CONSTRUCTION SITE SECURITY

Theft and vandalism cost the UK construction industry an estimated £800 million a year. Another concern is the recovery rate of stolen construction plant vehicles: a meagre 10%. Additional expenses are also incurred by work delays and damage repairs.

The Construction Equipment Association (CEA) has reported a 50% increase in construction site crime rates since the national lockdown was enforced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The statistics suggest that opportunists and thieves are profiting from unstaffed sites across the country.

Aside from criminal activity, construction sites are vulnerable to environmental disruptions such as floods and storms, the former of which pose a particular threat to human health and wellbeing (flood water can contain harmful contaminants, chemicals and sewage). As a matter of course, any contaminated materials must be cleaned and disinfected or otherwise disposed of, resulting in further expenditures.

Construction sites typically experience high amounts of traffic caused by ingoing and outgoing staff and vehicles, which poses certain security challenges, and while construction site perimeters are usually equipped with a basic line of defence in the form of temporary fences built to prevent accidents, these are usually not enough to deter intruders. Security personnel may be assigned to guard the various entrances and exits from unauthorised individuals, though at an added cost.