Archive for the ‘Security Vulnerabilities’ Category
Stop Diesel Theft: 6 Ways to Prevent Diesel Fuel Thieves
Diesel fuel theft, along with diesel fuel prices, is at an all time high. Diesel theft is an international problem, with news of fuel theft coming in from Australia, the UK and New Zealand as well as across the US. With prices set to remain high it’s time for you to set up appropriate defenses.
This article first shows common practices and strategies of fuel thieves so you can easily detect your vulnerabilities. Then it outlines 6 ways to stop diesel fuel thieves before they start.
To stop fuel theft you must first get to know your enemy…
Who Do Diesel Thieves Target?
Diesel thieves target large fuel holdings, wherever those may be. From farms to gas stations to truck stops to construction sites to fleet vehicle parking lots you’ll find fuel thieves at work. Sometimes they target the gas tanks on heavy machinery and sometimes onsite fuel tanks. If there are large amounts of diesel fuel stored on your property then you’re at high risk for diesel fuel theft.
Common Targets:
- Vehicle Fleets
- Farms With Diesel Fueled Irrigators and Other Equipment
- Construction Sites
- Gas Stations
- Semi Trucks
How Do Diesel Thieves Work?
Diesel thieves require a truck with a big tank and siphoning equipment. Note that siphon pumps are readily available at big box hardware stores. There are reports of specially equipped pick-ups with professionally hidden fuel storage tanks and siphon pumps that run off of the engine. They just drop their hose into a fuel tank and let it run. When they are filled up they roll in their hose and drive away. There are also reports of thieves cutting fuel lines and drilling directly into fuel tanks too. As you can see from their tactics, they are often quite reckless with their own lives.
Fuel thieves typically assess opportunities during the day time, so be on the lookout for loiterers and strangers straggling through your property. They often strike at night.
Who Buys the Stolen Fuel?
To drive this black market economy you need buyers. It’s rumored – and this is entirely rumor – that it’s often truckers who buy stolen fuel. This will not always be the case, but it makes sense. Thieves have to keep sales in mind and will probably strike areas near highway diesel fueling stations and truck stops. If you operate in these areas you may be especially vulnerable to theft.
6 Ways to Stop Fuel Theft
Now that we’ve gotten to know the enemy and how he operates, here are some tips for stopping him before he ever gets the chance to dip his hose in your fuel tank. We highly recommend our live video surveillance to stop fuel thieves, though you can read on for more suggestions.
1) Inventory Includes Your Diesel Fuel: Measure It!
Having a complete inventory for your operation helps you know when theft occurs. If you haven’t started counting your gallons of fuel as inventory then start today. Make sure that vehicle usage records line up with fuel usage. If not, you could have an employee who’s siphoning off a little bit every day.
2) Defensive Parking
If you operate a fleet of vehicles then consider using these defensive parking methods. Park so that your fuel tanks are easily visible from the street OR your live surveillance cameras. If you have large fleets, park them so that their fuel tanks are inaccessible.
3) Locking Fuel Caps and Anti-Siphoning Deterrents
There are many after-market products that can make the fuel tanks on your vehicles less vulnerable. Conduct a few web searches and you will turn up hundreds. These won’t stop all thieves, but they send the strong signal that you’re aware that fuel thieves exist.
4) Good Security Lighting
Good security lighting doesn’t send a glare out to observers from the street. Instead, it lights your defended areas like a stage so that passers by, neighbors and the police can see in easily. Park your vehicles with their gas tanks clearly in the radius of your lighting. Alternately, be sure that your fuel pumps are well lit and easily visible from the road.
For more about security lighting read: 5 Security Lighting Tips For Your Construction Site
5) Strong Fences Around Generators and Fuel Pumps
You should absolutely have strong perimeter fencing around your operation. However, you should also consider a secondary fence internally around your fuel pumps. Fences don’t slow down determined thieves too much, but they do send a clear psychological message that the fuel will be hard to access.
For more about security fences read: How Secure is Your Construction Security Fence? 11 Questions to Ask
6) Post Appropriate Security Signage
If you have live video surveillance – or any other form of security service – post signs that lets everyone know that they are being watched. If you have any theft rewards then post signs about those too. Displaying outward signs of security is one of the most effective forms of security.
And remember, nothing stops fuel thieves like Pro-Vigil’s live video surveillance! Contact Pro-Vigil today for free security consultation: info@pro-vigil.com, 866.616.1318.
9 Ways to Stop Construction Theft During Holidays and Vacations
Copper prices remain over $3.50 a pound, and diesel fuel prices are already over $5 a gallon in California. Your construction site is like a free ATM for thieves and this article will help you lock it down, especially over holidays and work breaks. Don’t get hit by theft again!
Quick Check Resources:
Current Diesel Fuel Prices
Check Current Copper Prices
7 Ways to Stop Copper Theft on Your Jobsite
If you already have Pro-Vigil’s live video surveillance on your site then these ideas will add an extra layer of security while you’re on vacation. Be sure to send this article to your unprotected friends and colleagues!
1) Disable and Defensively Park Machines You Leave On Site
There are a number of safe and simple ways to disable vehicles you leave on your site. You can remove tires and disconnect batteries, for example. Further, parking high-target vehicles inside a ring of lesser-value vehicles makes them harder to steal.
Also see:
Job Site Security: Establish Your End-of-Day Routine
2) Don’t Leave Trailers Loaded
If you’re storing equipment or materials on trailers you leave yourself open to thieves who cut through the trailer or simply hitch the trailer up to their own vehicle. Consider removing the hitch or putting the trailer up on jacks if you have no alternative.
Also see:
Secure Jobsite Boxes: 4 Key Features to Look For
3) Limit Weekend or Vacation Site Visits
Can you stop weekend or vacation-day visits all together? Over and over the thieves we catch are insiders and sub contractors who SEEM to have every right to be on the site. Forbid vacation access to your construction site so that ANYONE on site will be treated as unauthorized.
4) Walk or Drive Your Perimeter
Are all the gates locked? Is your fence intact through the entirety of your perimeter? These last minute checks before weekends and vacation time can help you spot potential problems. Be sure to hand check all locks – make sure someone didn’t just turn a lock in place without fastening it completely.
Also See:
How Secure is Your Construction Security Fence? 11 Questions to Ask
5 Security Lighting Tips For Your Construction Site
5) Conduct Inventory So You Know Exactly What’s There
Having a complete jobsite inventory will help you in the event of a break in. This way you can provide complete serial numbers and product quantities to the proper authorities. Live video surveillance could prevent the theft in the first place.
6) Spread Word About Your Security to Employees and Subs
Let it slip to subs and your employees that you have taken special security precautions. Be sure to have a reward program in place and make sure that you mention it on a regular basis. Never underestimate the power of buzz among your subs and employees. If they know you mean business you will stop more theft.
Also see:
Reducing Employee-Driven Job Site Theft
7) Take Precaution Against Diesel Fuel Theft
Diesel fuel is well over $4.50 in most states, and over $5 in California. These high prices put your fuel-burning vehicles at risk for fuel theft. Keep fuel tanks facing the street or your surveillance cameras. Make it easy for people to keep an eye on your gas tanks.
8) Post Appropriate Security Signage
A big part of security is simply informing potential thieves about your defenses. Your signs should include emergency numbers, the amount of reward you offer and warnings about your surveillance or other security measures. Is English the main language spoken on your site? Consider bilingual signage.
9) Notify the Neighbors
Are there businesses that look in on your jobsite? Offer their employees a reward if they spot someone entering your site unlawfully. This is especially effective if you’ve mandated a non-entry policy for the weekend or during vacations.
Also see:
How to Analyze Your Job Site’s Security Needs BEFORE the Job Begins
Outside Resources:
Farmers, contractors issued warning about holiday weekend equipment theft
Chinese Demand for Copper to Keep Theft High Through 2009
There are two factors that indicate that copper theft won’t slow down this year: supply and demand.
The first is the continued demand in China. Though copper demands have slowed down some in the US there’s still an enormous demand for copper as China’s economy continues to expand.
On the supply side, companies have not yet moved to make more copper. Analysts think that suppliers will bring copper prices down to more reasonable levels by 2009.
You can track the price of copper yourself here: price of copper. If you see outrageous spikes then you’ll know you need to be especially careful.
For more on the international situation that has an impact on your jobsite, read “High demand in China still buoying copper theft problem”
And be sure to read our article 7 Ways to Stop Copper Theft.
As always, contact us for your jobsite surveillance needs: 866.616.1318.
Video: What Happens When The Job Boss is Away?
Does your job site run smoothly even when you’re not around? That’s a sign that you’ve hired the right people and put them in the right positions. Congratulations.
If you’re like the rest of us then you know that “when the cat’s away the mice will play.” Your employees may sometimes decide that they’d like to have some fun at great potential risk to themselves and your equipment.
Take this job site for example… (click play on the video below)
This is a NIGHTMARE of safety violations. If you installed Pro-Vigil on your job site you’d be stopping MORE than just theft and vandalism intrusions. Our trained monitors can watch for OSHA violations too. Choose Pro-Vigil to stop job site safety and productivity violations!
$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.
Construction Theft is Expensive and Construction Security Is Not
I still get “sticker shock” every time I see how many dollars worth of value thieves steal from construction sites.
Even the relatively low-value thefts shock me, like this story from Buffalo NY in which thieves netted $2,400 worth of tools. That’s not much in the scheme of things, but the cost of their loss would have gotten them construction security from Pro-Vigil for almost two months.
From the story:
Police said the thief entered the construction site and stole two chop saws, a generator, two circular saws, two nail guns and a wheel barrow.
In Ontario, Canada construction site thieves stole over 15 thousand dollars worth of tools, including “a generator, a sledge hammer, and laser levels.”
These are the folks who become our customers… folks who get hit by thieves and decide they don’t want to have that experience a second time. We just wish we could get on their sites BEFORE they have that first theft but hey, education is expensive.
Construction security doesn’t have to be though…
Check out:
$2,400 worth of tools stolen from construction site
Construction theft near Wasaga
Construction Costs to Increase 8% in 2008?
If the Associated General Contractor’s report is right, we’re set for a steep increase in construction costs for 2008 due to a rise in material costs and current problems in the credit markets.
Costs could rise as much as 8%… and you know that any increase in material costs will result in an increase in theft. Just look at what happened when the price of copper rose so dramatically.
To minimize material costs be sure that you implement construction site security before your job begins and not after you learn the hard way that meth heads got into your materials for tens of thousands of dollars plus down time.
To better prepare for rising costs here are a few resources that should get you thinking in the right direction:
AGC’s Construction Inflation Alert (PDF)
Cutting The Fat – Slow Down Survival Tips
Studies Reveal Reasons For Low Productivity
5th Work Site Vandalism Incident for Utah Site Does $100,000 in Damage
A Herriman, Utah paper reports that a recent vandalism incident cost them $100,000 in damages. I don’t believe this estimate covers the costs of repairs and lost work due to the vandalism.
What astounds me is that this is the 5th incident that this Utah construction company has experienced.
You should have theft and vandalism prevention methods in place at the start of every job. But if you don’t, you should be increasing your security AFTER your first job site hit. Letting things go just gets more and more costly…
A local newspaper interviewed the driver of an articulated hauler from the site. Here’s the quote that highlights the specific vandalism damage:
“They were smashing trees down there at the bottom,” Perry said, pointing at a clump of 25 knocked over juniper trees. Perry says the vandals smashed in the front of his hauler by hitting the trees. “The hood was all crinkled I had to straighten that out.” The vandals didn’t stop there. They took a front loader and went looking for more mischief. A huge boulder now rests on top of a track hoe, more of the vandal’s handiwork. Also in their path of destruction, a road grader, found flipped on its side with the help of that same front loader. “They lifted it up underneath the tires and tipped it right over,” Perry said.
Keep your construction company OUT of the news reports for construction site theft and vandalism with Pro-Vigil’s job site security services! Pro-Vigil stops 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:
Police investigate extreme vandalism in Herriman
They Rob You Once Shame on Them. They Rob You Twice Shame on You.
Is Any Press Good Press? Your Company in Construction Site Theft News…
The AIA Creates the “IPD” to Save The Construction Industry from Eating Itself
If you’re running your own construction operation then you’re well aware of inefficiencies and cost overrun in your projects. In fact, you’re probably visiting our site because you want to knock the high and unexpected costs of theft and vandalism out of your budget entirely with Pro-Vigil’s construction security services.
Obviously when it comes to cutting your costs and raising your value to your clients we think job site security is tops. We admit that there’s more to construction than construction security though, and thought we’d bring up a recent proposal from the American Institute of Architects: “Integrated Project Delivery: A Guide”
The AIA’s press release for their guide places blame for inefficiencies on construction:
An Economist article from 2000 identifies 30 percent waste in the U.S. construction industry; a National Institute Standards and Technology (NIST) study from 2004 targets lack of interoperability as costing the industry $15.8 billion annually…
I’m a bit leery of any program that centralizes project control in one camp, though it looks like the basis for “Integrated Project Delivery” is “mutual respect and trust” and, more importantly, “mutual benefit and reward.”
So will it be worth it to you to down load their 62 page guide and ramp it up for your next construction project? No, and the paper seems pretty academic too, without much hands on real-world examples of this concept in action.
Still, it’s worth while for you to have a passing understanding of it in case an architect or owner brings it up, and if you’re serious about running your company as a business then you’ll be serious about reducing that 30% of waste in your budget so that you can pass the savings on to your clients and your employees… and your own bottom line.
Resources:
Integrated Project Delivery: A Guide
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and The AIA California Council, Partner to Introduce Integrated Project Delivery: A Guide (press release)
Via The Construction Informer, one of our new daily reads and one of the few construction industry blogs out there.
