Those in the construction industry have had a long battle with thieves who attempt to steal their highly valuable construction machinery. Whether it is an excavator or simply a cement mixer, the theft of construction equipment was once rife in the industry and it was seemingly accepted that some theft would always happen.
However much has been done to battle this and we have seen a significant reduction in the amount of equipment that is being stolen from construction sites. Site managers are being more cautious and there are much better practises to improve security nowadays. On top of this, the creation of plant security systems have meant that even if equipment is stolen, it is often easy to track, recover and bring those responsible to justice. We should not live in a world where it is acceptable to steal so by improving our security we can deter thieves and catch those who still persist.
The first thing that any site manager should do is install good security practises across the site. This means that everyone who works on the site should take responsibility for the equipment and ensure that it is stored securely and safely. The site should be locked up over night to ensure that no one can get onto the site and find where you have kept your equipment. In storage yards, it is important to have CCTV cameras where possible which will further deter thieves. TIme and again, those in construction spend lots of time ensuring the site is secure whilst neglecting the place where the majority of the unused equipment is stored.
All equipment should be registered on a specific equipment database such as CESAR. This means that if your items are taken, it is much more likely that they can be traced. When buying plant equipment be sure to check the registration number on the database in order to ensure that the product is legitimate and does not belong to someone else. You may also want to consider branding your equipment. This will deter criminals as the equipment is easily identifiable as yours.
The best way to ensure that your equipment is safe, however, is to install plant security systems to all your valuable machinery. Plant security systems have a large range of features which will help to ensure that your equipment is almost impossible to steal. Plant security systems usually have GPS tracking, an immobiliser, a tow-away alarm, and a tamper alarm. This means that you can trace the item in the event of a theft, immobilise it so that it will not turn off and, crucially, if the thief manages to manually take the item by towing it away or attempts to cut power to the security system, you will be alerted instantly. These features work together and mean that your equipment is almost 100% safe. Plant security systems have done a lot to improve security and they are set to improve in quality and lower in price.
By doing all of the above, you can play your part in helping to kick out theft from the construction industry. If thieves realise that we are all doing our part to catch them, they will be much less likely to target this industry.
