Construction sites face an array of security challenges, from theft and vandalism to accidents and environmental hazards. These threats not only pose risks to personnel and assets but also disrupt project timelines and incur substantial financial losses.
The construction industry has long grappled with security issues, with heavy equipment theft alone accounting for substantial losses annually. According to the National Equipment Register Equipment Theft Report, the theft of heavy construction equipment results in losses ranging from $300 million to $1 billion. The report further reveals that about 75% of stolen construction tools and equipment are never located.
In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that 21% of the worker fatalities in 2017 occurred in construction. Of all the worker fatalities, 60% come from the Fatal Four. Taking measures to reduce the risk of the Fatal Four can save almost 600 U.S. workers’ lives every year.
Despite efforts to mitigate risks, the majority of stolen equipment is never recovered, leaving construction sites vulnerable to more incidents. Considering escalating material costs and heightened security threats, proactive security measures are crucial to help safeguard construction sites and ensure project continuity.
In response to these challenges, construction companies require robust security measures that offer comprehensive surveillance and proactive threat detection capabilities. Among the various security solutions available, remote video monitoring stands out as the most effective option, providing round-the-clock surveillance and real-time intervention to mitigate security risks effectively.
The Best Option for Construction Security
Traditional perimeter security measures, such as fencing and lighting, often prove insufficient in deterring or resolving security incidents. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them. On the contrary, they’re important to have as part of a comprehensive and multilayered security setup. Adding video surveillance with remote monitoring levels up security with its preemptive approach.
One of the benefits of remote video surveillance is that it comes with multiple layers of security built in. By placing cameras around the construction site in strategic locations and incorporating real-time monitoring, construction sites can proactively identify and respond to security breaches, helping to mitigate potential threats before they escalate.
Beyond theft deterrence, ensuring the safety of employees and visitors is paramount for construction companies. Construction sites can also be held liable if a trespasser gets injured on their site, even though they are unauthorized visitors.
Fortunately, a well-designed video surveillance monitoring system can put eyes across the construction site while recording all activities. Proactive video monitoring solutions like those from ECAM have been successful at deterring crime and vandalism before it happens.
Why Construction Security Needs Remote Video Surveillance
While insurance may cover stolen equipment, the repercussions of theft can extend far beyond mere financial losses. Equipment loss can result in project delays, escalating expenses, and damage to the company’s reputation. Delays in construction not only inconvenience project stakeholders but also tarnish the company’s image, potentially leading to dissatisfaction, loss of referrals, and future business opportunities.
Implementing remote video surveillance helps construction companies to proactively deter theft, minimize project disruptions, and uphold their reputation for reliability and professionalism. Additionally, construction projects often encounter delays and cost overruns due to inefficiencies in planning, scheduling, and execution.
Technology presents a solution to these challenges by streamlining processes and enhancing project management effectiveness. Investing in advanced technologies such as remote video surveillance enables construction companies to optimize project timelines, reduce costs, and improve overall productivity.
While the initial costs of adopting remote video surveillance seem daunting, the long-term benefits may far outweigh the investment. Video surveillance with remote monitoring helps reduce labor costs as well as cut material waste, resulting in substantial cost savings over time.
The video monitoring technology can help construction companies to position themselves for success in an increasingly competitive market while delivering superior value to clients. Besides, remote video monitoring offers many benefits. Here are the top eight.
1. Deters crime
Remote video surveillance may serve as a powerful deterrent against criminal activities on construction sites. High-definition cameras that are monitored by trained operators and video analytics, create a visible security presence that may dissuade potential intruders. The mere knowledge of being under surveillance often prevents individuals from attempting theft, vandalism, or unauthorized access.
Trained operators and video analytics can actively monitor live feeds to help detect suspicious behavior and intervene before incidents escalate. This proactive approach can reduce the risk of security breaches and enhance the overall safety and security of the construction site. By deterring criminal activities on construction sites, remote video surveillance helps construction companies maintain project continuity and protect valuable assets and resources.
Trained operators use advanced video analytics and motion detection algorithms to identify potential security threats, such as unauthorized access or suspicious behavior, in real-time.
In addition to averting external threats, remote video surveillance also aids in deterring internal theft and misconduct. Trained operators can monitor employee activities and help ensure adherence to company policies and safety protocols.
2. Helps protect expensive and critical assets
Video surveillance with remote monitoring watches over the construction site’s materials, heavy equipment, and assets. You’ll gain peace of mind knowing everything is being monitored.
If anyone gets away from the construction site before the police arrive, the high-definition cameras can capture identifying information about the suspects, their vehicles, and any other information that can help lead to capture and arrest. Law enforcement has used the information to arrest suspects after they’ve left the scene of the crime.
3. Can reduce liability risks
The visibility of cameras around your property helps reduce the chances of incidents occurring. They also allow the police and lawyers to use the video recording as evidence in liability cases and help protect the construction company from false claims.
Liability is one of the hardest cases to win because the court often cannot determine who is responsible. This isn’t a problem with a video surveillance system and continuous recording. Video surveillance helps limit liability because it shows that your company did not deliberately violate safety measures. Security consultants can review and analyze past footage to find the incident in question.
It’s possible to lower a company’s insurance premiums. Video surveillance and remote monitoring tell a construction company’s insurance provider that they took the steps to create a safe and secure environment. Someone watching your property can identify and report potential hazards. Because of this, video surveillance helps protect companies from liability claims.
4. Increases safety
Remote monitoring systems help foster a culture of accountability and compliance within the organization by detecting and addressing potential issues proactively, such as unauthorized use of equipment or workplace violations. This proactive approach helps protect against internal losses and promotes a safer and more productive work environment for all stakeholders involved in the construction project.
Construction companies are responsible for ensuring the safety of everyone who enters and leaves the property. Trained operators can watch for potential dangers and report them. They can also identify problem spots and patterns in how people move around the property. If they see someone doing something risky, they can report it to.
5. Provides video evidence
As previously mentioned, video analysts can quickly search hours upon hours of video footage to locate the clips showing what happened. The key to making the video work as evidence is the use of the right cameras. Not all cameras are good enough quality to provide the needed information.
While crimes tend to occur during off-hours, more and more incidents are taking place in broad daylight. That’s why ECAM records everything regardless of whether the incident takes place during non-monitoring hours.
6. Monitors for fires and flooding
Considering all the electrical equipment and materials on a construction site, it’s at risk of a fire. If a fire isn’t caught quickly, it could devastate the construction company’s business. It doesn’t take long for fire to spread. While our solution’s primary focus is to help deter criminal incidents, our team of monitoring operators is also trained to look out for other suspicious activities.
Fire isn’t the only problem that can affect a construction site. Extreme weather and flooding have become bigger problems in recent years. No one will be on the construction site during these dangerous conditions. Fortunately, remotely located trained monitoring operators can still watch the site from a safe location.
If they discover a potential problem, they can call the construction company and/or emergency personnel. Again, video footage comes in handy for these situations to provide evidence to insurance companies.
7. Saves money
Moreover, remote video surveillance provides construction companies with a cost-effective means of securing their sites 24/7. Unlike traditional security measures, remote monitoring systems offer continuous surveillance without the need for human presence on-site at all times. This not only helps minimize labor costs but can also ensure consistent monitoring, even during non-business hours.
As previously mentioned, video surveillance with monitoring helps reduce theft, cut risk, lower insurance premiums, ensure compliance, and increase productivity. Construction management can rest easy knowing that someone always has eyes on the construction site and the system can record everything.
Investing in video monitoring could deliver a quick ROI. ECAM clients usually see a return on their investment within months.
8. Supports operations and project management
The video surveillance company works with management to identify opportunities for improvement. With 30,000 feet views of the construction site, video surveillance with remote monitoring allows a trained monitoring operator to review the site, identify bottlenecks, observe the comings and goings, verify the safety of foot and vehicle traffic, confirm the safe transporting of materials, and more.
Management also uses monitoring to ensure employees take safety precautions and use the right tools for each task. Some companies use video monitoring for training.
If you’d like to learn about construction security challenges and solutions, check out the construction security and safety best practices guide or contact us with your questions.
