Accidents, theft, and safety violations are just a few of the concerns real estate developers face when starting work on a new site. These types of incidents can delay your project, put workers at risk, and cause significant financial losses. The best way to avoid them is to keep a constant eye on what’s happening at the construction site, but keeping someone on the property 24/7 is expensive and impractical.
Video surveillance is the key to making your site secure. Installing cameras allows you to prevent theft, monitor the progress of your project, and stay compliant with regulations. Let’s take a closer look at the role construction site security cameras play in protecting your latest real estate development.
Why Construction Sites Are Vulnerable
Before we explore the specific benefits of video surveillance systems, it’s important to know why criminal activity, safety hazards, and other issues are common on construction sites. A few basic factors make them especially challenging from a security perspective.
Activity Levels
Most construction sites have significant foot traffic during work hours. Crew members, vendors, subcontractors, and delivery drivers are regularly entering and exiting the property, making it difficult to keep up with who is on site at any given time.
While they’re usually very busy during the day, many construction sites are unattended overnight and on weekends. The combination of elevated activity during the day and little to no staffing during the night makes it easier for people to slip onto the property unnoticed. As a result, equipment and materials are at higher risk of damage and theft.
Visual Obstructions and Temporary Barriers
Construction sites are also hard to monitor because of their size and layout. They’re often large spaces with multiple access points, partially finished structures, and large pieces of equipment blocking your view.
Finally, unlike completed buildings, which have finished walls and often have permanent fencing, construction sites are relatively exposed. Although some sites have temporary fencing, the barriers usually aren’t strong enough to keep out any determined would-be intruders. Video surveillance is one of the few tools standing between your site and their bad behavior.
How Surveillance Enhances Your Property Development Site
When people think about surveillance cameras, they often associate them with completed buildings, including retail stores, residential buildings, and busy offices. However, video surveillance is equally crucial to the security, management, and operation of construction sites.
Deterring Theft and Vandalism
One of the top goals of video surveillance for real estate developers is preventing property damage, theft, and vandalism. In addition to the actual structure being built, most construction sites have an assortment of expensive items, all of which are at risk of being stolen or destroyed.
For example, a typical construction site has multiple pieces of heavy equipment, such as excavators, cranes, and bulldozers. Prospective thieves can also find tools, lumber, steel, and copper wiring. Many of these items cost thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars. It’s no surprise then that construction theft results in losses between $300 million and $1 billion a year
Video surveillance for construction sites helps safeguard valuable tools, materials, and machinery by deterring criminals from attempting to steal them. Seeing cameras mounted around the site is enough to frighten away many would-be criminals because the risk of getting caught is too high.
Monitoring Access Points
Unauthorized access is another concern for many real estate developers, particularly if a site is remote or left unattended for long periods of time. A video surveillance system enables constant oversight of all access points on the property, including areas that are secluded or have poor lighting. Cameras with night vision capabilities ensure you can see who’s coming and going after hours and in shaded or unlit spaces.
If someone attempts to come onto the property without proper authorization, a high-quality video surveillance system can also alert you. At 2 Krew Security and Surveillance, we offer systems with intruder detection, so you can act fast by notifying security personnel or the police. They can remove the individual from the site before they have the opportunity to cause problems.
Maintaining Safety Compliance
The presence of large machinery, hazardous chemicals, and unstable surfaces can make construction sites dangerous places for employees and visitors alike. In 2022, almost 20% of workplace deaths in the United States occurred in the construction industry.
Safety is paramount for real estate developers, who want to see their projects completed without anyone getting injured. A video surveillance system offers a way to look more closely at the site so you can identify safety hazards and unsafe work practices that might go unnoticed otherwise. Flagging and correcting these issues not only shields workers on the site from harm but also ensures you stay in compliance with safety regulations. Violating these requirements can lead to serious penalties and, in the worst cases, can shut down your project entirely.
Providing Evidence for Investigations or Insurance Claims
Having an accident or crime occur at a new development is a nightmare scenario for most real estate developers. Those situations become much worse if you struggle to put together the details of what took place, potentially causing issues with insurance claims and liability lawsuits.
Video surveillance footage is clear, objective evidence you can share in the event of an investigation. It can help police locate suspects who steal equipment from your site or prove that you weren’t responsible for an injury someone sustained when they entered the property without permission.
Tracking Project Progress
Whether you have one, two, or a dozen real estate developments underway, keeping up with the status at each site is time-consuming, particularly if your only option is to visit in person. 2 Krew’s video surveillance systems include live monitoring and multi-site integration, so you can evaluate whether the project is still on schedule and be proactive if things appear to be moving too slowly.
Even better, your construction site security cameras don’t have to go to waste once the project is complete. You can opt to keep using them for surveillance in the finished structure. The building’s top-notch security is a great selling point if you put the property on the market.
Keep Your Development Secure with Video Surveillance
Developing a new real estate project is an exciting process, but it also comes with significant risk. Fortunately, video surveillance can help address many of the worries on your list, including security, safety, and productivity. With a few well-placed cameras, you can discourage criminals and curious passersby from entering the property, protect yourself from legal consequences, and keep everyone in the area safer.
The team at 2 Krew understands the unique challenges of securing a construction site. We help developers throughout Pittsburgh and the Tri-State area monitor their developments, so their projects can move forward with less risk. Contact us for a consultation and to learn more about how our customized video surveillance systems make life easier for real estate developers.
