COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Construction theft seems to be contractors’ biggest job-site threat when considering site security, but security concerns need to go well beyond theft alone. Protection against fire and water damage should also be a paramount security consideration to contractors working on slim profit margins in a highly competitive industry.
According to the National Equipment Register (NER) and National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), losses from construction and farm equipment theft are estimated to be between $300 million and $1 billion annually, with most estimates in the range of $400 million. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive database that provides statistics for construction theft alone (or the full gamut of theft), but contractors who have experienced it firsthand know the painful reality and potentially high cost.
Lesser known may be the extent to which fires and flooding impact job-site security. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports fires in structures under construction cause an average of $304 million annually in direct property damage, while those in structures under major renovation contribute to average annual losses totaling $104 million.
Three of every four fires in structures under construction are in residential properties, causing added concern for home-building contractors. Also, while these fires occur most commonly in the afternoon and early evening, fires occurring between midnight and 4 a.m. make up almost one-third of direct property damage.
According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), floods are the number one natural disaster in the U.S. Security, therefore, needs to provide for all water events, including hurricanes, nuisance flooding, flash floods, and 100-year floods.
What do building contractors need to consider then, when looking at security systems to protect against all three serious job-site security threats?
Contractors should look to security systems like the Tattletale® portable, cellular- powered alarm system with everything built in, so thieves have no wires to cut to allow them to break into and disarm the system.
Just as important, contractors should look for alarm systems that do not have a delay. The typical 40-second alarm-system delay makes it easier for thieves to either disarm the system itself, or get a head start on taking off with expensive tools or equipment.
Another key protection feature is finding a system that is tamper-proof when armed, so if it is unplugged, picked up, moved or removed from the job site (as in the case of wind, flood, fire, or theft), it transmits an instant signal. To further protect against fire, the alarm system should also transmit an instant signal when ambient job-site temperature rises by 10 degrees in one minute.
All of these attributes make a security alarm system unbeatable, guaranteed to do the job it was designed to do, at the least risk to the construction site. Tattletale has been undefeated in protecting sites for the last 21 years. Discover the many ways Tattletale protects construction sites for affordable, construction-security peace of mind.
