Protect your investment- How to secure your steel buildings?

Metal theft is an increasingly growing concern with the rising demand and use of metals in commercial and residential infrastructure. This metal, once stolen, is sold in scrap yards at high prices. The more popular metal is, the more strongly it is targeted.

Steel is among-st the most popular metals used for the purpose, owing to its sturdiness, reliability and its relative cost-effectiveness. Consequently, steel is also one of the most popular targets of metal theft.

The theft of metal from steel buildings doesn’t just cause the loss of steel, but it can also disrupt and upset the functions of the metal used for specific purposes in the building.

To protect your steel building and your investment, it is of extreme importance that you take all the necessary measures to keep your “House of Steel” safe and secure, regardless of the purpose of your building. Here are a few ways to ensure the absolute security of your steel building from both inside and outside.

• Use a motion-detecting lighting system- Thieves despise motion detectors because of the bright lights (and sometimes sounds) that accompany them and give the miscreants away. Install such a system around the periphery of your building or in the most unused parts of your building (prime targets of theft) to ensure security and scare away any mischief-makers.
• Install a CCTV surveillance system- CCTV camera, paired with motion detectors and alarms can be a sufficient means to ensure the safety of the complete building. Install CCTV cameras everywhere in the building and hire a reliable staff for 24×7 surveillance of these cameras. These cameras may deter the thieves from executing any of their plans, and even if they do, the cameras will do their job.
• Use perimeter fencing- We know that prevention is better than cure. So why wait for the thief to enter the building when you can install a smart entry-resisting perimeter fencing that requires a key or an electronic card to gain access? A perimeter fencing surrounding your steel building is a sure-fire way of making sure that the miscreants cannot enter the property.
• Use key-less electronic locks- Keys are physical objects, hence, equally likely to be stolen, or get lost. The use of key-less electronic locks that require card access or a pin code will bring the security of your building up a notch.
• Get security smart with environmental design- Thieves and mischief makers are encouraged seeing buildings on a property that looks neglected and uncared for. Keep the surroundings of your building neat and clean with good landscaping and proper maintenance. You can also put up “No trespassing” placards on the property to deter thieves away.
• Remove free accesses- Do away with free access to the roof of your building and the surrounding premises. Such accesses include ladders, scaffolding, piping, dumpsters and any other accumulated things in the vicinity.
• Spread awareness among tenants- Educating your tenants about such thieves can add another layer of security to your security system. Spread awareness among them and caution them about being careful with the keys, about not giving away their passwords to strangers and other things like that. This will ensure that they’re also on constant alert for such mishaps.

If by chance the thieves still get away with their theft, make sure to preserve the crime scene and inform the police at the earliest possible time so that the miscreants can be caught and the concerned scrap dealers dealt with.