnetic bollards at Tampines 1, Causeway Point, The Centrepoint and Tiong Bahru Plaza.
A four-month pilot at Tampines 1 in 2022 has shown that bollards can effectively deter users who carry bulky items such as shopping trolleys or prams from using the escalator. It has been observed that the number of users carrying bulky items while riding escalators has decreased by half.
Furthermore, these bollards are low-cost, easy to install and can be removed during emergencies as well.
FAQs
1. Can magnetic bollards be installed for all types of escalators?
Magnetic bollards use strong magnets placed at the bottom of the bollards to adhere itself to the landing space in front of the escalator. This would usually be on the removable maintenance plate* of the escalator which houses the escalator machinery components.
Typically, the maintenance surface plate is made of ferrous material such as stainless steel or other highly metal alloys. However, for certain escalator models, the maintenance plate is made of aluminium or other non-ferrous materials which the magnetic bollards would not be able to adhere to.
* The maintenance plate refers to the floor surface with anti-slip patterns that users step on before entering the escalator.
2. If I want to install magnetic bollards at my development, are there any technical guidelines that I can follow?
Please contact us via the BCA Feedback Form below.
For more information
If you wish to find out more about these magnetic bollards, send in your enquiry through the BCA Feedback Form at https://www2.bca.gov.sg/feedback/.