Top 10 tips to protect your plant hire machinery from theft

Whether you’re based on a building or construction site, you will most likely have expensive and valuable equipment on site. 

Equipment such as diggers, rollers, generators, power tools, and more. 

Unfortunately, these pieces of equipment are a prime target for thieves and opportunists who see the financial value in plant and machinery.   Which is why taking the right security precautions essential – as the consequences could lead to more expense to the project as you replace the equipment, you run the risk of losing valuable time, and you risk the project being delayed and overrunning. 

These pieces of equipment are often stolen outside of working hours too, making it vital for your peace of mind that your security is up to scratch. 

Fortunately, within this post, we provide our top 10 tips to help increase security and avoid plant hire becoming stolen pieces of equipment.

Find out more here!

Top 10 tips to reduce theft on construction sites 

1. Know your current site security. For example, do you have adequate lighting, barriers for site access, security posted at access points, site fencing around the perimeter, and is this suitable for the project, and more?  Knowing what you already have in place allows you to carry out a full assessment of what additional measures need to be taken, especially as more and more equipment comes on board. 
2. Know what plant hire is being delivered and when. Knowing when machinery is coming onto site helps you to plan better, organising where the equipment needs to go and unloading it quickly and effectively. 
3. Create appropriate storage areas for when equipment is not in use. If you plan to keep plant machinery and equipment outside, we’d advise using secure fencing to secure all storage areas adequately.  Good, strong fencing can act as a great deterrent, making it much more difficult for thieves to steal. 
4. From storage areas, look tosee if larger machinery and plant equipment such as diggers and rollers, etc. can be blocked in. This method of protecting equipment is extremely effective, as machinery and equipment blocked by other items, turn opportunists off as it can be seen like too much hard work, and it makes it much harder to move pieces without getting caught.  Of course, the downside is that you also make it harder for you and your team too! 
5. Check to ensure larger pieces of machinery are tagged and tracked. The heaviest duty and expensive pieces of equipment can be fitted with GPS satellite tracking systems, so if it is stolen, you can help to locate it in no time.  Some tracking software also allows you to set boundaries, and if the plant machinery moves outside of these boundaries, you will be notified with an alert. GPS systems can not only trace, but they can immobilise plant remotely. 
6. Hire site accommodation to help with storage solutions. Site accommodation can provide numerous benefits, one of such is storage.  Providing you with high levels of security and dry storage facilities!
7. Install quality CCTV– acting as a great deterrent CCTV can also provide useful footage if the theft of equipment does occur. 
8. Invest in training– ensuring all staff are aware of the security measures, practices, and implications can help to keep equipment safe as everyone fully understands the risks and the consequences of this going missing.  The biggest training point to emphasise, however, is never to leave keys in larger plant machinery or in plain sight. 
9. Warning signs should be put up around the site. Displaying warning signs saying that the area is protected, CCTV is in operation, and that equipment is protected acts as a great deterrent. 
10. Carry out regular checks– checking serial numbers, tracking systems, any distinct features/marks, etc.  Regular checks helped to ensure that everything is in order and accounted for, and if the piece of equipment is stolen, you have a full description to provide to the authorities. 

Plant and machinery crime is a costly problem.  That’s why setting up good security routines and sticking to them is vital. 

It’s also essential to make a note of all plant machinery and equipment hire on-site, so you know what you have, and you can check at any point to ensure everything still remains. 

We can’t 100% guarantee that items won’t be stolen, but we can take preventative measures to reduce the likelihood. 

Our team at Addplant, are experienced in all aspects of plant hire in Leeds.  Working with you always to ensure the best solutions for your project. 

Call 01482 867 227