Month: September 2022

Construction is one of the UKs biggest and busiest industries – but unfortunately it is also seriously affected by theft. Alongside arson and vandalism, theft helps to cause the construction over £800 million every year. Theft delays work, damages morale, and even creates the potential for serious accidents.

As a result, it is very important to take serious precautions to prevent theft on your construction site. There’s a variety of effective approaches available. In this article, we’ll examine some of the effective ways you can keep a construction site safe and the security measures available.

Enforce a Theft Prevention Policy

It is important to maintain a strict theft prevention policy on your site; it is important to make sure all employees are aware of rules regarding stealing and the legal consequences. This should also be made clear to any subcontractors as well. Zero tolerance towards theft is important – especially given that it has been found many cases of theft come from within the workforce and from subcontractors.

Employees and subcontractors should be informed they can face prosecution if they are caught stealing.  

Keep a close eye on equipment and resources – keep detailed records

Thieves primarily target easy to lift and remove equipment from construction sites – handheld tools, unsecured metal, and fuel from vehicles and equipment. In the busiest and most demanding jobs, there is often a huge amount of equipment and resources on a site – which means if things go missing it can potentially go unnoticed.

Therefore, it’s important to make sure there is a close record kept of all equipment – allowing you to detect theft early on and respond to it appropriately. Detailed records are one of the most important things to maintain. Regularly inspecting equipment is important to – especially if you are eager to avoid issues such as fuel theft. Regarding fuel theft, it is important to keep any tanks visible and regularly inspect them to ensure they have not been siphoned from.

Failure to maintain appropriate records can often mean a difficulty in getting insurance pay-outs if theft does occur.

Secure equipment and materials

Thieves are not interested in difficult targets. They usually target construction sites because there is an abundance of unsecured tools and materials (usually metal which can be resold). Hand equipment, tools, and metal are easy to lift and remove – especially if they aren’t locked in containers or buildings. Leaving equipment unsecured is effectively the same as asking a thief to take it, and often failure to secure equipment is liable to create serious issues for trying to make insurance claims.

It is vital to ensure that both equipment and materials are stored properly. This isn’t just important for avoiding theft either – it is also key for maintaining health and safety. Unsecured equipment can prove a danger to workers and result in serious injuries.

Installing Security Measures

Security systems like CCTV and Alarms are a great way to secure a property and prevent theft.

CCTV

CCTV is widely considered one of the most effective measures for preventing theft.

CCTV systems often deter thieves from attempting to steal in the first place, as they are aware if they are caught on camera the chances of being successfully prosecuted rise significantly. Because of this, thieves tend to avoid properties equipped with CCTV.

CCTV systems provide further protection however in the worst-case situation in which a crime does occur. Not only can CCTV alert you to a crime taking place, but via services such as remote monitoring CCTV can be used to alert the police (or any manned guarding services).

Many insurance companies will expect a CCTV system be present on a construction site.

Alarms

Alarm systems are another excellent approach for keeping a property safe. The presence of alarms, while not as much of a deterrent as CCTV, often can worry thieves who are aware that tripping the alarm can alert the police or manned guarding services. As such, they are a superb deterrent.

Alarms provide more than just a deterrent – tripped alarms can alert both the police and manned guarding services and ensure a quick response to any on-site incidents.

Alarm systems are highly versatile and easy to install as well – making them an excellent choice for a building site security.

Manned Guarding Services

Manned guarding services – better known as security guards – are what most people think of when it comes to security. Trained manned guarding services will patrol a construction site, keeping a close eye on the property. If there are any incidents or intruders, the manned guarding services can respond quickly and on your behalf. This saves from you having to enter potentially difficult situations.

Manned guarding services are an excellent choice because few thieves have any interest in confrontation and are attracted to construction sites on the basis they are empty – as a result, the physical presence of the guards (backed up by CCTV and Alarms) is an excellent form of protection.