With more than three decades manufacturing bulletproof security systems, Total Security Solutions is the industry leader for custom bullet resistant barriers that meet your bulletproof security needs on-time, on-budget, and expertly finished.
Retail counter space is always at a premium. This is especially true in a small shop, where the front counter isn’t just the point of transaction, but also the place where the shopkeeper keeps up to date on purchasing patterns and the customer experience. On top of all this, the front counter is the last opportunity to pad out narrow profit margins with seasonal and impulse purchases (many of which are themselves relatively high margin items, even at their low price).
But in neighborhoods with an elevated risk of armed robbery, the front counter point-of-sale is also the area most in need of ballistic security.
Large package passers have long been standard in many 24-hour convenience stores. How else are you going to maintain bullet proof security while still being able to scan and bag gallons of milk, cases of beer, and 36-packs of diapers? But security comes at a cost: Traditional interlocking package passers (like that shown in the video below) have large swinging doors, which eat up far too much precious counter space.
The solution is the modern rotary package passer, which maintains–and even exceeds–the capacity of the traditional interlocking passer without sacrificing nearly as much display and transaction space.
STEEL-SIDED ROTARY PACKAGE PASSER
Crank-operated cylindrical passers offer Level 1 through 3 bullet proof security at a reasonable price. A circular profile maximizes volume while minimizing the unit’s footprint. The interior ballistic glass window allows cashiers to maintain their connection with customers throughout the entire transaction without compromising security. Although the 18-inch by 20-inch model is the most popular, Total Security Solutions can customize these units to suit many different countertop configurations, ballistic security systems, and business models.
ALL-ACRYLIC LAZY SUSAN PACKAGE PASSER
“Lazy susan” style package passers are both less cumbersome to operate and easier to integrate into the widest array of businesses and settings. Their smooth-rolling turntables are optimized for high-traffic applications–not just convenience stores, but also busy pharmacies and quick-serve restaurants. Crank-free operation makes these the least space-consuming package passers on the market, especially considering their large capacity. Since each lazy susan package passer is custom built on-site by Total Security Solutions, the design can be adapted to almost any size and to protect against almost any threat-level, from common 9mm pistols to high-powered rifles–even fully-automatic assault weapons.
According to a 2008 report from the National Center for Victims of Crime, impoverished individuals and businesses are “substantially” more likely to be the victims of a robbery. It is a bitter irony that those most in need of bullet proof security and transaction windows (in particular, small business owners in impoverished areas) are the least likely to be able to afford it.
TRANSACTION WINDOWS: BALLISTIC SECURITY FOR EVERYONE
The humble transaction window is the entry-level of bullet proof security: quick to fabricate and easy to install (just eight screws to hold them in place), they protect small businesses on tight budgets–which is an overall benefit to the community: Decreasing the ease of committing a robbery drives down the incidence of robbery overall in a given locale as bandits shift to places with “easier pickings.”
“I assume anyone in our industry can make a transaction window,” says Total Security Solutions vice president Jim Richards, “it’s not that hard to do. We distinguish ourselves with our attention to design.”
This takes two forms. First and foremost, Total Security Solutions staff seek out a complete sense of a client’s needs and limitations–in terms of business practices, their facilities, and their budget. “There’s no sense selling a system to someone who can’t afford it. We work hard to work within our customer’s constraints and what they’re comfortable paying.”
Second–but equally important–Total Security Solutions prides itself on a willingness to fully customize each transaction window without inflating the cost. “We can do anything with a transaction window design, and we’ve done it: stainless-steel frames, prime-painted steel frames, aluminum frames, Corian counters, stainless steel counters, plastic laminate finished counters, any kind of cash tray, any size, any speak-port. I’ll do anything the customer wants; if they aren’t sure what they want, we’ll walk them through that process. If they want to design something and send me the drawing, we’ll build that.”
BRINGING TOP QUALITY TRANSACTION WINDOWS TO THE SMALLEST PLAYERS
This is not high-margin work for bullet proof companies, which is why many shy away from this level of service on their transaction windows–work that they feel is little different from their “component business” of selling basic sheets of ballistic glass or bullet resistant fiberglass to independent contractors.
Total Security Solutions works to be different: “Our cost-conscious customers get the best of both worlds here: Our windows obviously look great, and the quality is superior. We handle them with the same level of customer service and expertise, wether it’s a $2000 window or $20,000 barrier system; we don’t treat any customers any differently.”
We associate teller windows with banking, but that’s actually a small portion of the business. According to Jim Richards, vice president of Total Security Solutions, “we sell those *everywhere*; we see a lot of interest across the country, because we make so many different transaction windows.” Jim has especially noted recently is an increasing interest from the seemingly hum-drum world of corporate and university offices.
TELLER WINDOWS WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT
What Jim has seen over the last several years is an increasing demand for teller windows in lawyer’s offices, doctor’s office, corporate reception areas (even humble utilities payment offices), and university admissions offices, payment centers, and bookstores–none of which are notable for having loads of cash or easily fenced valuables on hand. Jim points out that, in these settings, installing a bullet proof teller window isn’t a matter of foiling armed bandits. “The threat landscape hasn’t changed,” he explains, “it’s continued to evolve, and employers are more conscious of disgruntled people, and their willingness to act out violently.” This isn’t just about disgruntled employees “going postal”–although that continues to concern many large businesses, especially in a depressed economy where tough staffing decisions are made quarterly, or even monthly. Any point where a business is open to the public there is some risk of conflict. “People can be upset in doctor’s offices,” Jim explains, “Heck, you shut someone’s cable off, they are not happy. But if people know there is a deterrent there, they act differently and they respond differently.”
TELLER WINDOWS FOR ANY SETTING
As these corporate offices decide to make the shift from a simple reception window to a bullet resistant transaction window, they call Total Security Solutions. “If someone can describe it and it can be built, we can do it, and we can make it as a single set-in-place unit held by six screws”–something any competent contractor might install. Although Total Security Solutions offers many prefabricated teller windows, it’s far from outlandish for customers–even small medical or legal practices–to consider a custom unit perfect for their offices. “We’ve always been structured to handle the custom work, so it’s kind of irrelevant, in terms of pricing.” More importantly, Total Security Solutions maintains their superior delivery schedules even with custom designed, one-of-a-kind teller windows. Most bullet proof manufacturers take a custom order as an opportunity to bump the delivery time out by a few weeks, just in case something comes up. Total Security Solutions keeps the same schedule, working custom transaction windows into their existing workflow. “Just because it’s custom, we don’t look to extended the lead time.”
When it comes to armed robbery, a number of factors make quick-serve restaurants especially attractive to bandits (only a quarter of whom are ever apprehended). By adapting a few traditional bank features–including the external transaction window and bullet resistant pass-thru drawer–bullet proof companies like Total Security Solutions are making an often thankless job significantly safer.
PERFECT ROBBERY TARGETS
In contrast to traditional retail robbery targets–such as convenience stores and gas stations–fast-food establishments are much more likely to have cash on hand: Over the course of the past decade service stations and convenience stores have shifted almost entirely to debit and credit card transactions, with protocols in place to periodically drop any meaningful sum of cash into a safe inaccessible to workers. Since credit card use has only relatively recently become possible at fast food eateries, many patrons still drive up with cash in hand for their burgers and fries. Large sums can build up in registers, and are ultimately counted down late at night by managers who have spent the last 8, 10, or 12 hours on their feet working over friers and grills. Additionally, since 2007, many quick-serve restaurants have begun keeping later hours, often staying open past 2am and having staff arrive as early as 4am–in other words, up to half their workday may occur during the peak robbery hours (8pm to 3am). To top it all off, late-night fast food restaurants are usually located near expressways and far from city centers, slowing the arrival of law enforcement and making a quick getaway all the easier.
ADAPTING BANK SECURITY TO FAST FOOD
It’s clearly dangerous to expose workers to potential assailants during peak armed-robbery hours. Locking the doors is a start, but conventional drive-thru windows are far from bullet proof. And most drive-thru windows are fully operable, so staff can easily hand orders to customers. A sliding window also puts workers at a substantial risk of harm; take as an example this famous “McNugget Rampage” incident:
The best solution is to lock up by 8pm and conduct all late-night business through a UL-rated bullet resistant transaction window. Unfortunately these are generally intended for bank use, and are either equipped with simple cash trays–far too shallow to hand over anything bigger than a small fries–or large, expensive interlocking package passers, which are very challenging for a motorist to operate while leaning through her car window. Bullet resistant pass-thru drawers are, for most situations, the best solution.
PASS-THRU DRAWERS AT THE DRIVE-THRU
Pass-thru drawers are mounted through the existing wall below a ballistic transaction window. Although pass-thru drawers were initially developed for bank use, even standard bank models are roomy enough to convey most sacks of burgers or tacos. Many manufacturers have directly addressed the needs of quick-serve restauranteurs by specially adapting their drawers for fast food service. For example, several of the Shuresafe models favored by Total Security Solutions are available with free-standing or integrated cup holders. These pass-thru drawers make it easy to give customers their hot coffee and fountain beverages, spill free, and can accommodate everything from a small sack of burgers to a jumbo bucket of chicken.
By far, the most popular bullet resistant system is the humble pre-fabricated transaction window. These consist of a pane of ballistic glass mounted in a bullet resistant frame, with an integrated cash tray for passing money and paperwork. While many companies are content to outsource their trays, being able to fabricate high-quality cash trays themselves puts Total Security Solutions a notch above their competition.
TRANSACTION WINDOW CASH TRAYS
Although it’s possible to build a box-style transaction window cash tray in any old workshop using individual welded sheets of steel, this is far from the most secure solution: Each of those welded joints is a possible point of failure, and the welding process itself runs the risk of weakening the metal in unpredictable ways. A top-quality cash tray has the minimum number of welded joints, and is mostly fabricated from a single sheet of sturdy quarter-inch stainless steel that’s been bent to form, including the tray’s familiar curved “scoop.” Most shops use an industrial hydraulic press brake with a full set of interchangeable presses and dies to fabricate such transaction window trays.
Jim Richards is currently the vice president of Total Security Solutions, but he started out working on the factory floor, fabricating pieces for bullet resistant security systems. Back then Jim was eager to find a way for Total Security Solutions to make their own cash trays, improving both the quality and breadth of their transaction window line.
TRANSACTION WINDOW CASH TRAY SOLUTIONS
“We needed to make those transaction window cash trays,” Jim explains, “But we didn’t have the money for a press brake when we started.” So Total Security Solutions craftsmen built a set of custom jigs and dies suitable to a range of cash-tray configurations. They then retooled an old hand-operated box-and-pan brake, fitting it with several pedal-actuated pneumatic air cylinders in order to provide the power needed to bend sheet steel. In the end, their rig could punch out cash trays as fine as those coming from the largest sheet metal fabricators.
Today Total Security Solutions has a top-of-the-line computer-controlled AccurPress hydraulic press brake; nonetheless, they still rely on their homebrew solution for fabricating custom transaction window trays:
“For us, being able to make the entire tray at one station was much more efficient and faster than going to the press brake, doing all your bends, changing out your die, putting the radius die in there, and then bending all your scoops. What I could do here in 45 minutes took me two hours over there.”
At one time transaction windows were limited to a few venues known for handling large sums of cash, like banks, ticket windows, and casino cashiers. As more businesses expand their operating hours and find themselves targeted by armed robbers, bullet resistant transaction windows are becoming increasingly common, with every company offering a couple models. These tend to be pre-fabricated drop-in units: affordably priced, easy to install, and generally designed for relatively low-risk applications with fixed needs: a pharmacy window or 24-hour gas station where the worker needs to accept cash and credit cards, dispense nothing larger than a pill bottle or Snickers bar, and won’t ever see a gun larger than a .44 Magnum.
These drop-in transaction windows are profitable for the manufacturer–who can crank them out quickly during lulls in production–but certainly aren’t suitable for every application. Nonetheless, many bullet proof companies continue to push their high-margin pre-fabricated transaction windows, even if a customer doesn’t necessarily feel that choosing from option A, B, or C is the best fit for his or her business. Few bullet proof companies are equipped to build, or even interested in discussing, custom transaction windows.
CUSTOM TRANSACTION WINDOWS
Total Security Solutions offers a wide range of pre-fab bread-and-butter transaction windows. A quick glance at their website shows almost a dozen totally distinct pre-fab transaction windows, ranging from sturdy framed sheets of bullet resistant glass to fully operable windows with integrated intercom systems and package passers. According to Total Security Solutions vice president Jim Richards “that’s not even a third of the different styles we’ve done. . . . If they draw it and they want it and we can make it, we’ll do it; it’s not just ‘Well, we have this aluminum one and this steel one, and you can pick one.”
COMPLETE CUSTOM SOLUTIONS
Total Security Solution’s flexibility isn’t just about mixing-and-matching a few elements (“Pick one of two frames–with or without counter–an acrylic or polycarbonate window, and then we’ll pop in this, that, or the other talk-thru system.”) Total Security Solutions is proud to offer complete custom solutions. They’ve built transaction systems in almost any size with polycarbonate, monolithic acrylic, glass-clad polycarbonate, and even all-glass laminated windows. They don’t limit their transaction windows to Level 1 through 3 security suitable to stopping pistol fire. Total Security Solutions has built windows with up to Level 8 security–the highest level of bullet-stopping power on the consumer market, capable of catching shots from high-powered rifles and bursts from sub-machine guns and assault weapons.
Depending on the customer’s needs, Total Security Solutions can and has custom-built all manner of operable windows, from solid balastic glass featuring small drawers or sliding plates, to fully operable windows that can be unlocked and slid aside during low-risk/high-traffic periods, and then locked down for after-hours security.
Jim ticks off just a few recent jobs: “I’ve integrated doors and drawers and rotary passers, I’ve integrated custom doors out of acrylic. I’ve made any kind of different talk throughs: We’ve made them out of aluminum, stainless steel, brass, milled steel. I’ve made transaction windows for a police station that needed a little slider window at the bottom, that slid left and right, and the talk-thru built into the light above. I just shipped out a bunch of windows, if you can imagine, that were three feet wide and six feet tall, with a stainless steel counter and cash tray mounted a few feet from the bottom, and transparency above and below.”
MOVING OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE
Total Security Solutions has even entertained somewhat unlikely requests. For example, an increasing number of clients are interested in having the frames of their transaction windows filled with poured concrete. Such a concept was new to Total Security Solutions, but after they prototyped it and found it both practical and effective, they were happy to work it into a custom design.
Jim recognizes that, in many respects, Total Security Solutions isn’t doing anything that most of his competitors couldn’t do, if they really wanted to. “I know other people can do most of this,” he acknowledges, “but we do it in three to four weeks, not six to eight because it’s ‘custom.’”
For most customers, the entire banking experience is at the teller window. Here staff chat with customers while accepting documents, updating files, managing internal paperwork, and dispensing currency–all while keeping the line moving at a swift clip. The pleasantness of the customer’s experience hinges not on the ballistic glass, steel currency tray, or the bullet-resistant counter, but the voice transmission system.
ACRYLIC TELLER WINDOW TALK THRU
Bullet proof Talk Thru for Teller Window
The simplest and most flexible teller window talk thru system is a piece of bullet resistant acrylic bolted behind the talk hole in the teller window’s ballistic glass. This backer–fabricated from the same ballistic glass as the rest of the system–has a margin of at least two inches on all sides, assuring that an assailant cannot fire through the voice portal into the secured area. Such Natural Acrylic Talk Thru systems have many advantages: They’re inexpensive, easy to install, and provide a good balance of security with only a minor impact on clarity of communication. Although voices will be somewhat muffled, this hitch is mitigated by the fact that the transparent barrier lets tellers and customers maintain eye contact and see each others’ faces unobstructed.
Commonly available in Level 1 through 3 bullet resistance, such acrylic talk thru systems are custom fabricated for each installation. They can be built in a variety of shapes and sizes, and can even be modified to provide up to full Level 8 bullet resistant security.
STAINLESS STEEL TELLER WINDOW TALK THRUS
Natural Voice Transmission Talk through for Teller Windows
The Natural Acrylic Talk Thru system isn’t appropriate to noisy environments or an exterior teller window, as wind, rain, and pests can easily slide in around the backer. The stainless steel MK2 Talk Thru is a good entry level interior-exterior communication system for teller windows in high-traffic areas, or with some exposure to the elements. These units are fabricated by Total Security Solutions in their Fowlerville, MI facility from 1/4 stainless steel. A pair of six-inch-diameter perforated screens mount on either side of the teller window’s ballistic glass, and are secured by integrated bolts. Interior and exterior rubber grommets seated against the ballistic transparency seal out the elements and provided added security if the unit should need to absorb an impact. The small profile of the MK2 Talk Thru makes for an unobtrusive, high-security unit offering exceptional voice clarity and Level 3 security at a great price.
Some teller windows can expect to absorb brutal weather, fully exposed to the searing summer sun or the wind and rain of tempestuous winters. In that case, builders who want to maintain the advantages of natural speech transmission will want a slightly heartier communication system, like the MK1 Talk Thru. As with the MK2, this is a 6” diameter talk thru security grating, but the MK1 is made from custom-cast stainless steel. The rings, which are offset on the front and back plate, are not flat, but extend at an angle into the center of the unit. These steel baffles thus both deflect bullets and prevent fragments (be they from a shattered bullet or a thrown beer bottle)from ever entering the teller area. This Level 3 bullet-resistant unit includes an integrated 1/4 perforated-stainless steel stand-off for added bullet-resistance, and a thin, free-floating internal plastic film that locks out the elements–even drafts–with little muffling of tellers’ or customers’ voices. As with the MK2, interior and exterior rubber gaskets ensure weatherability and maximum safety.
Whether it’s mid-day in an air-conditioned bank lobby, or midnight at a rainy truck stop, the transaction window is the point in a security system where we balance our need to lockdown security and the realities of being open for business.
EXTERIOR TRANSACTION WINDOWS
Exterior transaction widows–including drive-up teller stations and after-hours walk-up windows–are designed with weatherability, structural strength, and forced entry in mind. They must withstand constant exposure to security threats and mother nature, block intruders without obstructing business, and fulfill the building’s structural and aesthetic needs.
A standard exterior transaction window consists of ballistic glass, a voice-transmission system, a weather-proof steel counter, and a pass-through drawer or covered deal tray that can lock out vermin, prowlers, and the elements. The bullet resistant window can be crafted from a variety of thicknesses of monolithic acrylic, laminated polycarbonate, or glass-clad polycarbonate to achieve varying degrees of bullet-resistance and forced-entry protection. Most outdoor applications will call for the studier polycarbonate, which holds up well to wind and rain, and shrugs off almost any beating. Steel-backed voice portals or bullet-resistant intercom systems allow for clear communication through the thick barrier while shutting out wind, rain, snow, and pests.
Although a few robust prefabricated exterior transaction windows are available, Total Security Solutions vice president Jim Richards finds that most builders opt for a custom design, so that the transaction window can best suit their site and needs.
INTERIOR TRANSACTION WINDOWS
An interior transaction window likewise consists of ballistic glass, a voice-transmission system, and a deal tray. Since there is no need to worry about keeping out storms, animals, and burglars working under the cover of darkness, the full array of available bullet-resistant materials can be considered, and design can take the front seat, both in terms of functionality and style.
“I know that we’re a security company,” Jim explains, “but we also spend a tremendous amount of time looking at aesthetics, and how the systems appear visually in terms of light transmission and the way it can be fabricated; acrylic is a superior product on that end. When forced-entry issues are raised, then you have to take that into account and consider something more robust, like polycarbonate. But in a lot of applications, forced entry isn’t a concern.”
If the business calls for it, these interior transaction windows can even be custom-installed with sliding bullet resistant glass: During peak hours clients can quickly and easily chat with workers and pass documents through the open window. As business wanes after hours workers can lock down the system for added safety.
Even after countless visits to the bank, you’ve probably never given a second thought to the deal tray that makes the transaction possible.
The Bullet Proof Deal Tray
The single, seemingly seamless deal tray is either bolted to the existing counter, or recessed into it. These deal trays are fabricated from sheets of 18 gauge bullet-resistant stainless steel, with welded joints that have been ground smooth. The entire unit is then treated with a brushed satin finish for durability and aesthetic appeal.
While many manufacturers make deal trays that will easily withstand shots from a 9mm, .44 Magnum, or .357 Magnum, letting bullets ricochet willy-nilly off of hardened steel is less than ideal in many environments. Total Security Solutions is one of the few manufacturers offering a prefabricated recessed deal tray with an integrated bullet trap. Here the bullet actually penetrates the tray itself, where it is caught and retained. While other manufacturers choose to pack their deal trays with fiberglass in order to qualify for a certain UL rating, Total Security Solution’s bullet-trapping deal tray uses an interior steel plate with welded joints to catch bullets.
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Even after countless visits to the bank, you’ve probably never given a second thought to the