The cost of plant theft to the Construction Industry

PREVENTING THE EVER INCREASING COSTLY PROBLEM OF Plant & Machinery Theft From Sites Plant Theft Costs UK Construction Industry Over £800 Million A Year! A review conducted by leading insurer Allianz Cornhill 3. today reveals that over £70 million of construction plant, including excavators, compressors and even cranes, has been stolen from construction sites in the last year. It estimates that the UK construction industry is now losing over £80 0 million a year when other costs associated with plant theft are taken into account. The Problem • TIGHT DEADLINES • EASILY REMOVABLE CHAIN & PADLOCKS The tight deadlines construction projects have may be part of the problem. Machinery and equipment needs to be available for operation immediately, without the need Of the machinery that is locked up, a large majority of them are only secured with a small chain and padlock that can be easily removed. to disable immobilisation systems or search for keys. This means equipment is easier to access and steal. • COMMON KEY SYSTEM O LEAVING KEYS IN OR SOMEWHERE NEAR THE EQUIPMENT Because of the need to access the equipment immediately without going through unlocking & security processes, this has led to sites using a common key system. This means much of the It has become common practice on building sites for operators to leave the keys in or near to the equipment or machinery. equipment is accessible to thieves who manage to obtain the keys. VERY LOW RECOVERY RATES Thieves are also attracted to plant because of the very low recovery rates - less than 10 per cent compared with motor vehicles, which enjoy a recovery rate of around 55-60 per cent.This is because items of plant have few identifying marks that can be readily and easily seen and lack of registration documents mean it is difficult for the police to identify stolen plant and return it to the owner. The Solution The best solution will come in the form of well-planned site protection systems. Whilst manned guarding may prove inflexible and expensive, and wired alarms and CCTV may prove impractical, a wireless security system will prove inexpensive, practical and flexible. WIRELESS SITE SECURITY SYSTEM BENEFITS A flexible, reliable and cost-effective total security solution Security protection for scaffolding, cranes, plant, materials and high value machinery or equipment Wireless security tags installed and easily repositioned Protects site compounds, buildings and outlying areas Can protect areas up to 1 km apart Wireless alarms and cameras integrate intelligently to target V activity Monitored 24/7, 365 days a year A System support can incorporate guard response to alarms I D Totally portable - move to any location or position you want X Quick and easy to install £ Less costly than manned guarding Re-use the equipment at 9 different sites for long term savings CCTV images can be transmitted LO to any PC or laptop with wireless capability Wireless CCTV images can be viewed on site or via remote monitoring from virtually any location Less vulnerable - no cables to cut to deactivate the equipment A fraction of the cost of manned guarding Unlike manned guarding our 1 equipment doesn't fall asleep on the job, take extended tea breaks or disappear off site altogether - it operates 24/7 and 365 days a year All systems are designed to be completely standalone, and can operate without the need for mains power or fixed line telecommunications. TAG http://www.constructionnational.co.uk/security/1953-plant- theft-costing-uk-construction-industry-over-p800-million-a-year SYSTEMS www.tag-guard.com