The High Cost of Construction Equipment Theft – And What You Can Do About It?

Construction equipment theft can wreak havoc on even the healthiest of businesses. While some people think that it can’t happen to them, it’s a relatively common occurrence causing $300 million to $1 billion in losses every year. Not only does construction equipment theft literally rob you of valuable assets, but it also causes costly downtime, further driving you and your company into the hole.

In the eyes of thieves, construction equipment is a low-risk and high-reward target. Equipment may be lying around a construction site unlocked or accessible via universal keys. Also, the high price of this equipment makes it easy for them to make a lot of money.

In the face of this problem, what can you as an owner or manager of a construction business do?

Keep Detailed Records

You and your employees need to keep detailed records of all construction equipment. This includes labeling equipment with unique identification numbers and keeping track of model numbers, manufacturer’s, purchase dates, and other relevant information.

You should have a system in place where employees need to sign out equipment before using it and then record it when they’ve returned it. Before and after each job, you should also take inventory to ensure nothing is lost or stolen.

Keeping detailed records will reduce the probability of equipment being lost and dissuade employees from stealing or borrowing equipment for personal use.

Secure Job Sites

Ideally, you want to put up a fence around your job site and install motion sensors and security cameras to prevent theft and improve the chances of finding or catching thieves. While taking these measures can go a long way, it’s not always realistic or possible for every job.

As a bare minimum to secure all of your equipment at each site, you should park or place all equipment close together and chain everything together in a circle. Smaller pieces of equipment should go in the center.

Utilize Equipment Tracking

One of the best and most affordable options is to invest in equipment recovery, namely in the form of equipment tracking. By outfitting all of your equipment with GPS trackers, you can see the real-time location of all of your equipment. You can even set up alerts that notify you if equipment has left a job site. Then, you can notify the authorities and let them recover your stolen equipment by using the real-time location. With GPS equipment tracking, you never have to worry about losing a piece of construction equipment.

Construction equipment theft hurts business with downtown and often the loss of expensive assets critical to operation. Be sure to implement these above safeguards to help keep your business operating at full throttle.

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