Anyone who works in the construction industry understands the challenges of protecting their site from crime. With valuable equipment and building materials on offer, construction sites are a popular, and profitable target for criminals and intruders, with construction theft costing the industry an estimated £800m each year.
If you work in the construction industry, there’s a high chance you’ve already experienced construction theft first-hand. It’s estimated that 92% of construction workers have experienced theft, with 21% saying it’s a weekly occurrence on their site. These stats reflect the scale of the problem and may be concerning for site managers and project leaders, especially given the financial and reputational consequences of theft and vandalism.
That’s why reliable construction security is so important. Taking the right security measures can deter criminals from targeting your site and help safeguard your people, equipment, and materials from crime, theft and vandalism. So whether you’re starting your construction security from scratch or looking to improve your current security provision, here are 10 things you can do to improve your construction site security.
Working in the construction industry, you’ll no doubt be familiar with carrying out risk assessments. When it comes to security provision, however, it’s best you approach a dedicated security provider. With a professional security company on the case, you can be sure that a thorough risk assessment will be carried out on your construction site.
This will help to highlight any vulnerable areas, which could otherwise leave your construction site open to intruders. You can then implement extra measures across these exposed areas to tighten up your site security, ensuring they can no longer compromise the safety of your construction site.
Despite all the advancements in security technology, hiring construction security guards is still one of the best ways to deter criminals from targeting your site. Most of the time, criminals and intruders are opportunistic; they select easy targets where there’s minimal risk of getting caught.
Having a physical security presence on your site immediately ups the risk level for criminals and means there’s a high chance they’ll get caught out. Security guards can be deployed any time, day or night, ensuring there is always someone on hand to protect your site from criminals. It’s essential that your chosen security guards have an SIA licence; it’s a legal requirement and a sign of quality.
Construction sites can often be large, open areas with plenty of places for intruders to hide. They can also be geographically dispersed or hazardous to monitor on foot. If that’s the case for your construction site, it may be worth considering a mobile security solution.
Here, SIA licensed security guards will move around your construction site, either on foot or in a security vehicle. This will ensure that every inch of your construction site is thoroughly guarded- and that any intruders will be detected before they can steal your construction materials or cause damage through vandalism.
Construction sites are perhaps at their most vulnerable when they’re left vacant. Installing CCTV surveillance on your construction site ensures there’s always an extra pair of eyes on your site. When paired with 24/7 CCTV monitoring, CCTV not only provides vital evidence after the fact but can also be used to help intervene in crimes as they’re happening.
For construction sites, temporary CCTV solutions can be deployed, ensuring the system can provide protection during the project but can be easily removed when they are no longer needed. Some CCTV cameras can also provide a time-lapse function, allowing you to record the progress of your construction project.
For any construction site, keeping out intruders and criminals is absolutely essential. This is where security fencing comes into play, allowing you to secure the perimeter of your construction site. Fencing can help to prevent unauthorised people from gaining access to your site, as well as its equipment and materials.
There’s a large range of security fencing options available, as well as specialised security fencing for construction sites such as temporary solutions and noise-reducing barriers. Temporary fencing is easy to deploy and can also be adjusted as your project expands, ensuring that your site always has the projection it needs.
Constructions sites are often busy spaces where people come and go. Whilst keeping out intruders is essential to keeping your site safe, authorised parties need to be able to enter and exit as required. This is true for both your site workers, as well as any external parties such as delivery drivers.
But how can you distinguish between authorised and unauthorised visitors?
This is where access control solutions can help maintain site security. Whether you opt for a high-tech solution or a manned option, an access control solution will ensure that your workers can easily enter the site, whilst intruders are kept out.
Night-time is an especially vulnerable time for your construction project; it’s both quiet and dark, providing ample opportunities for criminals to intrude on your site and steal equipment and materials. Installing lighting ensures that your site is always brightly lit- even during the night and early mornings. Not only will this help to deter criminals, but it will also help to prevent accidents caused by dark conditions.
Temporary lighting solutions are ideally suited to construction sites and can be deployed and removed easily. You could also consider motion-sensor lights, which are triggered by movement, to help any on-site security detect intruders.
Both construction equipment and building materials are profitable items- and are a particular favourite amongst thieves. To help stop your site from being targeted by criminals, lock away any equipment or materials before you leave your site at night. Storage containers or temporary sheds can be deployed on your construction site with relative ease, providing a space for you to lock up handheld tools and building materials.
This will greatly reduce the desirability of your site and put an extra barrier between your valuables and the criminals. You can also pair this with further security measures such as CCTV, motion-sensor lights or security guards to add an additional layer of protection for your equipment.
If you’re constructing in an area that’s known for high levels of theft or break-ins, you may want to consider a furry addition to your security team- security dogs. Paired with experienced handlers, who are often SIA licensed guards themselves, dog teams are a formidable security presence.
With heighten senses and tracking capabilities, security dogs are able to detect an intruder up to 300m away, as well as find intruders who may otherwise hide on your construction site. Security dogs also often stop the situation from escalating into violence, with criminals far less likely to try and take on your security guards if they’re accompanied by a larger security dog.
Whilst our last suggestion is less security and more health and safety, hiring welfare units is nevertheless essential for both the wellbeing and comfort of your staff. They can also be used to lock away smaller equipment and paperwork during the night, ensuring they have a dual function.
By law, all construction projects must provide adequate sanitary conveniences, washing facilities, drinking water, changing rooms and lockers and facilities for rest; welfare units make complying with these regulations simple, offering everything your site and employees need in one handy, portable unit.
If you’re looking for a new security provider then Churchill Support Services should be at the top of your list. With everything you need to ensure the full protection of your construction site, you can rest easy knowing your security is in professional hands. Simply get in touch with our team today or request a quick quote online.
Here at Churchill Support Services, we can offer all our services to businesses anywhere in the UK. Whether you need construction security services in London or Leighton Buzzard, we can provide the high level of security you’re looking for.
Our range of construction security services means we can offer a comprehensive, and tailored, construction security package. Don’t risk becoming a victim of crime. Choose Churchill Support Services as your dedicated construction security supplier today.
Here at Churchill Support Services, we’ve worked hard to achieve all the qualifications that are necessary to both work and excel in this industry. We ensure all our guards are fully SIA licensed and can offer security officers with additional training in first aid and health and safety if requested.
Churchill Support Services is a leading cross-industry corporate services provider, supplying professional and comprehensive construction security solutions including security guards, mobile patrols, cctv security and security fencing and lighting.
To find out more about how Churchill Security can protect your business, contact us today.
Understanding The “Ask For Angela” Scheme: Laws, Safety & The Future
By John Melling
November 21, 2024
