Have you ever considered how secure your construction site is in the middle of all the building chaos going on? The workers may be there on the site during the daytime, even at night. Yet, this does not mean that there is no chance for the tools being missing, equipment damaged, and fences cut open. After working hours are the best time for thieves to explore your construction site if it is not protected properly. The poor lighting, weak access control procedures and unmonitored gates are opening the arms for a million-dollar loss. However, moving forward with advanced and cost-effective strategies is the best way to ensure you do not lose anything.
This article explores how to secure a construction site with outstanding and practical tips.
What are the Main Hazards on a Construction Site?
- Construction sites are actually a great floor for many hazards to occur. Such hazards not only put machines, tools and workers at risk, but they can harm the visitors as well. Among many pitfalls, security hazards come at the top of the list. This can vary from theft and vandalism to damaged or stolen tools, equipment, machinery and materials.
- Plus, another possible risk is unauthorised access, where strangers enter the site without permission. This is a common case when it comes to open construction sites around the world, and it can cause accidents or the theft of valuable items. On the other hand, these trespassers and intruders will end up leading to injuries or disputes, and even some serious accidents.
- Since the construction sites are often involved with some flammable materials, if the authorities leave them unsafe, there is a high chance of fire hazards happening. This is similar to the unsafe storage of equipment or chemicals. On the other hand, not lighting the site properly is like stretching out the arms for the intruders at night.
The Advanced and Cost-Effective Tips to Secure a Construction Site
Perimeter Surveillance with Smart Cameras
If you expect to keep your construction site protected all day long, it is advisable to employ smart cameras around the location. Since this technology supports detecting motion, it has the potential to send alerts immediately when it spots something irregular. This is what distinguishes it from regular cameras.
These smart cameras integrate with AI, and they help you recognise people, vehicles, or animals, precisely reducing false alarms. On the other hand, smart cameras come with the ability to record scenes constantly, and they can keep the recordings in their storage for a longer period.
Since this system provides visual access to large areas, it reduces the need for your security staff to be physically present all the time. The best thing about smart cameras is not their visual representation but the ability to trigger fear in intruders and thieves, as these tools act as a visual deterrent. This means the potential to prevent theft or vandalism, as people tend to refrain from stealing once they see a camera recording everything.
It is better if you can install cameras in important areas such as entrances, storage areas, and high-value equipment zones to cover A to Z to receive optimal coverage and protection.
Access Control Systems
In order to prevent unwanted people from entering the construction sites, many construction companies tend to employ advanced access control systems in today’s world. With this system, your site managers can ensure that only relevant people can bypass the site margins.
Access is given through elements such as PIN codes, digital key cards, face recognition technologies and fingerprint scanners, etc. The data the access control systems receive is analysed and stored for future reference, so that the site managers can check whether an unauthorised person has accessed or not.
Due to the reliability compared to traditional locks, many companies opt for these systems nowadays. If you wish to gain extra safety, you can easily combine this with alarm systems. In one way, this reduces the need for the security guards on the construction site; in another way, the company has data stored for future reference, like court cases or during audits.
Since it facilitates entry to authorised staff, you can guarantee that the workplace, machines and workers are in safe hands.
Remote Monitoring via Drones
Drones have become one of the most used tools in the world for security objectives in this digital age. The construction industry is no exception in that case. We know that we can receive good quality aerial views of a construction site via drones, and it certainly helps put barriers to intrusions or unsafe situations.
Unlike fixed and permanent cameras, drones can cover large areas and offer visuals from various angles. The best thing about this technology is that you can schedule to make the drone to fly whenever you need. No matter whether it is off-hours or while you are in a labour shortage, you always need fewer operators to make a drone fly.
With those live video feeds it sends to your security teams, it offers a great chance to generate quick responses. Also, some advanced-level drones come with the capabilities to offer night vision, and some of them have in-built thermal cameras, which support detection even in challenging scenarios.
Integrated Security Alarms
There is a good reason that integrated alarm systems have gained popularity in the construction field as the best tool for security enhancement. It is built with sensor networks, including motion detectors, door sensors, and glass-break detectors, and this signifies the full coverage for your construction site.
There can be a scenario when an intruder tries to step into your location without permission. This is when the system triggers an alarm and immediately sends alerts to relevant security personnel or authorities, indicating danger. As the said system is enriched with the sensing capabilities, which help them identify the difference between humans, animals and moving objects, it no longer sends false alerts.
One reason constructors opt for this is that it removes the need for a larger security staff. This saves your costs while offering faster responses to security problems. Another reason is that integrating alarms with cameras helps gain visual verification of incidents, which supports immediate incident reporting.
Virtual Fencing and Geofencing Alerts
Virtual fencing is the technology that is being used to create invisible boundaries around the construction site. Likewise, geofencing has the ability to send alerts to security teams if the sensors capture any movement in the restricted areas. This is specifically beneficial for the sites that are truly difficult to implement physical protection for.
As it offers universal accessibility, managers will get the notifications instantly on their mobile phones or computers. When virtual fencing is in place, it does not require more money to improve security.
The latter smoothly functions with cameras and access control, which takes away the burden of high costs. It also allows monitoring of valuable equipment or sensitive zones. Apart from that, it removes any possibility of machinery being stolen or damaged.
Securing the Construction Site with Integrated IoT Sensor Networks
No need to be the victim of planned, calculated, opportunistic construction site theft or vandalism any more, when you have the best technologies to prevent all sorts of security burdens. IoT Sensor networks embedded software tools offer an advanced solution with cost-efficiency. Stay ten steps ahead of the criminals now and protect your site with a full technological force through an industry expert.
