Construction Site Security – Our Top 7 Tips
Let’s talk about construction site security… Have you often wondered just how you could help to secure your construction site or building site from vandals, opportunistic thieves, and squatters? It really isn’t rocket science but trying to manage a sprawling, open plot of land filled with expensive building materials and professional equipment can often be a daunting thought, so we’ve set out seven handy tips to help you do just that and secure your building site. Because most construction sites don’t have the natural security of built up, enclosed walls or doors they can easily become targets for intruders. For construction site owners and many building firms, this makes it all the more important to practice good security.
1. Always maintain a barrier around your construction site.
Utilising a sturdy barrier or metal fence serves two purposes. Firstly it acts as a deterrent for any opportunist thief looking to turn a quick pound note, and secondly– it prevents the public from entering what is conceivably a hazardous or dangerous area that you as the site owner may be liable for if anything should happen to them. Our meshed security fencing is a superb preventative solution that guards against intruder access, acts as a significant deterrent to crime and helps major public installations combat attacks. For a more permanent barrier palisade fencing offers a very high level of security at an affordable cost.
2. Stop! – Who goes there?
Because of the above factors, it’s well worth having specific controlled entry and exit points. This is true particularly if you manage a larger construction site where you have dozens of contractors coming and going throughout the day or the entire project. You should only ever give the site keys to the necessary personnel and always limit vehicle access by having a designated parking area outside the site itself. Our matching security gates can act as an access control point to control the flow of traffic to and from your premises.
3. Out of sight, out of mind is key!
Because a construction site is usually a vast open space many valuable and attractive tools and building materials are often on display and unprotected. When these items are not in use be sure to keep them under lock and key, or in the case of large plant equipment, move them out of sight at the end of the day and make sure that the SIA security guard is aware of their location should anything happen. It’s this kind of attention to detail that can often considerably reduce the frequency of incidents.
4. Always Install CCTV (especially wireless CCTV if possible)
It’s a no-brainer we know! While security cameras won’t stop the most determined of thieves, it might make an opportunist think twice before attempting to break in and grab what they can while you’re none the wiser. In addition aside from monitoring criminal activity, CCTV cameras can also be used to monitor things like unsafe working practices, thus promoting a safer working environment for all of your staff and contractors. The need for 24-hour ongoing surveillance systems has never been greater. Certain items are too valuable to be left unwatched without a deterrent against crime. With a 24-hour surveillance system in place, anyone looking to commit a crime will instantly be deterred from doing so. We would recommend a Videofied system which can, in essence, be installed anywhere on your construction site for maximum reassurance!
5. Be loud about your construction site security…
As you can probably guess…. we wouldn’t advise to just put up CCTV cameras, instead, you also want to tell people that you have security systems in place. For this reason, you’ll need signage and lots of it! Place it where it can be seen around the construction site, particularly on or near to the entrances and exits. You should, however, keep your signage generic and not mention that you use a particular security system, this is often viewed as a weakness should the thief or intruder know of an Achilles heal in the technology. Experienced thieves can use this information to their advantage. Instead, signage such as ‘trespassers will be prosecuted’ or a sign saying ‘you are being watched, security cameras operate on the premises’ is going to be far more effective in keeping people out. Viper Security offers a range of signage which is used extensively by local authorities and business parks as the ideal visual barrier system against intruders, ensuring safety as well as peace of mind.
6. Let there be light!
Yet another simple yet overlooked tool in your security arsenal. Thieves generally tend to like operating in the dark where they can’t be seen. In order to make sure that this doesn’t happen install good security lighting or CCTV with built-in infrared features. If you’re on a tight budget, then make sure vulnerable areas like storage area or material stock piles and access points are well lit. For additional lighting look to install motion sensor perimeter lighting on remote areas. This is probably one of the main things you could do to help your construction site security from the first day of breaking ground on your site, at Viper Security we offer a number of lighting solutions that can be tailored to your site’s unique needs.
7. Get yourself an inventory of materials, tools and plant machinery.
Keep it simple. When there are lots of comings and goings on your building site, it can be hard to keep track of the equipment you have and it’s whereabouts at any one time. By keeping a clear and concise inventory of the said equipment it’s not only easier to keep track of it, but it’s also easier for insurance purposes should it be stolen. Maybe try to assign equipment responsibility to various team members? Or alternatively have a tagging system in place which books equipment in and out, so at one quick glance you know where your equipment is. Additionally photographing all equipment on site and cataloging this on a database or internal system can also help massively should any disappearances occur.
