Money-Making Tools

For tradespeople, their tools are central to their viability as a service, and in turn their living.

And supplies such as timber, fasteners, insulation and anything else required for a build are also assets waiting to be converted into income for carpenters, plumbers and others. The trouble is, many people who don’t work in construction are pretty keen on converting them into money, too.

Around the world, construction site theft is a massive problem for individual contractors and large building companies. Australia is no exception.

Obligations, Regulations

For the entire site, it is often a mandatory OH&S requirement to secure its perimeter. Ironically, it is to protect any trespasser (often children) from injury should they injure themselves within the site, and to protect the site owner from subsequent legal action taken against them for not taking measures to prevent the intrusion and resulting injury.

Beyond this, NSW Police, for example, recommend that construction sites are made secure in order to save money not only for the construction company but also to the public, via preventing additional costs added to the budget for civil and public projects. This covers all hand-portable objects like power tools, copper, timber and anything else of value on the second-hand market.

The Numbers

According to specialist insurer Trade Risk, the majority of tools theft occurs on site, with cut padlocks accounting for 20% of thefts (via gates and fences) and forced entry at 48% of thefts. The remainder is in relation to tools and supplies being stolen from vehicles.

What to Do

Whether it is on a large multi-level site or a standard block residential project, there are measures one can take to greatly reduce the risk of losing equipment and materials. And even if things still go missing, there are ways of increasing your chances of getting them back.

7 Ways to Increase Construction Site Security

• Get to know the neighbours – this is beneficial in two ways. Firstly, if a site is likely to create noise, and not a lot of noise attenuation is put into place, a good relationship with surrounding residents and other occupants can reduce complaints and subsequent downtime. Also, a neighbour who is engaged with the project is more likely to observe the site during daylight hours and periodically during the night. More friends as neighbours, more witnesses.
  
  
• Fencing – of course, depending on budget for this and the size of the project, perimeter protection my come in different shapes and sizes. Larger construction sites will feature very secure timber hoarding, but smaller residential sites may vary, from basically nothing to mesh and panel-style fencing. This is where theft dangers occur.
  
  A smart builder may work to have the house’s garage at lock up stage first, so at least tools can be locked away there during the project.
  
  Also, they may work to ensure that panel-style fencing is heavily weighted and features a sign with an after-hours phone number so that would-be intruders know that the police won’t be far away should they break in and neighbours call for assistance.
  
  
• Lighting – another deterrent, temporary lighting should be considered as soon as power is available, to illuminate entry and exit points in particular overnight.
  
  
• Temporary/mobile security cameras – for a few hundred dollars, this can be a great form of ‘insurance’ or a deterrent to would-be thieves.
  There are many of these systems on the market – simply place a few of these cameras in keys points around the site and monitor them from anywhere via an app on a mobile phone.
  Also, make sure that cameras are placed in a position where they cannot be accessed from behind, ensuring that anyone intending on stealing the camera itself is filmed in the act by having to approach them in full view.
  Monitored alarms and even a human security person for bigger sites is also recommended.
  
  
• Prevent overstock of supplies – try to coordinate deliveries of materials to site within the same day they are going to be used. This way, you reduce the amount of materials that can be stolen overnight. The same goes for appliances – for example, try to make sure that the day the oven is to be installed is the same day the oven is delivered.
  
  
• Engrave – it’s a bit old-school, but it can be effective if your power tools turn up at a Cash Converters and the like. Engravers are cheap and it doesn’t take long to inscribe your name and phone number somewhere on the unit.
  
  Beyond just a name and number, it’s a good idea to engrave a distinctly identifiable and unique marking somewhere on the unit, even on the inside of the casing that is easily accessible by someone in a pawn shop should you make a call or visit and ask, “Is there a small “diamond” (or anything else) in the battery pack slot?” for example.
  
  Power tools can also be labelled with microscopic ‘DataDots’ or use a GPS tracking service for following and finding wayward drills, circular saws and more.
  
  
• Portable storage – if you can’t use the garage, underground carpark or anywhere else as a locker for your consumables and tools, or you need them to be more mobile on a larger site, there are plenty of options on the market, from heavy duty site boxes to site cabinets. These units are usually made from high grade steel and feature tamper-resistant locks.
  
  

References:
https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/95767/brochure.pdf
https://aic.gov.au/publications/tbp/tbp029
https://prochoicesafetygear.com/ppe/blog/workplace-health-and-safety/construction-site-security/