Construction is an industry that requires millions of dollars’ worth of equipment to complete complex projects, and occasionally even the simplest of tasks. Thieves know that contractors often neglect implementing security measures. This leaves highly valuable equipment and heavy machinery vulnerable, making construction sites a prime target for thievery.
Construction Site Theft in Canada:
In Canada, heavy machinery theft is a rising problem that costs the construction industry anywhere from $300 million to $1 billion annually(1). The loss of this equipment can have devastating effects on a construction projects’ budget and timeline. The budget is effected tremendously if the equipment needs to be replace and is not covered by insurance.
Additionally, the project timeline can be effected by the halt in progress that occurs when equipment and heavy machinery are stolen. Last year, after a missing $300,000 John Deere excavator was spotted on a Flamborough, Ontario property, police obtained a search warrant for the entirety of the property. This lead to the discovery of a large building where approximately $1.3 million dollars worth of construction equipment and machinery was found(2).
The stolen equipment included transport trucks, trailers, excavators, and even a dump truck. Another example of equipment theft happened in March 2020 on a construction site in Trent Hills, Ontario. Multiple suspects broke into 3 separate buildings on the site, stealing $60,000 worth of surveying equipment(3).
Examples of heavy machinery & equipment targeted by thieves include:
Excavators
Bulldozers
Compactors
Dump Trucks
Company Trucks
Power Tools
Our Video Monitoring & Alarm Solutions for Construction Sites:
In order to provide effective security against heavy machinery & equipment theft on construction sites, it is beneficial to deploy multiple layers of security to ensure the safety of the assets within. The first layer we deploy are anti-trespassing and surveillance warning signage around the perimeter of the site.
These signs are designed to warn individuals that they are approaching an off-limits site, that the site is being actively monitored by an operator, and their actions are being recorded. Often this simple yet powerful security measure is enough to deter the individual.
In the event that the suspect is not deterred by the signage, our operators will identify & track the suspect with our industry leading video monitoring security units. These units are strategically placed to surveil the perimeter of the construction site, ensuring that any trespasser will be detected. Once identified by our high resolution stationary and pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras, our video monitoring operators will utilize various security peripherals to assist in deterring the suspect.
Voice commands from our live communication speakers are issued as a vocal deterrence, letting the suspect know that their actions are being monitored and recorded, and if they do not leave immediately, the police will be dispatched. For a visual deterrence, our operators utilize our high-visibility blue LED strobe lights.
If the suspect is still not deterred, our video monitoring operators will contact local law enforcement and provide them with important details such as suspect description, location, and their observed behavior.
While the police are travelling to arrive on site, our operators continue to gather any information that will assist in the apprehension of the suspect, and any subsequent court proceedings that may follow. Once the threat is contained, an in-depth report is logged into our proprietary security information reporting platform; syncroReports.
This platform acts as your teams access point to important security information such as detailed log reports, robust security analytics, and live security feeds transmitting directly from your construction site!
The highly valuable machinery on construction sites should be protected by an additional layer of security from the threat of thieves, to further ensure their safety. We recommend deploying our wireless intrusion alarm device, syncroDetect. This devices comes equipped with both wireless door and window contact sensors, and motion detection sensors.
These sensors are strategically placed on locations such as the doors/windows of heavy machinery, equipment lockers, or site trailers. When these sensors are tripped, an alert goes directly to our UL Certified Video Monitoring Center, where our highly skilled video monitoring operators utilize our stationary and PTZ cameras to gain a visual of the area of concern.
When working with highly valuable construction site equipment and heavy machinery, it is recommended to deploy multiple layers of security to ensure that your assets remain secure from construction site thieves.
References:
- 1. “The harsh reality of construction equipment theft- and what you can do about it”- Northbridge Insurance
- 2. “$1.3 worth of stolen construction equipment found in Flamborough: police”- CBC, March 18th, 2020
- 3. “$60,000 worth of surveying equipment, tools reported stolen at Trent Hills construction site”- Global News, Greg Davis, March 23, 2020