Silhouette of workers on a large job site.

When working on a construction site, there is often no choice but to leave heavy equipment out overnight. Whether Your job site is in a remote area or a populated one, heavy equipment theft is a problem that contractors and site managers need to take seriously.

How Often is Heavy Equipment Stolen?

It’s difficult to nail down statistics on how often construction equipment is stolen, because unlike automobiles, there is no registry for heavy equipment. However, it’s estimated that between $300 million and $1 billion worth of heavy equipment is stolen from job sites each year. Heavy equipment theft is surprisingly a low risk action by thieves, as equipment is often not secured, has a high resale value, and is difficult to track down.

What is the Impact of Heavy Equipment Theft?

Having little or no construction site security has a high cost. Less than half of the stolen heavy equipment is recovered, and what is recovered is often damaged, possibly even unsalvageable. Although the value of the equipment itself is not insignificant, there is also the impact of the loss of equipment for the project. Lost productivity, time spent filing police reports and working with insurance claims, schedule delays, missed deadlines, and increased insurance premiums create a big financial impact.

How Can You Address Construction Site Security?

Although nothing is foolproof, there is plenty that can be done to decrease the chance of theft. Having a portable construction site security system can limit, if not eliminate, the occurrences of heavy equipment theft. Mobile security can help protect heavy equipment, even in remote areas. There are security cameras that do not require a network connection, so remote areas are not an issue.

Sometimes security is as simple as adding fences, lights, and basic security features like cab locks. These things will often deter thieves who will generally move on to less secure targets.

Linking employee incentives to theft reduction is often a very effective strategy. Informing staff about the effects of theft and offering rewards for secure sites and equipment recovery provides the employees with a greater investment in making sure sites stay secure. Employees may have suggestions for particular sites that can be a help. Joining a local theft prevention organization is another good way to get ideas and information about security.

Investing in construction site security is often a far better fiscal decision than taking a chance and risking a big loss. If you feel like your job site could benefit from a higher level of security, contact Seagate Mobile Security today. We can help you streamline and organize your job site security measures, leaving less to chance and more of your job sites secure.