Construction sites can be pretty dangerous places if the proper action is not taken to mitigate the risk of accidents and criminal activity.

No matter what the size of your project or site may be, it is essential that you put the right security measures in place and educate your staff to ensure they follow safe working practices.

Hiring a professional security firm to look after your construction site security is by far the easiest way to ensure your site is kept protected at all times but there are some key things that you can do as a manager to create a safer working environment.

We have put together a quick guide to some of the most important dos and don’ts of building site security that will help to keep your project on track.

Do Hire security guards

Security guards are a must for any significant construction project. They will ensure that only authorised personnel are able to access the site, monitor your CCTV to spot suspicious behaviour, conduct regular patrols of the perimeter to ensure there hasn’t been a breach, and deal with any emergency situations that do arise.

If required, they will also contact and deal with the emergency services and make keeping your staff safe their number one priority at all times.

Don’t leave equipment unattended

Materials and equipment must be kept on construction sites over night in order to keep the project on track and avoid major delays. However, this does not mean that they should be left strewn across the site lying around for anyone to see.

Many criminals are opportunistic thieves and the site of tools or expensive equipment left unattended will be too much to resist. Even if you have a great security system in place, it isn’t worth the risk of tempting criminals to attempt to target your site simply because your staff didn’t tidy up at the end of the working day.

Make sure that you have a designated storage area for valuable items that can be locked securely overnight and that all your staff are made aware of their responsibilities.

Do Install CCTV

Construction sites are vast busy places and keeping an eye across activity on the entire site without CCTV is impossible.

Many construction sites don’t have CCTV due to the remote nature of their location or lack of access to mains electric but this really isn’t an excuse in the modern age with wireless CCTV towers available that provide 24 hour a day coverage and are fitted with the latest AI motion detection technology.

As well as for identifying intruders, CCTV footage is valuable evidence in determining what exactly happened during an incident on site, be it a staff dispute, workplace accident, or a break-in.

CCTV footage is often the crucial piece of evidence in a criminal case or an insurance claim.

Don’t Allow visitors to roam the site freely

Visitors to your site should be supervised at all times whilst on the premises, whether by you, a security guard, or another trusted member of staff.

As a visitor, they will not be aware of the safety protocols on site and are therefore more likely to be at risk of injury and accident on site.

It will also give your existing staff members peace of mind to know that no unauthorised individuals are allowed on site without supervision.

Do Install proper fencing

If intruders are unable to get onto your site in the first place they won’t be able to do any significant harm to your project or property.

A minimum of 2m high fencing should be installed around the entire perimeter of construction sites and should be checked carefully on a regular basis to ensure it has not been compromised either by bad weather or as a result of foul play.

If you do have a construction site security officer in place, make sure that the perimeter is a key part of their routine patrols.

For obvious reasons, make sure not to leave any ladders lying around close to the perimeter or on the site itself as trespassers could use these to access scaffolding, putting themselves and all those nearby in serious danger.

Don’t Forget the lighting

Night-time is by far the biggest threat to construction site security and keeping your site well lit is a big step towards reducing the risk of theft and vandalism.

Criminals are, for obvious reasons, far less likely to target well-lit areas, especially if the lighting reviews CCTV cameras or other security measures that may otherwise have gone unnoticed and failed to work as an effective deterrent. Motion detection lights installed on the perimeter are also great for illuminating those attempting to approach undetected and being illuminated in bright lights is usually enough to send a would-be criminal on their way.