The Comprehensive How To Guide To Protecting Your Tools
Any tradesman will agree that the livelihood and bloodline of their business is their tools. Everyone knows that age old expression
"A bad workman blames his tools", but at the end of the day what is a workman without his tools? According to a study conducted by Construction Equipment Association (government body) - 10% of tradesmen's tools are stolen from the site, van or home bringing the annual value to an estimated £1.3 Million plus! Power tools account for approximately 7% of those figures because of their high demand and high resell price.
For most of us that have found ourselves in this position there's only one picture that comes to mind ...
Yes the real Father Jack comes out in us all. Those hard working, tea drinking, sandwich munching tradesmen and women trying to cull their slew of prolific curses at the nearest wall, no thanks to that unfortunate mishap with thieves. That's why in this weeks blog we've compiled a list of the most effective strategies to deter thieves.
TIP: Your business insurance should include tool theft, so it is always worth investing in. If not you can always invest in individual tool insurance. Take a look at the
GoCompare's tool insurance. If you're thinking not for me, consider the cost of a monthly or annual premium against the cost of your complete set of tools.
Compile An Inventory
It may sound trivial but have a think, how many of you reading this could recount the exact amount of tools you own? Now picture yourself trying to provide a list of tools for the police after a lifetimes worth of collecting them. Could you do it? If you haven't already it is a good idea to take an inventory of tools you currently own and as your collection grows add those tools to the list. In addition to this, it is note worthy to identify and record each tools serial number.
The plus side of this is, if someone or the police manage to recover your tools or parts at least you have proof of ownership.
Personalising Tools
In some cases thieves will scratch the serial numbers. I recently read a report from simplybusiness.co.uk stating that thieves are now dressing up as construction workers in order to gain access to sites during working hours! Another good practice is to engrave your initials into the tools so there is no arguing who owns what. Or if you want to take it a step further you can paint them in lucid colours so even your 90 year old grandmother can't miss them. Granted there is nothing less manly than owning a bright purple power tool, but at least it can't be argued who owns it. Check out this
Bosh Engraver. Also have a look at these
universal paints .
Van Door Alarm
Despite national statistics showing that both private and commercial vehicle break-ins have dropped, it still seems to be tradespeople that are bearing the brunt of vehicle break ins. Try fitting a wireless alarm to your van. Take the
Bryson Wireless Alarm . It is easy to setup and emits a piercing sound whenever the connection between the alarm and trigger are broken. This simple system is separate to your van, so even if thieves are successful in disrupting the vans alarm system, there is no stopping this little monster letting the neighbourhood know.
This idea was actually given to me by a customer. The customer was in requesting different size bolts and asked could he take a sample out to his van. Slightly bewildered I agreed to allow him to take some samples out. As we proceeded outdoors he explained that someone had broken into his Renault Traffic overnight while parked at home. Judging by the damage to the vans lock it appeared that the thieves had managed to pry the lock open. By installing these heavy duty gate bolts to his van doors he eliminated the possibility of being able to pry the vans manufacturer lock open. Granted you will have to lock the bolts from the inside, this may not suit all vans as you will need access to the front so you can exit, but regardless I thought it was an idea worth mentioning.
A van tool vault is a sure fire way to protect all your important power tools from theft from both the van or the worksite. Take the
Sentri Box Van Vault . It incorporates a patented 4 point locking system, is made from 3mm steel and features anti pick tumblers. If you wanted to take a more heavy duty approach you could bolt it to the floor of your van. Its large storage capacity enables you to store your most important power tools. It's design safeguards your tools against lock picking, shearing and prying. It's keyed lock means even if your van is open on a site, you can just lock the box and work away. It's as simple as store, close and lock!
The oldest trick in the book, pre-dating back centuries from hieroglyphic curses on tombs to the modern day van. Signs have always been a great way of deterring potential thieves.
Just like a game of poker, even if you are bluffing the majority of thieves won't bother wasting their time unless they have the better hand.
CCTV
One of the more expensive security measures, but definitely one of the most effective when it comes to catching or deterring thieves. CCTV cameras are ideal for worksites, vans and homes. Even if you don't want to fork out for a complete security system you can still purchase
Dummy CCTV Cameras which can be as effective as a live system. Most dummy CCTV cameras on the market will have a flashing LED or some form of recording illusion. Professional thieves however are getting smarter and smarter.
I knew a woman who once worked in probation. She once told me a story of two brothers from a family of professional thieves. During a rehabilitation program, they were looking through the paper for jobs and stumbled upon the property section. Amazingly these two boys were able to flick through the property section and point which systems were dummies and which were real. Now that story was told to me over a decade ago. Unfortunately all thieves aren't as thick as the Wet Bandits, so if you are thinking dummy or real, it is probably worth investing in a real system.
TIP It is always a good idea to vet your employees before giving them complete access to security codes, vans, tools, company or personal assets.
Power Tool Management Systems
Let me just dispel any ambiguity you have about power tool management systems. Some of you reading this are probably thinking they're as false as Adele's weight watchers plan. Well ... you're wrong. It is as real as Trump's presidency.
In 2016 DeWalt released the worlds 1st bluetooth battery pack in conjunction with their power tool management system. The system can be loaded onto an android or IOS (Iphone) system and can be controlled at the touch of a button. You can read our full blog post about the
DeWalt Tool Connect here , but to sum it up the system allows you to enable, disable and locate your power tools at the touch of a button.