How to Prevent Construction Equipment Theft

Construction theft continues to be a costly problem for site managers and the industry as a whole. Even with the ability to monitor your assets at all times using cameras, the theft of equipment still occurs frequently. 

The issue with construction theft is greater than just the loss of assets. When a piece of equipment is stolen, companies are set back in many ways. 

Companies usually have to pay to replace or rent equipment in order to keep projects on schedule. If they don’t, they have to accept the financial losses that come along with falling behind schedule. The resulting downtime costs money and keeps you from moving on to the next project. Additionally, frequent theft increases insurance premiums and can potentially lead to loss of coverage.

Construction theft accounts for $1 billion in annual losses for companies. That number is expected to continue to rise. Prevent construction theft to keep your losses to a minimum – read on for tips on how to best protect and manage your high value assets. 

MONITOR JOB SITE ACCESS

It is extremely important to know who enters and exits your construction site. Whether you are on duty at the site or not, monitoring job site access creates a level of security that helps prevent theft.

The best way to monitor job site access is with a detailed database that tracks who accesses the job site and when. That way, you can view who used each piece of equipment with the click of a button. 

Rather than manually creating a database, Geoforce’s construction management software automates the process to protect your assets.

HAVE GOOD LIGHTING AROUND THE JOB SITE

Great lighting goes a long way when it comes to protecting your job site from theft. Dark job sites are an easy target for a thief, whose goal is to remain undetected. 

Unfortunately, most construction site thefts are committed by people with access to the site. These people know their way around the job site, even in the dark. Bright, direct lighting will help deter crime. 

SECURE YOUR HEAVY EQUIPMENT

What can you do to make sure your equipment is safe even when you are not on the job site to supervise it?

The best way to store your heavy equipment during off-hours is to find a safe and secure garage. Just like small tools and pieces of equipment are best stored in a locked shed, heavy equipment and other important assets are safest when secured in a garage. 

However, adequate garage space isn’t feasible for every type of field operations. If garage storage is not an option, invest in strong, reliable locks to secure your machinery. Shrouded steel padlocks, for example, block bolt cutters from accessing the shackle. 

In addition to padlocks, a strong security protocol for operators and other employees helps to deter theft. For example, at the end of each work day, an operator will…

• Remove batteries and steering wheels from machines then lock them up
• Lock up oil and gas tank caps
• Park heavy equipment in a well-lit place in the line of camera sight

The best security system depends on the type of equipment and construction site you run. When all operators follow the system, you decrease the chances of equipment being stolen from your site.

TRACK YOUR HIGH VALUED ASSETS

The best way to prevent losses from construction site theft is to track your assets with equipment tracking devices. Construction GPS tracking makes it fast and easy to see where every single asset is at all times. If a piece of equipment does go missing, you can locate it instantly with the click of a button in order to provide reliable location information to law enforcement.

Wondering how you can track your equipment? With Geoforce’s rugged GPS tracking devices for powered equipment, you can be confident that they will stay put no matter what. Our track and trace system provides precise and accurate locations for all of your assets, so you never have to worry about where they are at any given time. 

TOUGH & RUGGED TRACKING WITH GEOFORCE

Keep a close eye on inventory, reduce unauthorized usage, and efficiently retrieve equipment with Geoforce. Our tracking devices and software are designed with the construction industry and powered equipment in mind, so you can run a smoother, more profitable construction site. 

Learn more about how Geoforce helps boost efficiency and prevent losses with equipment tracking devices and simple to use software.