We thought it would be a good idea to share some tips for when you have to leave your site over winter with little or no staff on hand.
Switch off electricity and water if an option.
If you have the option to turn off anything supplying water or electricity then definitely do so, this will help avoid things like machines or equipment that’s left draining the power overtime or things like taps and pipes leaking for the whole time you’re not there. Either of these causes results in massive costs, damages or potentially both.
Keep it neat
This may seem a bit over-the-top or even counterintuitive, especially if your site is an outdoors one. The very idea of it being tidy might be a very foreign concept. That being said it can be a vital part of reducing risks or fire and damage to property.
In the event of a fire, a tidy yard will have fewer things scattered around to start fire helping to prevent the spread if a fire was to occur. Even a small draft can cause trouble, it could move things around the site and in turn could trigger the alarm, meaning a pointless trip for somebody and of course call out fees.
On top of all that, it’s always a good idea to have a tidy up to keep your site at least relatively clean and to get rid of anything that not needed anymore.
Out of ‘site’ out of mind
A lot of the time, thefts from sites are taken out by opportunist thieves. The ones who are just passing by and suddenly see something they could make some money off of or even just keep for themselves and then they just go for it. Covering things up like kit and materials with a dust sheet or tarpaulin is a great place to start. Like they say ‘out of sight out of mind’, especially true in terms of burglars.
Move anything valuable out of plain sight when you can, and cover it up if you can’t.
Security
Bit of an obvious one but probably the most important one. Make sure your security is in place and working, check locks, gates, CCTV, alarms sensors etc to ensure they are all in good working order. As well as having hidden cameras, visible security measures are very good at putting off potential burglars.
One more thing
Check and then re-check your site. Taking an extra check 20 minutes before you leave to go over things once more could save you time and hassle in the long run.