Make Sure This Season’s Storms Aren’t A Security Risk
Storm Brendan could pose a huge security threat to your construction project. Here’s how to ensure you’re prepared for severe weather!
The UK has already experienced gale-force winds and torrential downpour this year as Storm Brendan has delivered gusts exceeding 80mph. If you’re a construction site owner or manager, you’ll need to take extra care to protect your site from the effects of such hazardous conditions. Bad weather such as strong winds, rain or even snow can wreak havoc on a building project. Here are the ways in which it could create a negative impact!
Security Guard Absence
If you have a security guard who regularly patrols your site, then bad weather can prevent them from carrying out their duties. It may be that poor conditions mean that they’re delayed in getting to work either due to traffic or public transport not operating as normal. Even when guards have made it to the scene, the wind or rain may be so harsh that they feel unable or unwilling to venture outside to patrol the perimeter of your site. This can put you at risk of an intrusion so you may want to consider other methods of security such as wireless intrusion verification alarms instead.
Loose Construction Materials
Strong winds mean that any loose tools or construction materials such as scaffolding could be at risk of being swept up and hurtling across your site. This is a significant health and safety issue as well as having the potential to cause damage to another section of your site. Ensure that all loose materials are locked away safely to prevent them from being gathered up in a gale, and of course to reduce the threat of theft.
Project Delays
When a storm strikes, it’s usually not safe for construction projects to continue which will mean delaying your works until conditions are deemed to be safe once again. During this time, your construction site may be unoccupied as your team move elsewhere to complete other jobs. A stalled project is an attractive prospect for criminals who realise that you may have left tools, small construction machinery and scaffolding onsite. Make sure that your site is fully equipped with modern CCTV and scaffold alarms to deter criminals and to ensure that any genuine intrusions are caught on camera.
Less Footfall
Poor weather, particularly during the winter, means that members of the public tend to rely on using their cars more than walking around the neighbourhood. With less people wandering around on the streets outside of your construction site, criminals know that they’re less likely to be visible or disturbed if they wish to carry out an attack. But as a construction manager, you won’t really want to be reliant on the public to help prevent an attack on your site! Instead, you can help to discourage intruders or vandals by erecting clear warning signage around the perimeter of your site, and the use of audio equipment if anyone gets too close to your boundary. Additionally, the presence of surveillance cameras is a huge deterrent to anyone who is considering trespassing on your site.
Severe weather conditions can be a disaster for the progress of a construction project, but it needn’t be a security issue so long as you take the necessary steps to protect your site and invest in modern technology to safeguard your assets.
