When it comes to protecting our buildings from vehicle collisions, the first thing that comes to mind is shielding the main structural elements like the columns, the walls, the beams, and even the stairs. When impacted and damaged by vehicular activity, building columns can pose serious risks, given the role they play in the stability of the structure. Because it affects the construction’s integrity, addressing damage to building columns is difficult and costly.
To prevent expensive and disrupting repairs, column protectors are a smart investment. There are different protection devices available on the market and choosing the correct one for your specific building environment may seem like a daunting task.
Fork puncture through a steel tube building column and… a very bad day at the office!
This guide focuses on choosing and placing protection for building columns. For a head-to-head of the protector materials — plastic, rubber, concrete, and steel — see 4 Types of Structural Column Protectors: Which Material Wins.
Quick answer
- A building column carries the roof and floors above it, so vehicle or forklift impact to a structural column is far more serious than damage to a rack upright — and worth protecting deliberately.
- Two proven devices protect building columns: dedicated column protectors and bollards. Both are effective; they’re built for different jobs.
- Bollards are ideal for separating vehicles, people, and equipment, and for guarding a specific corner or approach.
- For a load-bearing structural column in a high-traffic zone, a floor-anchored dedicated steel protector like DAMO SHIELD gives the most complete coverage — it wraps the column on all sides and redirects impact into the floor instead of the structure.
- Match the device to the environment too: warehouses, distribution centers, parking garages, and loading areas each expose columns differently.
|
Two types of products are more commonly seen to protect building columns in various environments such as garages, indoor parking areas, warehouses, and distribution centers. Before we dig deeper into the comparison, let’s go over the two types of column protectors analyzed in this blog post:
1. Dedicated column protectors
Those protectors surround the building column like a fence and are sometimes called “round column guards” or “column bumpers”. They typically surround the column continuously on all sides. The plastic ones wrap around the column and act like a car bumper – if you hit the bumper, the car will feel the impact. Steel dedicated column protectors like the DAMO SHIELD are NOT in contact with the column. Because they are bolted directly into the floor, when they are hit, the column remains untouched.
Photo credit (picture on the right): brandsafeprotection.com
2. Bollards
Bollards are versatile, heavy-duty safety devices anchored to the floor — they excel at separating vehicle traffic from people and equipment, and at protecting a specific point or corner of a structure. Damotech’s own DAMO BOLLARD is a 10" × 10" steel post built for exactly these demanding jobs. Guarding an exposed corner of a building column is one of the many places a bollard earns its keep.
To help you choose the best option, let’s now jump into the comparison. We will analyze durability and efficiency for every type of column protector, dedicated, and bollards.
|
Dedicated column protectors
Steel
Let’s explore steel dedicated column protectors first. One example of this type of protection is the DAMO SHIELD. This protector surrounds the building column and is anchored to the concrete floor. Because the protector remains independent, the impacts it receives are not transferred to the building column.
Made of 1/4" thick structural steel, it can withstand repeated and significant collisions. Another metric to analyze is the warranty provided by the manufacturer. A longer warranty can be a good indication of a manufacturer’s trust in the durability of their product, while also leaving you with peace of mind.
The DAMO SHIELD, for example, comes with a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty. This means that the absence of material and workmanship defects is guaranteed for that period. As we will see, this is much longer than the common warranties available for the other types of protection.
Plastic
Plastic column surrounding protectors are like steel protectors in shape. However, the fact that they are made of plastic instead of steel tends to reduce their durability. For example, they are much more susceptible to being punctured by the forks of a forklift. If we turn to warranties, we find that it widely varies between manufacturers, but warranties are often 90 days or less — much shorter than the 10-year coverage on a steel dedicated protector.
Bollards
Steel
Generally, fixed bollards are more durable than retractable ones. For protective purposes, it is ideal to have bollards made of steel, as they offer higher durability than other types of bollards. Just like the steel dedicated column protectors, they are independent of the structure they protect. Warranties vary by bollard type and build quality — many run 1 to 5 years, but a heavy-duty steel bollard like the DAMO BOLLARD carries a 10-year warranty, on par with a dedicated steel column protector. Because bollards protect specific points rather than wrapping the column, they’re the efficient choice when the risk is concentrated at a single corner or approach — while a dedicated protector is the better fit when you want continuous, all-sides coverage of the column itself.
Plastic
Plastic bollards are mostly used for their flexible quality. In many cases, they are meant to give indications regarding the circulation in specific areas, like controlling access to a section of a park, warehouse, or street, for example. They are easy to use, relatively inexpensive, often removable, and reusable, which makes them a good and durable option in some situations.
|
Dedicated column protectors
Steel
When it comes to how efficient a steel column surrounding protector is, it really depends on the manufacturer. If we take the DAMO SHIELD as an example once again, its efficiency relies on strategic key elements, like the fact that it is anchored directly into the ground. This characteristic makes it especially efficient since it is completely independent of the column. Therefore, the column remains untouched when the DAMO SHIELD is hit.
A variety of standard sizes are available to fit around the most common structures. The protector can also be customized to take other shapes, for optimized protection. This could be useful if the building structure also houses other equipment such as pipes or fire extinguishers that need to be accessible. Steel extensions are also available if needed.
Regardless of their shape, the fact that they usually surround the column continuously on all sides makes them an efficient option, since they protect most of the area of the column. Another factor to consider is the ease of installation. The installation of a DAMO SHIELD can be completed in under 30 minutes, without disrupting warehouse operations.
Plastic
Plastic protectors also come in a variety of different shapes and sizes to fit around most standard building columns. These protectors don’t usually offer customization options and don’t often deviate from the standard available sizes. However, some can securely cover a range of sizes, accommodating varying building column dimensions.
In terms of impact protection, plastic protectors commonly wrap around the column and rely on them for support: they are not anchored to the ground. Because of this, impacts are transferred to the structure supporting the protector, which can cause significant damage.
Positive aspects of plastic protectors are the ease of installation or removal and the prices. Since these devices are usually secured by bolts, clips, or straps, and aren’t typically anchored to the ground, the installation can be done in just a few minutes with minimal to no tools required. The same can be said about the removal process if things such as maintenance or cleaning need to be done to the building column. As for the prices, they tend to be less expensive than steel column protection, commonly ranging between $200 and $600.
Bollards
Steel
As for bollards, they can be placed almost anywhere in a warehouse and focus heavy-duty protection on a single exposed region of a structure. If a column has just one corner in the line of high forklift activity, for example, a steel bollard like the DAMO BOLLARD guards that spot efficiently — its floor-anchored 6" × 6" post redirects impact into the slab instead of the structure. For full, all-sides coverage of the column itself, a dedicated protector is the better fit.
Plastic
As previously mentioned, plastic bollards are mostly used in public settings, to control pedestrian circulation in specific areas. Since they are easy to use, relatively inexpensive, and often removable, they become an efficient option for situations where repeated impacts by vehicles are not involved.
| What you’re protecting | Best-fit device | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A load-bearing structural / building column in a high-traffic zone | DAMO SHIELD (dedicated steel protector) | Floor-anchored and wraps the column on all sides, keeping impact energy off the structure |
| A single exposed corner or approach to a column | DAMO BOLLARD | Focuses heavy-duty steel protection exactly where the hits come from |
| Separating vehicles from people, equipment, or infrastructure | DAMO BOLLARD | Purpose-built to stop and redirect vehicle traffic |
| Continuous separation along a walkway or aisle | DAMO FENCE / DAMO GUARDRAIL | Barrier protection along a run rather than at a single point |
Recommendations
Once you realize the importance of protecting your building columns, useful information on the different options will help you reflect on your specific needs: you’ll then be able to make the best decision for your building.
Always keeping safety top of mind, many options are available to improve the current situation in your building. On top of building column protectors, other products such as the DAMO GUARDRAIL and the DAMO FENCE can be added to improve protection across your building.
Protecting the integrity of your building structures will help ensure smoother day-to-day operations. Ultimately, it will make it easier for you to keep your employees, your products, and your building safe!
For where to place bollards across a facility, see where to install safety bollards, or explore the DAMO BOLLARD steel bollard.
Protecting Building Columns: FAQ
How do you protect a building column from forklift or vehicle impact?
Match the device to the risk: a dedicated floor-anchored steel protector (DAMO SHIELD) for the column itself in high-traffic zones; a bollard (DAMO BOLLARD) to guard an exposed corner or to keep traffic away from the area.
What’s the best way to protect columns in a parking garage or indoor parking area?
In garages and parking areas, dedicated protectors and bollards both work; wraps and dedicated protectors suit continuous coverage of the column, while bollards guard specific approaches and separate vehicle lanes.
Should I use a bollard or a dedicated column protector for a structural column?
Both are effective — it depends on the job. For all-sides coverage of a load-bearing column, a dedicated steel protector wraps the whole column; for a single exposed corner or to separate traffic, a bollard is the efficient choice. Many facilities use both.
What is a column bumper?
"Column bumper" is a common name for a dedicated column protector — a barrier around or in front of a column that absorbs impact. Steel, floor-anchored versions like DAMO SHIELD keep the force off the column entirely.
Can a bollard protect a structural building column?
Yes — a bollard is an effective way to guard a specific exposed corner or approach to a building column, and DAMO BOLLARD redirects that impact into the floor slab rather than the structure. When you need to protect the full column on all sides in a high-traffic zone, a dedicated wrap-around protector like DAMO SHIELD is the better fit — and the two work well together. Match the device to how the column is actually getting hit.
