What You Should Know About Construction Security

The days are gone where you could throw up a portable fence, hire a night watchman, and sleep well knowing you had provided adequate construction security.

Skyrocketing scrap metal prices, combined with a sophisticated and thriving black market for construction equipment, has resulted in the construction industry experiencing record losses due to failed construction security programs or, worse, no program at all.

According to a report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the U.S. construction industry faces losses exceeding a staggering $1 billion annually.  The report also mentions that as much as 22% of construction-related losses are attributable to on-site vandalism.

Easy access to construction equipment, and a a well-established underground “railroad” for spiriting stolen equipment out of the country, makes any construction site a target for losses.

According to the report, the most frequently stolen equipment includes:

•    Backhoe Loaders/Skip Loaders/Wheel Loaders/Track Loaders
•    Light Utility/Work Trucks and Trailers
•    Generators/Air Compressors/Welders
•    Skid Steers
•    Forklifts/Scissor Lifts

Here is a list of the top 10 states experiencing the most construction site theft in 2008:

1.    California                     
2.    Florida                      
3.    Texas                          
4.    Nevada                         
5.    Arizona                        
6.    Georgia                        
7.    New Jersey                     
8.    New York                       
9.    Illinois                       
10.    Maryland  

 
But it’s not just about theft and vandalism

Inadequate or non-existent construction security measures also result in a greater incidence of workplace violence and exposes the employer to civil and criminal action resulting from attacks against employees and visitors.

Plus there is an unlimited amount of financial liability resulting from injuries occurring to people who gain access to a construction site after normal business hours and become injured or worse as a result. The fact that a ‘No Trespassing’ sign was posted is not a valid defense in many instances.

Injury lawyers, as well as prosecutors, frequently take the approach that the construction company “should have known“ that the threat of danger existed and they were at least partially liable for their failure to provide adequate safeguards to protect against those dangers.

And then there’s the matter of insurance protection. Most insurers require that some minimum level of construction security measures be in place before they will even consider issuing a liability policy.

In more and more cases, construction company clients, especially on government projects, are requiring the same thing.

There is no one-size fits all solution to construction security threats

The level of protection required, as well as the technological and human assets needed to provide that level of protection, can vary widely depending upon a number of considerations:

•    The location of the construction project
•    The type of construction equipment present
•    The amount of value construction materials stored on-site
•    High risk, high visibility clients
•    Public perception of the impact of a particular construction project.

The most reliable way to insure you have a construction security program designed to mitigate all of the risks you face is to hire a construction security consultant who is experienced in construction-related risk assessment.