A professional surveillance system will keep eyes on your property around the clock. It’s an approach that can save your company significant money, despite the upfront cost.
Running a business is a lot of work on the best of days, and sometimes it can become completely overwhelming. There are times when you could find yourself handling multiple aspects of the business’s operations, and it becomes even more challenging if you’re dealing with a case of theft or vandalism on your commercial or industrial property.
Not only does theft increase your workload, but it can also lead to significant losses for the company. At the very least, you’ll be out of pocket for the expenses until you deal with the insurance process, and you could also see your premiums increase if theft and vandalism become regular occurrences for your business.
Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to protect your business, including installing surveillance cameras throughout the property. These devices allow you and your security team to monitor your business around the clock, hopefully reducing instances of theft and providing recourse when it does occur.
Here’s a look at how surveillance cameras can reduce the business losses you experience moving forward.
Surveillance systems act as a deterrent
First and foremost, the hope when installing surveillance cameras is that they’ll deter potential thieves from entering the property in the first place. This idea makes a lot of sense because these cameras create an additional risk for the trespassers, and most will just move on and select a more accessible target once they realize you have this protection.
Placing your cameras in highly visible locations ensures thieves can see them as they approach the business, giving them a reason to believe you aren’t an easy target. You can even put warning signs in various locations around the property to further deter trespassers.
Overall, there’s no downside to using surveillance cameras as theft deterrents because they can keep people off your commercial or industrial site and hopefully reduce the instances of having to monitor break-ins with the system. Theft prevention is also cost advantageous because it limits business disruptions, can stop property damage, and ensures you don’t spend months dealing with insurance companies.
Surveillance cameras identify trespassers
Of course, few deterrents are 100% effective, and there could be situations where you still end up with intruders on your commercial or industrial property. Fortunately, your surveillance cameras can help you identify who was there, making it easier to press charges or recover any stolen property.
Some cameras can even capture license plate information so you can track thieves based on their vehicle. Other cameras offer high-definition video of the trespassers, so you can provide this information to law enforcement or release it to the community while seeking leads. Either way, the more information you have on the trespassers, the easier it becomes to recover anything that goes missing and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Surveillance systems also monitor employees
In a perfect world, you wouldn’t have to monitor your employees, but employee theft is unfortunately prevalent. In fact, 95% of American businesses will experience employee theft, and about 75% of employees admit to stealing from their employers at least once. Also, about 30% of employee theft cases continue for more than five years, and the average case takes two years of your time to resolve.
The result is crimes in the workplace costing U.S. employers more than $50 billion per year, so an investment to prevent your business from being part of these statistics is typically worthwhile.
Installing cameras to monitor your employees works on multiple levels. First, workers are less likely to take anything if they believe you could be watching them. Similar to how surveillance cameras protect from external theft, they can help against internal theft too.
Next, these cameras allow you to identify who’s stealing by going back and reviewing the tape. If you do inventory in the spring, for example, and notice a bunch of tools missing from a particular storage shed in your construction yard, you can look at the video for clues on who has been accessing that location.
You can also watch for employees who aren’t working as hard as they should, as time theft is a significant problem in the workforce. Your surveillance cameras make it possible to identify workers who are regularly slacking off and make the necessary adjustments.
Surveillance security systems improve operations
A lot is going on when you’re running multiple construction sites, and watching everything is next to impossible. However, you can install surveillance cameras on all your sites, ensuring you can at least passively monitor them for potential problems.
Your surveillance cameras can reduce the number of insurance or workers’ compensation claims against your company by allowing you to identify unsafe conditions and address them before an incident occurs. You can also watch for inefficient work practices that slow projects down and cost the company money.
Get expert advice for your ideal surveillance setup
No two businesses are alike, as everything from the location of your buildings, where you store things, the property’s entrances and exits, and the size of the yard will determine where you’ll install your surveillance cameras. Temporary cameras are also an option for construction companies and other businesses that work at remote sites for a period before moving on.
Seeking the help of a surveillance expert is wise because it ensures your cameras will end up in locations where they do your business the most good and limit your financial losses.
Mobile Video Guard will establish the ideal surveillance camera configuration to meet your needs. Our expert team can install temporary cameras at remote sites or develop a permanent solution for your company’s main site, depending on your needs. We even have a self-install option to save you money. Contact Mobile Video Guard today to get a quote.
