There are dishonest people onsite, and there are unscrupulous people that visit sites. Your equipment, tools and material end up missing. Copper theft continues to be at epidemic proportions, even when prices fluctuate. Theft is the most frequent cause of equipment loss–some five times more common than vandalism in most years and construction sites are always a tempting target for vandals.
Most construction sites have no human security in the off hours or irregular security patrols that prove to be inefficient and ineffective. They can tell you that the equipment is gone, not what, when, where, why or how?
Insurance coverage may offset some of the replacement costs, but not the disappointment and frustration of wondering what happened and who you can trust.
You will have lost time to purchase new equipment. You will be out of pocket paying for the equipment, while you wait for the insurance if it gets approved.
The insurance company may seem a little challenging to deal with and come up with some clause about the location that you parked your ute, or the toolbox security not being sufficient.
The result is more expense and lost time. Lost time on the job, lost time replacing tools and equipment and lost time documenting and filling out insurance forms.
Make a site security plan to protect your equipment, tools and time.
- Have a written site security policy and a precise site protection plan for each worksite.
- Ask your insurance company to clarify the claims process and define what is and is not covered before you take your equipment on site.
- Document an example claim form and process to follow so that you can complete the process quickly and easily. When the time comes to do this, you are not going to be in a good state of mind, and having a way to reduce the frustration will be worth the effort.
- Assign supervisory safety obligations and inspire protection awareness amongst all employees.
- Your site security policy should include the local police and fire services contact details. Go and talk to your local police to make sure you understand the process to follow. Letting them know about the site and equipment may encourage them to visit or drive by, which can also help prevent theft.
- Contact neighbouring properties and inspire them to report suspicious activity. Make it worth their while. It can save you time and money.
- Correctly identify equipment and property onsite, so there is no confusion.
- If available, use secure perimeter fencing as a primary line of protection, and clearly identify your trespass policy with signage.
- Lock up equipment and secure vehicles in accordance with your insurance policy requirements.
- Restrict traffic where possible to one entry to the site.
- Ask personnel and subcontractors to agree to and follow the site security policy.
- Ask personnel and subcontractors to report any incidents of theft or vandalism.
- Install a Pace Electrical site surveillance system to record all traffic in and out of the site. Site surveillance is a deterrent and provides a secure record of site practices. 24 /7 video surveillance can record what happened and increase your chance of material recovery. Motion detection recording and reporting can increase your chances of criminal detection and apprehension.
I recommend that you talk to Kevin Pace, Pace Electrical 0411 969 731 about your construction site and event security system needs.
