May 22, 2020 Keeping Construction Sites Secure During COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a negative effect on a number of businesses across various industries including the construction industry.

The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has had a negative effect on a number of businesses across various industries including the construction industry.

Whether it is issues with supply do to other businesses not operating, or problems surrounding the workforce and their health and wellbeing, the construction industry has had its share of issues due to COVID-19.

As a result, many construction companies have chose or been forced to close temporarily, not only due to their own issues but also due to government issues around social distancing which can be difficult to maintain on a busy construction site.

How to keep construction sites safe

Due to the fact that many sites are now unoccupied and perhaps will remain so for an extended period of time, construction sites are now at risk from trespassers who may wish to commit crime such as theft or vandalism.

Whilst construction sites are unoccupied they are at the same risks as other business premises and many construction sites have valuable items that are ideal for thieves and other criminals such as valuable equipment and tools or even building and construction materials such as slate and marble.

It is due to these elements of risk that, during these times of uncertainty, construction site owners should consider the measures available to them for ensuring that their site remains safe from would be criminals.

Whilst many sites already have adequate fencing, this is often not enough to stop determined or more experienced criminals. Therefore having another form of security can be highly beneficial. However, traditional security measures such as CCTV can be difficult to implement and often miss certain areas of construction sites due to the amount of equipment, materials and scaffolding present.

Therefore it is more beneficial to consider more manual forms of security such as construction site security guards or mobile patrols.

Construction site security guards:

Implementing security guards is an effective method of security for any businesses and they provide a strong visual deterrent for any would be criminal. Here at Heart security we offer an excellent construction site security guard service where our trained professionals will use any existing security measures as well as manual patrols to closely monitor your site for any suspicious behaviour.

The additional benefit of security guards is that they are able to deal with an issue quickly and effectively and are able to take action as opposed to just monitoring an area. This can be beneficial in actually preventing any crime rather than just recording evidence for law enforcement if an incident should occur.

Construction mobile security patrols:

Mobile security patrols involve a team of security officers making regular visits to your construction site to ensure that there is no suspicious activity and ensure that the perimeter remains secure.

A specialised construction site mobile security patrol service will ensure that your site remains safe and that experienced officers will make a designated number of visits to your site and random intervals.

Some security services also work with local crime partnerships so they can tailor the service to your specific business and area of operation even though you may wish to increase the service during these times of risk and uncertainty.

Mobile security patrols are an effective alternative to round the clock security guards and are particularly useful for ensuring your site remains safe out of hours, which may be the case if you are not operating due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

New legislation

With that being said it is now important to understand new legislation and how that will impact the type of security you require.

The latest COVID-19 site operating procedures developed by BuildUK state that construction sites are allowed to operate if they follow government advice regarding social distancing. This includes:

• Planning work activities to minimise contact
• Analysing if a work activity is essential if I needs to break social distancing rules
• Keeping teams that have to work together as small as possible
• Where face to face contact is inevitable, keep it to 15 minutes or less where possible

These procedures also outline various other elements such as travel to the site, site access and eating arrangements in an attempt to minimise transmission of the disease and prevent a spike in infections. If a construction site has chosen to open and is not following all precautions necessary it will be required to close again, thus increasing the risk of criminal activity once more.

Whilst sites are allowed to be open it is not recommended and most employers will place the health and wellbeing of employees first. This may mean that the majority of construction sites will continue to remain close for the foreseeable future.

This means that it is essential to consider your security measures that will help ensure that your site remains safe, secure and protected during the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Want to find out more?

If you found this article useful and feel your business count benefit from better security measures, feel free to us at Heart Security today for more information on how you can keep your employees, workers and construction site safe and secure.

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