By Glen Sider

It might be expensive or impossible to ensure good perimeter security at a work site. In this case, the last line of defense is vehicle security.

Even where good perimeter security is in place, it must be combined with good vehicle security to deter determined thieves. Here it is important to consider the use of multiple techniques to safeguard your vehicles.

Equipment Marking

Inventory management techniques, such as having each of your units registered on a national database used by law enforcement and bearing a decal that warns thieves that this is the case, might make it less likely for your equipment to be stolen. We'll have more to say on this later.

Anchoring and Immobilizing

Given that a key might start more than one piece of equipment and some equipment can easily be hotwired, consider using anchoring and immobilizing techniques to further safeguard your equipment. Equipment that must be left on-site should be anchored with either chain or cable, which can be brightly painted as a deterrent. You can immobilize large equipment by removing wires or the battery and lowering all blades or buckets to the ground.

Consider installing theft prevention devices on higher-risk or higher-value equipment to disable fuel, hydraulic, and/or electrical systems. Portable equipment can be immobilized by removing tires if not being used regularly. This has the added advantage of protecting the tires.

On towed equipment or trailers, consider hitch protection, such as disabling or removing the hitch.

Equipment in Transit

Examples of equipment vulnerability

Trailers and towable equipment should use quality trailer hitch or kingpin locks. Maintain minimum fuel levels on equipment being transported. This has both security and safety advantages. Secure and lock equipment to the transport platform.

Neutralize the operating controls and lock the ignition of the equipment being transported; make sure the keys for the unit being transported are not in the unit's ignition. If possible, remove the tongue of the trailer.

Plan transportation routes and schedules to avoid overnight stops wherever possible. If an overnight stop is unavoidable, try to find a temporary storage facility that is secure.

Equipment Not in Use

Make sure all equipment is returned to its proper place, or an otherwise secure area, upon completion of a task or at the end of the day. Avoid leaving equipment on the side of roads or in public places overnight, particularly on weekends, if possible. Discourage subcontractors from leaving or storing unused equipment on your site.

Arrange/store equipment not in use in such a manner that a missing unit would be immediately obvious. One example is a single file or row where the end points are recognizable.

You can provide extra security for highly mobile equipment by positioning larger pieces of equipment in a circular, wagon-train pattern, with generators, compressors, and other small items inside the ring. You might also consider using lifting devices to secure smaller, more easily portable items.

The chance of recovery decreases dramatically over time, thus you should assign a supervisor or manager to regularly check up on equipment that must be left at a work site over an extended period of time period.

Avoid leaving equipment on a trailer unattended. If this is unavoidable, consider unloading the unit and securing it to the trailer's hitch.

Glen Sider is operations manager for National Equipment Register.

GEC - September/October 2002