Archive for December, 2007
Pro-Vigil’s New Virtual Guard Station Fights $1 Billion in Construction Site Theft
Construction contractors still get hammered by $1 Billion (US) in annual loss due to theft and vandalism. This loss becomes even more deadly to business as construction costs rise and the credit markets plummet.
Pro-Vigil, a construction site security company, answered this $1 Billion in theft and vandalism by creating the industry’s first affordable mobile security unit designed solely for live remote surveillance: the Virtual Guard Station. The Virtual Guard Station is less expensive and more effective than guards or video cameras.
Once installed at a job site, the Virtual Guard Station enables Pro-Vigil’s security agents to watch live feeds from cameras mounted on the unit. When Pro-Vigil’s security agents spot an intruder, they first flash strobe lights installed on the Virtual Guard Station, followed by pre-recorded warning shouts. They follow this up with a call to the police.
“The Virtual Guard Station is the first unit of its kind, designed and built solely for live construction site monitoring,” said Jeremy White, President of Pro-Vigil. “Other security companies simply bolt cameras onto trailers. The Virtual Guard Station is a revolution in the construction security industry.”
The Virtual Guard Station offers construction contractors a number of enhancements over trailers, including:
* Reduced footprint makes the Virtual Guard Station easier to work around, giving job sites more room for materials and maneuvering.
* Smaller size makes it easy to place the Virtual Guard Station for optimum job site lighting and visibility.
* No hitch or wheels makes it harder for thieves and vandals to move and disable the Virtual Guard Station.
* Tougher, sturdier construction than the standard trailer.
* “Clean-Sheet” design of the Virtual Guard Station focused exclusively on stopping construction site theft and vandalism.
If you’d like to learn more about Pro-Vigil’s Virtual Guard Station please contact Pro-Vigil at 1-866-616-1318, email info@pro-vigil.com or visit our contact page online: http://www.pro-vigil.com/contact.php
$35,000 in Theft has Church Plumbing Contractor Begging for Help
A Granger, Indiana contractor has asked police and citizens for help in reducing crime on their job site. Theft has cost them $35,000 since September, said the spokesperson for B.C. Mechanical Inc.
On the South Bend Tribune’s website the company’s Production and Safety Coordinator said “We’re pretty much just looking for the public’s help … we as a company don’t have the financial resources to have the security out there.”
Chief among the targeted items for theft at the St. Pius X site include copper pipe fittings and other items related to plumbing and heating. The market price for copper is at just under $3 a pound today.
“It obviously delays us to be able to complete assigned tasks,” he says. “It has a negative impact, too, on the bottom line. It’s just frustrating.”
Theft is always frustrating, and it affects all aspects of your job, from the morale of your crew to the profit you make. Don’t let your company get in a situation where you’re finishing a job to pay for the cost of theft on your site!
If you’re in the Indiana area and have any tips you may call county police at (574) 235-9611 or Crime Stoppers at (574) 288-STOP.
Resources:
Thieves target Granger church construction site
Copper Prices
Pro-Vigil 24-7 Live Surveillance Job Site Security
Secure Your Assets – Top 3 Tax Tips for Construction Contractors
Typically I write about job site security. Today’s post looks at your construction business security by way of tax tips for construction contractors from Grant Thornton.
Now, the article I found has 10 tips, but I’m only going to quote my top three. Please find a link to the rest of the article below.
(If you’re like me you might just want to print these out and bring them in to your accountant or CFO to see if he’s thought of these methods for saving money…)
“1) Consider establishing a separate entity to own and lease fixed assets used in your business. Often referred to as “leasing companies” or “procurement companies,” these entities help manage your assets and may significantly reduce your sales and use tax – a tax you collect and remit regardless of whether your company is profitable.
“2) Determine if your company has overpaid sales and use taxes. Most companies pay a substantial amount of money to suppliers and state tax authorities, but often overlook potential sales and use tax exemptions.
“3) Consider the benefits of restructuring your business (for example, by establishing a partnership to provide inter-company services), while at the same time potentially reducing state, local and unemployment tax liabilities.”
Read the full 10 tax tips for construction contractors.
…and be sure to secure your construction site from thieves and vandals. Let Pro-Vigil stop job site intrusion with 24/7 security personnel who monitor live digital video of your site and chase intruders off with sirens and strobes. Contact Pro-Vigil at 866.616.1318 today for a free security consultation today.
Get Early Warning – Monitor Construction Site Theft in Your Area
Thieves and vandals aren’t likely to send you an early warning note to let you know they’ll be stopping by. If you’re lucky though you CAN still get early warning… so long as your local area news has decent coverage of construction site theft.
Google offers a free “web band” scanner service called Google Alerts that monitors the news. All you have to do is tell them what terms to look for and give them your email address.
So, to get alerts about local construction site theft here are some suggestions for search terms to scan:
[your city] construction theft
[your city] construction vandalism
[your city] job site theft
[your city] job site vandalism
[your state] construction theft
[your state] construction vandalism
[your state] job site theft
[your state] job site vandalism
You might want to add another layer of monitoring by adding your county name into the mix as well. If you monitor Google alerts for at least those 8 terms you will keep abreast of all the construction theft and vandalism happening in your region.
Then, when theft or vandalism occurs in your region you’ll know you need to beef up your security. At this point, if you haven’t already, you should contact your local police to let them know about your construction site.
You could also let Pro-Vigil take over the monitoring and let us stop job site intrusion with 24/7 security personnel who monitor live digital video of your site and chase intruders off with sirens and strobes. Contact Pro-Vigil at 866.616.1318 today for a free security consultation today.
Resources:
Google Alerts News Monitoring
A Pre-Job Checklist That Improves Your Job Site Security
How to Analyze Your Job Site’s Security Needs BEFORE the Job Begins
