Job security The best tips and advice

Job security
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Jeremy White
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Keeping your job site secure starts long before you install your fence and other security measures. This construction site security checklist will help you reduce job site loss for your next project and give you an increased peace of mind.

1) Identify who will be responsible for security on your site
Determine who will be held accountable for intrusion-related job loss on your site. Discuss with them their experience in job site security in the past and what measures they've found success with. Show them that you're taking an active interest in reducing loss on this next project and help them to implement concepts from this list.

2) Create and implement your loss reduction plan
This includes stuff like an inventory management system, badges and uniforms for all employees and a mandatory sign-in form when anyone steps foot on your job site. Consider things like a gift certificate reward for the best security tip of the month. Work this out with your security manager and be sure he understands what your expectations are for the next project.

3) Gather contacts - police, fire and neighbors
Dig out the phone book or search online to find the numbers of the local police and fire departments, as well as the local neighborhood association if there is one. You're going to want good working relationships with these folks for the duration of your project so it's a good idea to make contact early and ask if there are any special security precautions you should make. Be sure to drop off your business card with any and all folks you visit with, along with the business card of the person in charge of security.

4) Changes in equipment, vehicles, tools and materials on site mean changes in security
As you're planning the job remember that your security needs may change as different types of equipment, vehicles, tools and materials enter your site. Consider finding ways to visibly increase security when you have known shipments of valuable materials coming onto your site - this will keep any potential "inside" thieves from thinking they have an easy target.

5) Line up off-site storage facilities for especially valuable materials, equipment, tools or vehicles
Certain circumstances may necessitate a secure off-site storage facility for certain items from your job site. Find one if you'll be on-site through a known three day holiday weekend, or when you have especially valuable building materials or new appliances on site. Having a place lined up saves you the hassle of finding a facility on Friday afternoon before a three day weekend.

6) Take time to enforce your mandatory drug screening
Do whatever it takes to make sure that you've got a mandatory drug screening program in place. It's widely reported that 85% of job site thefts are inside jobs. Reducing the number of heavy drug users on your site can contribute to a reduction in loss, plus your site will be safer.

7) Review your employee dismissal procedures
Vandalism is especially high with employees who are fired. It's even higher when they're fired in the middle of a loud argument in front of the whole work crew. Make sure that you've spoken with all your managers about proper dismissal procedures and reduce the chances of costly vandalism by angry former employees.

8) Analyze the site for security requirements
I've written extensively on pre-job site analysis. Here are a few quick tips from my previous article: research any controversy surrounding the particular job, ask the police about crime rates, visit the site at night to determine vulnerabilities, layout the site to maintain high-visibility zones, add high-visibility security devices like cameras and strobe lights mounted on poles.

Working through this pre-job security checklist will help you to minimize loss due to vandalism and theft on your job site, and keep you from contributing to the nearly one billion dollars of loss that happens every year.

Resources:
Theft and Vandalism on Construction Sites
7 Tips for Establishing an End-of-Day Routine that Increases Job Site Security