Mitigating Security Risks at Construction Sites: Key Strategies

Construction sites have always been a vital place to secure to ensure valuable tools and materials are not stolen or broken. With various security liabilities present, some obvious and some not as much, you may be wondering the best way to mitigate your jobsite’s risk. Below we will outline the various problems that could affect your project and how we best recommend preventing them.

Assessing Site Security Risks

In order to fully understand and create a proper plan for jobsite security, you and your crew will need to understand what dangers are present. You cannot plan for an unknown issue, so educating yourself and your employees greatly enhances security. Some of the common risks that can be associated with your project are:

-          Stolen equipment, tools and materials

-          Vandalism

-          Arson

-          Unwanted Person(s) on site (Trespassing)

-          Violence

-          Cyber Threats

Step #1 Have a Pre-Construction Security Plan

The best security plans are well thought out beforehand and are fully installed and understood before the project is even started. A plan is necessary for each separate site, as some risks may be present at others that the previous site did not have.

You will want to do a pre-construction security assessment. This assessment should look at risks specific to the location, the type of jobsite and project, the public support of the project and other factors related to socioeconomics. Doing this assessment can allow you to understand any unique risks on the site and will allow you to better manage then!

Step #2 Reduce Points of Entry

Having a premise security system is just one step of preventing risks on the jobsite, but it is greatly hampered if you do not minimize entry points onto your site. Steps that you can take to limit entry include but are not limited to:

• Perimeter Fencing: Fencing is one of the most obvious ways to limit entry, but it is still quite effective in creating specific entry points to your site.

• Warning Signage: You can place signs warning trespassers that it is a job site, as well as posting that surveillance equipment that is in use.

• Camera Systems: Operate under the assumption that crime will take place at your worksite, even if it has not been a problem in the past. This will leave your site less exposed, especially with the use of night vision capable cameras.

• Illumination: Lighting up your worksite along with the camera system mentioned above be yet another aide to identifying trespassers with working alongside the camera system.

 

Step #3 Install Breach Monitoring Systems

Sometimes it is not possible to completely deter someone from attempting to and breaching your job site. Alarms and motion detection systems can be your best friend in this case, as in tandem with the measures in place to limit points of entry the perpetrator should easily be identified.

Both a loud alarm that alerts those nearby audibly and a silent alarm that notifies the authorities without knowledge of the perpetrator are valid options. If onsite guards are hired for the project, coordinate specific parking locations for them and where they should be stationed around the site throughout the evening and day.

The local authorities can be a strong aid in preventing crime at your site not just responding to it, so ensure that you use their resources that they have available to aide your team.

Step #4 Minimize Equipment Theft

While many jobsite managers already understand the importance of locking up tools and equipment for the job, some may feel that the measures discussed above may be enough on their own to protect their valuables. It is still imperative that you raise the difficultly and time it takes to remove a valuable commodity from the site. Measures include:

-          Locking up tools, equipment and valuable materials when possible.

-          Remove large batteries from equipment.

-          Place GPS systems on large equipment with geofencing technology and alerts.

-          Limit the amount of high value materials as much as possible on site.

-          Store high value materials on higher floors in the building once construction has progressed.

Step #5 Reduce After Hours Threats for Your Employees

While materials and assets have been the focus of the article, workers are often the target of robbery when leaving the site after a long day of work. Advocate to your workers that leaving in groups is preferred, minimizing personal theft from them and any supplies that they may be carrying off the site.

Next Steps

Securing your jobsite is essential to ensuring your project runs smoothly without unforeseen losses. With the information above, you should have a basic understanding of what you need to secure your upcoming projects. Contact us at Cabco for any questions you may have about your job site security at (902) 468-2252 or with the button below!