The world over, people have been finding ways of securing their valuables for many years. And, with that, there have been people who want to try to steal those valuables for just as long. Fast forward through the years and technology has helped us all to smarten our processes up and level up on how we approach vital elements such as security.
In business, it is exactly the same. In fact, it could be more of a threat when those valuables being protected costs tens of thousands of pounds, not the mention the loss of work and income if they were to be stolen.
That’s why we’re here to talk to you about anti-theft and security devices.
So that you can make sure your plant, tools, equipment and vehicles are secure. So that you can lock the compound up at the end of the day and sleep soundly knowing you’ve got the best protection in place. Or know that, come Christmas and other holidays, you will return to find your equipment right where you left it.
One question we get asked regularly is: How much security do I need to protect my equipment?
The simple answer? The more the better! Many thieves are opportunists so if they see equipment or plant with no security, they will take their chances. Anti-theft devices act, first of all, as a deterrent to theft, and then as an actual barrier to being stolen. If they aren’t deterred, they will try to grind it off, cut it with hydraulic bolt croppers, disc it off or any other way they might try.
But this is only the case if they have:
- Time
- Equipment
- Opportunity
- Inclination
If you can slow down or reduce any of these elements for a thief, you will be greatly reducing the chances of your machinery, plant, equipment, tools or vehicles being stolen.
We have seen attempts to do all these things, including one where a LegLok unit was cut into three pieces by burning it. Unfortunately for the thieves, the metal in the lock melted, ran around the pin and effectively braised in place and stopped them getting away with the machine!
Another statement we hear often is “But, we have fitted GPS trackers, immobilisers or paint that etches the surface”
All tracking systems are at best only “after theft” recovery devices and all professional thieves know how to easily disable them. You will know where it was stolen from but not where it is now.
Ten years ago, there were only 2 tracking systems and only 10% of all stolen plant was ever recovered! There are now over 400 tracking systems available across Europe and the Home Office stated that less than 10% of all stolen plant is ever recovered.
A question we always ask our customers is where would you fit a tracking unit on a Roller, a Mini or a trailer that can’t be easily recognised? It’s not always practical to have these devices fitted on plant and machinery.
Plus, more than 95% of all immobilisers have been developed for cars not for plant and are easily stolen. They cannot meet the rigours of the market such as steam cleaning, power washing and vibration.
Finally, paint that etches the surface does not stop the plant being stolen. Even if the thieves paint over it or take the paint off, it would still be traceable… If you were able to find it. You need to do this before you can begin to identify the thieves. How long does that take and at what cost?
Another thought… “Even if you fit a Lincmaster Hitchlok/Eyeblok/Multilok and chain your plant to a tree/post, all the thieves will do is pull the tree/post out of the ground.”
Pull it out with what and how? We cannot guarantee anything except that if you do nothing, they do not need to go to that length to steal your plant.
You are vulnerable to all theft and particularly to casual theft which, according to the police, makes up 96 to 98% of all theft. The best advice we can give on this topic is, no matter what security device you use, it will always act as a deterrent for most of the opportunistic thieves out there.
Which is always worthwhile doing!
“Is taking our plant and machinery back to a secure compound at night enough to deter thieves?”
Unfortunately, police records show that there is no such thing as a secure compound. Many major companies have compounds manned 24 hours/day with T.V. surveillance and items are still stolen.
At one contractor’s secure compound, thieves had climbed in, started up a JCB 3CX, driven it to the fence, put the arm over the fence and stole the Hydraulic Breaker from the end – so much for a secure compound!
If any of this is food for thought for you, then we’d be happy to chat. We’ve been in this business for over 25 years now so we know a thing or two about keeping your stuff safe!
Call us: 0333 339 5553
Email us: sales@lincmaster.co.uk
Likewise, check out our Product page to see what we have available which might just suit you!
