Measures against plant theft - a losing battle?

There has been a 16% decrease in stolen plant equipment compared with last year, but plant theft is still alive and well still. Detective inspector Will Young said that last month £1.5m of plant machinery was stolen – and that’s just a number derived from the machinery reported stolen.

So with such staggering figures who is to blame? Is it the insurance industry, the police, brokers, manufacturers or even the clients? The answer is that all the parties in the industry could do more to curb plant theft.

The major stumbling block for the construction industry is that machinery is often operated through using one key. A video at Scotland Yard’s recent construction industry conference demonstrated just how easily plant can be stolen. With keys for various plant on the sites all the same criminals can easily obtain keys on eBay and use them on any plant. Some construction companies appear reluctant to do much about this as having one key makes it easier for workers to move from plant to plant.

Security on construction sites is also poor, it was pointed out. Machinery is often left without being locked up or chained allowing criminals to wander in and steal the equipment. Owners of plant have accused police of doing little to help but detectives pointed out that stolen plant is often reported incorrectly and that at times it takes 40 days to report a theft. “Forty days is no good and we need better details,” said PC Paul Ennis from West Midlands Police. Unique codes, used to help differentiate different types of plant, are often badly stamped on, and whilst engraved numbers are useful, criminals can still easily adapt them.

The lack of border controls also makes it easier for criminals to steal plant, transport it and sell it in Europe and elsewhere. According police thousands of lorries drive out from Dover every day but go unchecked.

Insurers could do more too however. The Met Police and brokers attending a construction industry conference at New Scotland Yard have called for the insurance industry to introduce more tangible benefits to clients who have introduced adequate measures of security as an incentive.

Insurers are already considering the proposal, while at the same time admitting more can be done:

“Every insurer will have to find its own competitive position. I would imagine that the main construction insurers would want to differentiate going forward in terms of premium pricing between those who take security seriously and invest in their own security. That is a position that Allianz will be taking going forward,” said Martin Ball, underwriting operations manager at Allianz. As a major insurer of plant, Allianz Engineering takes the problem of plant theft very seriously and we wholeheartedly support the Met's unit. The work being done by the unit has greatly improved the situation in the 6 months that it has been running and the increase in recoveries is very encouraging. However, there is still some way to go to reach the levels of recoveries that we see in the motor sector and the primary work of the unit is very much after the event. We strongly encourage those involved - from insurers, manufacturers, hirers and brokers to the Gov and Police - to work collaboratively to have a positive effect on reducing the instances of plant theft in the first place and we fully welcome each and every initiative which makes plant less of an easy target to thieves.

"RSA encourages all customers to take security matters seriously and does offer favorable premiums and excess levels for plant that has various types of security including locks, immobilizers and tracking devices,” added Colin Hamling, construction director, RSA. “However, there is always more that can be done and there's a role for insurers, plant manufacturers and plant owners in reducing levels of theft. We're also watching with interest, the plant theft division that the Police have recently set up. It's very much in its infancy at the moment but hopefully given time we will see a downturn in thefts.”