Stuff goes missing. Copper wiring and pipes. Power tools. Appliances. Lumber, steel, stone. Excavators, backhoes, pick-ups. Pretty much anything on a job site can and has been stolen. It’s a fact of life – or is it? Do construction companies need high-tech security solutions to stop thieves and vandals?
“It depends,” says Rob Baxter, a director of the Partnership for Priority Video Alarm Response [PPVAR]. “Every job site, even residential ones, should have secure fencing and lighting. Hardening your target may discourage the guys who break in on impulse. The guy with the pick-up truck, the teens out to make trouble.”
But, he adds, for the thief with a plan, companies need a plan. “Sadly, too often, thefts are inside jobs. Screen your employees carefully and run a criminal background check as a standard part of your hiring policy. It doesn’t hurt to ask your subs and trades to do the same.”
The larger the job, the more workers on site, the more companies need to control access and inventory. Traditionally that could only be done with on-site guards. An intrusion detection system with motion detection can be installed but this is prone to false alarms.
“Lock up your stuff, or store it off site,” says Baxter. “Ideally, practice just-in-time inventory.”
Sometimes, though, it just isn’t feasible to install that custom piping the minute it arrives. Job sites are large, empty spaces with valuable, portable contents. Many contractors turn to on-site security guards or hourly security patrols. It’s reassuring to have someone on site to lock gates and deal with emergencies. But a guard, or even several patrols, cannot be everywhere at once.
“There’s plenty of time for a thief to do his work before the patrol comes around again. Plus, if anything happens after hours, you’ll want your guard, site supervisor or whoever holds the key, to have some back up.”
That’s why some contractors now use video cameras with a digital video recorder.
“But who’s watching the camera?” asks Baxter. “Some video may help police catch the suspect. Maybe. But that doesn’t prevent the vandalism, loss or decline in productivity. And it doesn’t protect your guard.”
And it doesn’t save the costs and headache of not having what is needed when it’s needed to meet deadlines and budget.
As an alternative to 24/7 monitoring, Baxter suggests using video analytics technology to monitor video feeds in real time.
“A few years ago, someone stole a $25,000 Zodiac dinghy from a marina I use in Surrey. Boy, was I angry! I am an electrical engineer, so I started tinkering with video monitoring technology in my garage and after a couple hundred hours came up with a solution. Once installed, we had an arrest in the first two weeks and there hasn’t been a theft at the marina since.”
Baxter, who is also CEO and president of the local firm Radius Security, calls his solution “remote guarding.” This video surveillance strategy relies on a system of cameras, security equipment and software to continuously monitor the secured premises. These intelligent security cameras check images from the site against an inventory of 250,000 objects. If the system detects suspicious activity, it alerts security personnel at Radius’ Richmond monitoring station. Using live video and audio feeds, the operators can assess the threat and respond to incidents in progress.
“They can silently alert the police, set off sirens and strobe lights, or engage any intruders over loudspeakers,” he says.
So how does remote guarding work? Using complex algorithms with predetermined criteria, the software detects, categorizes and tracks objects in real time. It can distinguish between animals, people and vehicles in all weather and lighting conditions. The software drastically reduces false alarms by filtering out benign scene movement. It will only send an alarm when the analytics function detects an object of high importance, such as a person or a vehicle.
Once an alarm is tripped, security personnel can immediately pan, tilt and zoom in with specialized cameras on any suspicious activity. If necessary, they can notify police, direct police to the location of the intruders, and provide video footage as evidence. These capabilities also allow operators to conduct virtual security patrols remotely. Hence, the name, “remote guarding.”
Such a remote video monitoring system, Baxter adds, is less expensive than on-site or mobile guards, prevents theft and damage, and also saves taxpayers the expense of false alarms.
“In the last few months, we’ve had over 20 arrests. In fact, we have more arrests than false police dispatches,” he says.
Susanna Chu is a freelance writer in Vancouver.
