Securing Construction Equipment

A lot of people think that it is dumb to steal construction equipment because of these two reasons: one, you’ll get noticed easily, two, it is very complicated to operate and too big to handle. What they don’t seem to realize is that construction equipment thefts are pretty easy to pull off due to so many reasons. In fact, it’s so easy to pull off that it is extremely prevalent in the US, Canada, Japan and Europe. For this reason, people should be made aware of the presence of construction equipment theft.

The fact that construction equipments are not outfitted with doors and locks, it is a vulnerable target for burglars. This is why thieves can easily hi-jack construction vehicles. Plus, people have no means of knowing if the equipment is driven by a thief. It can also be easily disguised which is why they can become unrecognizable to many people.

The thing that attracts thieves to participate in construction equipment theft is that these equipments are really expensive. A forklift alone already costs a whopping $12,000 to $50,000 and generators can be sold for $150,000 each. Since construction sites have a lot of these equipments, this can mean big money for them. Thieves are akin to stealing construction vehicles because they are always parked in places with minimal security and open places.
 
The severity of the problem is something that should not be ignored as well. According to Japanese statisticians, around 450 construction equipments got stolen in the year 2008 alone. Meanwhile, the National Insurance Crime Bureau of the United States found out that almost 1 billion worth of construction equipments are stolen and sold to the black market every year.

As of this day, many construction equipment manufacturers and government agencies are looking for ways to prevent construction equipment theft. In the UK, they have a construction equipment registration system, which can make it easier for companies to recover stolen items from thieves.