In light of the video that we shared with you last week where several folks with a video camera walked onto a jobsite and started questioning workers about their immigration status, we began thinking about jobsite security. The video crew weren’t US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or labor representatives, although they might have been union reps. We wondered why no one challenged them until about halfway thru the YouTube video.
The question we asked ourselves is how can you prevent random people from wandering onto your site, so we talked to a couple of folks in the industry and looked on the Internet. There are several issues that jobsite security includes.
First, there is the issue of materials and equipment theft. If thieves are brazen enough to strip copper out of compressors, they are brazen enough to steal most anything that you leave loose on the site. That type of theft can occur even during the day when the subs, delivery trucks, concrete crews and your team are on the site. Monitoring and high fences are designed to address that one.
Second, there is concern for sabotage or possible terrorism, especially on critical sites like power plants, nuclear, military, classified laboratory or medical research facilities.
Third, there is the threat of a safety failure on the site where someone who is not trained, certified or licensed to do a particular task is doing it at the risk of the rest of the construction crew.
Fourth, there is the language issue where workers are on your site who cannot understand English well enough to know when someone yells that a hammer is falling from the 12th floor frame.
Fifth, the issue that we saw in the video is that people dressed in what looks like uniforms with hard hats may come onto your jobsite with no one immediately challenging their identity and purpose. The challenge is multidimensional: there is risk to the job, to your workers and potentially to outsiders. Make sure that your jobsite is safe and secure. Check out these sites for additional info that you can use on your jobsite to address each of those threats.
Guide to Six Quick Tips for Construction Site Security on Business.com
A Pre-Job Checklist to Improve Your Construction Jobsite Security on ConstructionBusinessOwner.com
How secure is your jobsite?
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