Lockdown: How to protect your Construction Site

Those who work within the construction industry know that there are high levels of crime, with many reporting theft and vandalism on a regular basis. However, with only essential construction being carried out during the Coronavirus outbreak, many sites across Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and the UK have had to temporarily close their gates – leaving them vulnerable to criminal activity.

A survey carried out by the CIOB (Chartered Institute of Building) reported that 92% of sites claim to be affected by crime with a further 21% of sites saying that they are stolen from on a regular basis. These figures are often attributed to high staff turnover, poor record-keeping and poor security measures.

However, there are some cost-effective security measures that you can implement to boost your construction sites security during these difficult times.

Risk Assessment

Before spending vast amounts of money to improve your construction sites security it is best to have a risk assessment carried out by a professional security provider. This will help you identify which areas will need security, which areas will need improvement and ensure that your security is covering all possible areas of weakness on your site.

Construction Security

Professional Security providers like ourselves will provide professional construction security services to sites. But to many sites construction security is a little bit of an unknown, with many site owners not really knowing what it is or what it does.

Construction Security is an umbrella term and usually entails services such as:

• CCTV monitoring
• Alarm response
• Manned Guards and Mobile Patrols
• Access Control
• Secure Keyholding

Construction Security is very good for covering all aspects of security and can be easily tailored to suit your site’s needs while it is temporarily closed.

Alongside having construction security for your site there are a few other measures that can be implemented to give you tighter security.

Create and maintain an up-to-date log

Whether your site is on a small scale or large scale, you will have materials, equipment and possibly vehicles left on site (preferably secured). However, there are employees or criminals that will take advantage of the fact that your site is temporarily closed and will take this opportunity to steal anything that they can get their hands on.

Creating and maintaining an up-to-date log of materials, equipment and vehicles will help you keep track of what is and isn’t onsite – allowing you to quickly respond and report anything stolen. After all emergency services such as the police have a better chance at returning stolen good when they are reported missing quickly.

Have a clear zone around your perimeter

Fencing is a very basic security measure to keep trespassers off your site. However, if your fencing is close to the perimeter of your site this will make it very easy for criminals to sneak in and out of your site without anyone noticing.

When installing fencing on your site, ensure that it is a couple of meters away from the site itself. This will make it harder for criminals to sneak onto your site and easier for you, your guards or CCTV to spot them trespassing onto your site. It also makes it difficult for criminals to see what is actually stored on your site.

Mark Equipment

Equipment such as mini diggers, generators, heavy tools and other equipment can be very easy targets and are often stolen and quickly sold on. Engraving marks on your equipment will make them less likely to be stolen and if they are, they are easily recognisable.

Most tools on construction sites are metal so engraving certain numbers, your company logo or symbol will easily deter thieves. Engraving tools are cheap, readily available and easy to use, but the amount of money and time they will save you could be substantial. Some tools are interchangeable or can be broken down for easier transportation so make sure to engrave multiple areas.

Reduce access points

If you have a reduced team of workers working during your lockdown, then you may want to reduce the number of access points you have. This allows you or your security team to easily track who is coming in and out of your site and also ensure that your workers aren’t able to sneak off-site with valuable materials or equipment through another gate on site.

Reducing the number of access points make your perimeter stronger but your main access points (main gates) are still vulnerable. Placing CCTV camera’s, security lights and manned guards at your main access points will reduce the chances of someone attempting to get onto your site illegally.

If you are interested in our Construction Security Services then please visit our website for more information or contacts us on 01656 713950 to arrange a free quotation.