Owners and Users
Maintenance is a cornerstone of keeping your equipment availability and capability at 100%.
Unfortunately security is not. But then there is not much point in spending money and time on maintaining equipment, if you are not going to look after it. Day in day out bands of laughing criminals are marauding across Europe entering unprotected sites to steal your unprotected plant and equipment using your keys, before they sell it back to people like you in your industry. You couldn’t make it up if you were trying.
Equipment theft issues for owners and users
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Those in the plant and equipment industry that know about plant and equipment criminals and crime are not prepared to share the information with law enforcement
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The equipment identity record keeping by plant owners is often inadequate which means that even where an item is correctly identified it cannot be matched against the company’s records
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There is little take up of after-theft recovery systems which are covert and robust enough to resist detection, neutralisation and destruction by criminals. There are not many such products available. This is despite insurers offering incentives for fitting such devices
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Owners and users do not look after plant and equipment. Rental process should be tightened to avoid fraud and theft. Site security is, in most cases, as effective as a wet paper bag
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There is no culture of due diligence for theft amongst purchasers and sellers of equipment
The Solutions
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Many people know who is stealing equipment from whom, when, where and how. They should share this information with TER, the police or Crimestoppers
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Make sure that you keep accurate fleet and site registers on the plant and equipment that you own and operate so that when you report equipment as stolen to the police you have the correct equipment identification data. Then it can be recorded correctly on the Police National Computer (PNC)
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In order to mitigate the risk of theft, and to take advantage of any incentives offered by insurers, owners should demand greater levels of security on new plant and equipment, as well as considering the fitting of relevant and cost-effective after-market security products. This should be especially relevant for the most stolen equipment types
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Utilise TER’s ‘Loss Prevention and Security Techniques and Hirers’ crime reduction document, which is a free download from TER’s website. It is an 18 page e-booklet packed with sensible crime reduction advice
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Know your client before you hire equipment to them. A typical criminal modus operandi is to pay the first round of hire charges, which gives you confidence in the new client, the criminal then hires more equipment, makes no further payment and disappears with the equipment leaving the plant hirer with false insurance details and no party to claim from
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Report plant and equipment thefts, and the theft of serial number plates, to TER as soon as you have reported them to the police. Ensure that when you do report equipment thefts you let us know the type, make, model, serial/chassis/VIN/PIN number, the engine number, fleet number, and registration/index plate, location and date of theft, crime reference number, insurance company and policy/claims number
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Train your staff to be aware of plant and equipment crime and to be aware of targeting of your sites by criminals
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Utilise TER’s ‘Police Stop Me’ high visibility decals on registered plant and equipment
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TER Check all used equipment purchases. Don’t buy stolen equipment, you won’t own it if you do
TER’s services for owners and users
TER Check all used equipment before you buy it
TER Registration for your fleet
TER Loss Prevention and Security Techniques, practical advice to help you to reduce equipment crime
TER Theft Registration for all your equipment thefts valued at more than £1,500