The Importance Of Construction Site Security Services In The Industry Today

There are few things in the world more anxiety-inducing than the prospect of your loved ones being hurt in some way - especially when it’s your children in question. Unfortunately, however, there has been a wave of accidents and, unfortunately, fatalities at construction sites over the past couple of decades. Just last week, for example, the body of a 16-year old girl was discovered on a building site, in Taunton, with the coroner concluding that death was caused by injuries obtained whilst on-site.

The team here at Stok K9 Security Services, who specialise, amongst other things, in construction site security services, wanted to look at why these sites need such protection, and how exactly contractors can go about it. There’s a wide range of services available, from state-of-the-art CCTV, to regular patrol units. What’s for certain, though, is that these accidents are needless and entirely avoidable in today’s age.

More Action Is Necessary

Children and young adults are always going to be curious, it’s in their nature, after all. If you tell them not to go somewhere, then what do you think is going to happen? In the eyes of a child, a construction site can present something of a playground. As we all know, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth with these locations presenting significant risk to fully-trained, fully protected contractors, let alone carefree youngsters, unaware of just how severe the risks they’re taking actually are.

This Isn’t New

The HSE (Health & Safety Executive) has long since reported the dangers of these areas to children, something which has been backed up by the statistics. All the way back in 2010 - an entire decade ago – that very same body found that between 2008 and 2009, over twenty children were injured and one tragically died on construction sites. Sadly, cut back to present day and we’re still being met with accounts such as that in Taunton.

Look only a few months further back, in July, and you’re met with the equally gut-wrenching death of a 10-year-old boy, on a site in Glasgow, who died after succumbing to injuries he sustained on a works site. The common denominator between these (far from isolated) incidents? A lack of anything near approaching substantive security measures.

What Construction Site Security Services Are Needed?

Clearly, contractors need to do more in securing their sites, and private construction site security services can prove pivotal in providing this, moving forward. To keep people off sites - whether that be curious teenagers or trespassers intent on theft - you need strong deterrents. The greater the ‘prize’ or attraction (in this case, a construction site) the stronger the deterrents required. That’s why it’s so baffling to us that many construction sites are still left unguarded, unpatrolled and with fencing pockmarked with holes and weaknesses. We’d recommend a strategy which comprises the following:

• Utilising a CHAS or CONSTRUCTIONLINE-accredited security company; this way, you’re getting support from a firm that knows the ins and outs of the construction industry.

• The installation and maintenance of high-specification CCTV cameras.

• The additional installation of ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras which is particularly important on sites where vehicle turnover is high.

• Potentially utilising manned or canine guarding. There’s simply no substitute for a physical security presence, no matter how good security cameras now are.

That being said, the threat of recrimination is often enough to deter trespassers, particularly when those trespassers are children. If they think they can get away with something, then they’ll take a gamble on going somewhere they know they shouldn’t. If a construction site has comprehensive CCTV coverage, then most children won’t think it’s worth the risk of getting in trouble. It’s not overly dramatic to say that this simple addition can be the difference between life and death, and certainly in the reduction of the number of serious injuries children sustained by children on construction sites.

Reactive Is Too Late

Ultimately, a reactive strategy security is more often than not one which is too late to prevent something damaging from happening, whether that be personal or financial. The spate of injuries and, sadly, fatalities which have befallen children and adolescents over the past couple of years just goes to show the danger stemming from the lack of an adequate security strategy. Whether this be in the form of manned guarding or a comprehensive CCTV set-up, an absence of security is not only careless, but reckless beyond belief.

Contact For Construction Site Security Services

As you can see, then, there are few sectors which need security more than construction. Our lives and those of our loved ones very often depend on it, and that’s no exaggeration. So, if you’d like to find out more about our construction site security services, then get in touch! Contact Stok K9 Security Services today on 0800 002 5761 or by emailing at info@stokk9services.com.