The Advantages of Choosing a Container SCIF
Container SCIFs offer speed of build, portability, and quality consistency for clients searching for the right mobile option for their SCIF project.
Container SCIFs, built into standard ISO shipping containers while maintaining the original external doors, allow your facility to hide in plain sight.
What is a container SCIF?
Clients in need of a portable and secure facility to house classified materials might consider choosing a container SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility). This kind of mobile SCIF is made by building out an unaltered ISO shipping container. These facilities can be used to store sensitive materials or to provide people with secure offices, work areas, or meeting rooms for conducting business.
Due to their relatively small size, container SCIFs can be moved to entirely new locations as needed. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and commercial companies that support DoD programs find containerized SCIFs useful because they can provide acoustic protection, RF protection, data filtering, and power filtering within transportable spaces—all without sacrificing security.
A container SCIF, sometimes referred to as a “SCIF in a box,” is usually delivered directly to a client’s preferred location once built out in accordance to the specifications and process outlined in the ICD 705. These types of secure facilities offer a quality consistency that is difficult to replicate with other SCIFs because of the set sizes of ISO shipping containers, which can be either 20 or 40 feet in length. Even so, the functions or security levels each container SCIF provides can vary widely, though it would be impossible to notice any differences from the outside as they offer the ability to hide in plain sight.
What are the primary advantages of container SCIFs?
Speed
One of the key reasons to choose a container SCIF is the speed with which it can be built. Designs are typically completed quickly due to the limited footprint of ISO shipping containers, which are ordinarily used to transport cargo by land or water. While the interior finishes for each project differ, the basics—such as the wall construction, door location, and heating and cooling systems—are consistent, which translates to faster build times.
With the exception of the entrance door, most of the materials needed to build a container SCIF are readily available. While typical renovation projects can get tied up for months in the designing and permitting processes, a container SCIF even with complex RF shielding can take just six months to complete. In many cases, container SCIFs can be built out and operational between three and six months faster than conventional construction options.
Timeline
Converting an ISO shipping container into a containerized SCIF usually takes about six months. Though the time required to actually build out a container SCIF is shorter, there is some lead time needed to obtain the specialty entrance door, which is typically ordered very early in the process. Container SCIFs can be sold to the government as “equipment,” a classification that helps cut down on the overall timeline for government projects by avoiding the notoriously lengthy military construction (MILCON) process. often between 30 and 90 days. Initial designs must be approved by the accreditation official (AO) before the project can proceed with fabrication—often between 30 and 90 days.
Portability
Portability is another significant benefit of containerized SCIFs, which are the most mobile SCIF option. They can be transported by crane, forklift, or on the road. The ISO shipping containers that are transformed into container SCIFs can also maintain ocean certification, which enables qualifying projects to be transported overseas once they have been completed.
Due to their portability, container SCIFs can operate onboard ships and outside existing buildings permanently or temporarily. They can even be brought directly inside warehouses as an alternative to conventional construction builds. In contrast to ground-up construction projects, container SCIFs can essentially be moved wherever and whenever they are needed. There are even many commercial off the shelf (COTS) products such as wheel casters and chassis to aid in their mobility.
Quality consistency
The standard sizes of ISO shipping containers lend a consistency to container SCIF designs. In addition to looking just like shipping containers from the outside, the materials used for the wall construction and other basics of the build are uniform from one container SCIF to the next. While on-site projects require construction teams to adapt to whichever building factors and constraints exist on location, the assembly line process used to build container SCIFs off-site provides another level of quality consistency.
Security
The design and build consistencies of container SCIFs provide a level of dependability that is valuable for clients who have security concerns and are looking to obtain a reliable space. While the internal finishes differ from one project to the next, wall construction and other basic design elements are built the same way in an assembly line. This process factors into another benefit for clients with security concerns. From the outside, it is impossible to tell the difference between a normal ISO shipping container and a containerized SCIF. This ability to hide in plain sight means that container SCIFs can operate in any needed location without alerting passersby to whatever sensitive information or activities might be contained within.
Container SCIFs can be built to serve a variety of functions, such as a workstations, conference rooms, and server rooms.
What are the costs associated with container SCIFs?
Despite the relative simplicity of container SCIF designs, there can be large swings in costs that depend on a variety of factors. There are some fixed costs associated with each project regardless of its intended use, such as the security system, the main door, and the HVAC and electrical systems. Other costs vary from one container SCIF to the next. The amount of RF shielding a project requires is one factor that affects cost, while the interior materials needed to make it operational similarly depend on the established goals for that specific container SCIF. Whether the client is providing their own security system or prefers that it be included in the build also affects the total cost.
Do limitations exist?
When it comes to functionality, there are no limitations for a container SCIF. Size is the only restrictive factor, given the standard sizes of ISO shipping containers. Containerized SCIFs are 8 feet wide by 20 or 40 feet long, and either 8.5 or 9.5 feet high. Even so, the relatively small size is also beneficial because it means a container SCIF can be delivered ready-made and relocated easily.
If you’re looking to get a secure facility quickly, Universal Modular can help you program the right container SCIF for you. Reach out to us to get a free quote for your container SCIF project.