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About PNH

Protection engineered to the real threat. PNH Security Engineering Consultants protects people, assets and critical infrastructure against deliberate attack and accidental extreme loads.

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Who We Are

Independent: balanced, impartial evaluation of generic barrier products

Independent

We do not make, sell or install barriers or protective products, and we never specify a product we have a stake in. Every recommendation rests on the site's needs.

Engineer-led: drawing sheet with wall section, engineer seal and scale

Engineer-led

PNH's Chief Technical Officer, a PhD, PSP engineer, leads the design basis, the analysis and the technical meetings, from the first call to the last review comment.

SDVOSBCalifornia SBE/DVBE No. 2034487U.S. Air Force Veteran owned

PNH is an SBA-certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (VetCert), and a California SBE/DVBE, No. 2034487. PNH is eligible for federal SDVOSB set-aside awards and California DVBE participation goals. PNH LLC is a Colorado limited liability company formed in 2025.

Technical leadership

Pedram Hesam, PhD, PSP

Chief Technical Officer · Counterterrorism Engineering Subject Matter Expert

Pedram leads the technical work on every PNH engagement. He has more than 17 years of experience engineering protection against blast, vehicle impact and other extreme loads for government, defense, transportation and commercial clients.

Before PNH, he worked at Karagozian & Case; Hinman Consulting Engineers; and Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates. His project experience spans government and military facilities, airport and transit systems, stadiums, test facilities and data centers. He was principal investigator on a federally funded SBIR research program on threat, vulnerability and risk assessment of soft targets.

Blast-resistant engineeringHostile vehicle mitigationExplosives safetyPassive anti-UAV protectionDisproportionate collapseRisk assessmentForensic engineeringExpert witness
Pedram Hesam, PhD, PSP, Chief Technical Officer of PNH

Credentials

  • PhD, Civil EngineeringPurdue University
  • PSP, Physical Security ProfessionalASIS International
  • CSS&MPSPA Certified Security Supervisor and Manager
  • ASTM F12 voting memberSecurity Systems and Equipment

Memberships and publications

ASCE/SEI, ACI, Transportation Research Board and FBI InfraGard. Peer-reviewed papers in Frontiers in Built Environment and the Journal of Disaster Research, TRB conference papers and articles in ASIS Security Management. Speaker at ISC East 2026.

Protection Comes in Layers

Each layer buys time or takes energy out of an attack. PNH sizes each one to the threat that can actually reach it, and coordinates the delay and withstand layers it engineers with the deter, detect and response measures others provide.

Protection in layers
Protection in layers: deter, reduce, delay, withstand and protect above, shown in plan around a protected building Plan schematic. An outer zone, a tested barrier line with a controlled entry, standoff to the building, a hardened envelope, and passive protection above. A hostile vehicle path is stopped at the barrier line. Protected building Standoff 1 2 3 4 5 1 DETER Outer zone Visible, controlled approaches that discourage hostile planning. 2 REDUCE Standoff Distance cuts blast load; layout limits vehicle speed. 3 DELAY Tested barrier line Rated barriers and a controlled entry matched to the vehicle and speed the approach allows. 4 WITHSTAND Envelope and structure Walls, glazing and openings designed to the agreed level of protection. 5 PROTECT ABOVE Passive screens and roofs Where a drone could bypass the ground layers. Hostile approach (illustrative) Barrier line Active barrier at entry Schematic. Not to scale. Not for design.
PNH engineers the standoff, barrier, envelope and overhead layers and coordinates them with the deterrence, detection and response measures others provide.

Standards We Work To

DisciplineStandards and criteria
Blast and structural responseUFC 3-340-02; ASCE/SEI 59-22; PDC-TR 06-08; ASCE Design of Blast-Resistant Buildings in Energy and Industrial Facilities, 3rd ed.; ACI 318 and AISC 360
Disproportionate collapseASCE/SEI 76-23 with DoD modifications in UFC 3-301-01
AntiterrorismUFC 4-010-01; UFC 4-020-01; Interagency Security Committee standards
Vehicle barriersASTM F2656; ASTM F3016; ISO 22343-1; UFC 4-022-01; UFC 4-022-02; legacy IWA 14-1, PAS 68 and DoS K ratings for interpreting existing test evidence
Explosives safetyDESR 6055.09; International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG)
Risk and crowded placesISC Risk Management Process; ANSI/ASIS/RIMS RA.1; CISA, FEMA and NPSA guidance
Owner criteriaUtility, energy and owner security specifications and the building codes named for each project

Every PNH deliverable cites the criteria it was designed to, clause by clause. Editions are confirmed for each project.

Standards by discipline
Standards map: the published criteria PNH designs to, grouped by discipline, with the services that apply them Seven discipline groups with standard designations and related service numbers. Blast and structural response UFC 3-340-02 ASCE/SEI 59-22 PDC-TR 06-08 ASCE energy and industrial guide, 3rd ed. ACI 318 AISC 360 Services: 03 04 05 06 07 Disproportionate collapse ASCE/SEI 76-23 UFC 3-301-01 Services: 03 08 Antiterrorism UFC 4-010-01 UFC 4-020-01 ISC standards Services: 01 03 08 09 Vehicle barriers ASTM F2656 ASTM F3016 ISO 22343-1 UFC 4-022-01 UFC 4-022-02 Legacy IWA 14-1, PAS 68, DoS K Services: 02 08 09 10 Explosives safety DESR 6055.09 IATG Services: 06 07 Risk and crowded places ISC Risk Management Process ANSI/ASIS/RIMS RA.1 CISA, FEMA and NPSA guidance Services: 01 Owner criteria Utility and energy specifications Owner security standards Building codes named for the project Services: All Editions are confirmed for each project.
Published criteria PNH designs to, grouped by discipline, with the services that apply them; editions are confirmed for each project.

What PNH Provides

PNH provides

  • Engineer-reviewed reports and design basis memoranda
  • Design sketches and detail visualizations
  • Performance specifications for vendor items
  • Review of vendor data sheets and submittals
  • Budgetary quantities for tender pricing

What stays with others

  • CAD and shop drawings, prepared by fabricators from field measurements
  • Supply and installation of products
  • Non-protective architectural, civil and MEP design
  • Engineer of record duties where a locally licensed engineer is required
  • Advanced numerical analysis, unless approved and priced separately

100% client satisfaction guarantee. If a deliverable does not meet the agreed scope, PNH corrects it at no added fee.

Where PNH sits on a project
Where PNH sits on a project: PNH engineers the protection and specifies performance; fabricators, suppliers and installers deliver the products; PNH reviews their submittals Flow from owner and design team to PNH, then to suppliers through a performance specification, with submittals returned to PNH for review. Owner and design team Owner or agency Architect and engineer of record EPC or design-build contractor Locally licensed engineer where required PNH Design basis and threat Loads, analysis and design reports Design sketches and detail visualizations Performance specifications Budgetary quantities Suppliers and others Products and test evidence CAD and shop drawings from field measurements Supply and installation Non-protective A/E and MEP design Brief Reports Spec Submittals Independent by design PNH does not make, sell or install barriers or protective products, and never specifies a product it has a stake in. Specifications describe performance, so qualified suppliers compete on the same terms. Advanced numerical analysis is scoped and priced separately, with the client's approval.
PNH engineers the protection and writes performance specifications; suppliers and fabricators deliver products and shop drawings, and PNH reviews their submittals.

How We Work

Every engagement follows the same five steps, with a fixed fee for each defined phase.

01

Introduction

A short call on the site, the threat question and the deadline.

02

Mutual NDA

Signed directly with you before documents are shared.

03

Fixed-fee proposal

Defined deliverables and a set number of revisions.

04

Design basis

Threat and criteria agreed in writing before analysis.

05

Delivery

Engineer-reviewed reports, supported through approval.

Get in Touch

Send us the site and the deadline. A short note on the site, what concerns you and when the tender or decision is due is enough to start. We reply within one business day.

  • The siteAn address, a site plan or a few photos.
  • The concernThe threat question, an incident or a client requirement.
  • The criteriaAny standard or client specification that applies.
  • The dateWhen the tender, review or decision is due.

Email [email protected] or call +1-818-253-9557

Thank you. PNH will reply within one business day.