8 Tips For Improving Security At Your Construction Site

A construction site generally contains valuable equipment and materials which can easily attract people with malicious intent. These people can either be trespassers or even your construction team looking to take advantage of any oversight in your security system. 
 

Sometimes you may feel that nothing major is missing, but over time, you may incur significant losses you could easily avoid with a good construction site security system. Basically, the site security doesn’t need to be elaborate. However, it should be enough to deter anyone from taking something outside the construction project without authority. 
 

Read on below for ways you can improve security at your construction site. 
 

1. Put Up A Secure Perimeter 
 

Even though you may be putting up a perimeter fence for safety reasons, you should consider it, too, a security component. In most cases, people would be curious to see what’s happening at a construction site. However, some curiosity could be a stakeout on how and what one may steal from the site. Thus, you need to ensure that the perimeter you set up blocks anyone from looking at what’s inside the construction site. 
 

You can also consider boarding up windows if there’s an existing wall with open or glass windows. Overall, putting up a perimeter should be one of the first security steps to undertake on your construction project site. 
 

2. Set Up And Implement A Security Plan 
 

When starting, ensure you establish a security policy and that everyone is conversant with it. This can be a simple security check on entry into or exit from the construction site. It can also be about how and where to keep equipment when not in use. 
 

It’s important to note that each team member needs to understand its importance and follow-through for this security plan to be effective. You can go a step further and have a safety and security manager who can follow up on implementation. 
 

3. Install Security Lighting 
 

In most cases, theft happens under the guise of darkness. Therefore, putting lights around the construction site makes it easier to spot anyone trespassing. The lighting also makes it easier for the security team to monitor the site and quickly identify any unauthorized entry. 
 

4. Put Up Signs Strategically 
 

In addition to safety signs, for example, wear your personal protective equipment (PPE); you can also put security signs around the construction site. Signs like ‘do not trespass,’ ‘keep out,’ or ‘area under CCTV surveillance,’ can help keep intruders from any break-in attempts.
 

Further to the perimeter signs, you can have signs on areas you prefer to restrict access within the site. By limiting the number of people with access, you can have better control and security. 
 

5. Install Security Surveillance System 
 

Ensuring that you have closed-circuit television (CCTV) security cameras around your construction site enables you to have round-the-clock monitoring of the site. While installing the cameras, ensure to take care of areas that can be possible blind spots. By adopting this technology, you can deter anyone from taking items from the site. 
 

In addition to the cameras, you can install geofencing technology on the construction equipment. This technology ensures that the equipment can only operate within the location set. As a result, no one may take the equipment under any guise without prior authorization. 
 

To add to the surveillance cameras, you can install an alarm system too. Such a system lets you alert relevant authorities or response teams in case of a break-in. 
 

6. Hire Security Guards 
 

Even though you may install a surveillance system, it would help to reinforce it with a human touch. Thus, hiring a security team to help boost the construction site's security is a plus. The team can help with security checks at entry points and handle the security camera system. 
 

7. Smartly Schedule Deliveries 
 

One of the ways to avoid theft cases is to have proper inventory records. These records help you track what has come in, what’s at hand, and what is in use. For this reason, you should ensure that you don’t end up receiving materials that may lie around for quite a while before being used. This may create inventory over overstocking and can provide room for misappropriation or theft. 
 

Therefore, when scheduling materials for delivery, ensure that these can be used within a day or two. This way, you won’t have materials laying around that need extra attention. 
 

8. Establish An Access Control System 
 

Being a construction site, you’ll have several people moving in and out of the project site. Additionally, there’s a lot of movement within the construction site, too. This can be chaotic, especially when maintaining the construction site’s security. As such, establishing and implementing an access level control system can help to ensure whoever accesses the site has the right authority level. 
 

Some site sections may store sensitive data, equipment, or valuable materials. If everyone accesses such sections, you may end up losing something due to malice. Thus, you can prevent any potential loss by limiting movement in these areas. 
 

Conclusion 
 

With the amount of human traffic in a construction site, ensuring security can be hard. However, with the above tips, you can improve the security level of your construction site.