What comes to mind when you think of construction sites? Did you think of large machinery, tools, building materials strewn everywhere, and lots of shouting? What about where the machinery and tools go at the end of the day during construction period? The machinery used in most construction sites typically stay at the site until completion of the project. The materials and most tools also stay on site as well. How do you prevent the theft of the materials, tools, and machinery? Hire security.  

Hiring and providing a security personnel gives the contractors and owners of the building a peace of mind knowing their property and everything on it is protected. Security personnel can deter trespassers and theft during the off hours. Security personnel can also provide access control, medical emergency response, and more. The presence of a security guard may be just enough protection for the construction job site.   

Most if not all private companies in the security field provide their staff members of basic CPR and first aid training. Security personnel on a construction job site is often the first to respond to a medical emergency and have the ability to jump start lifesaving methods while professional first responders are on their way. Security companies must abide by the CPR, first aid course provider standard policies and procedures. Typically, it requires recertification every three years and new hire certify within the first months of employment. This standard varies by company and should be planned accordingly.  

A construction crew member falling and knocking themselves unconscious is a likely scenario to occur on a construction job site. Crew members may not be able to adequately provide the necessary care or simply panic because it is their co-worker or friend that is injured. A security guard can quickly respond and take control of the situation. With the proper training, the security guard should be able to remain calm while accessing the scene to determine it is safe. Once the scene is determined to be safe, the security guard can access the unconscious crew member for any obvious signs of injury and point at one person to give command to call “911.” Another command the security guard should give is for someone, a specific someone to get an “AED.” Security personnel will always point to specific persons around the scene to do a request, otherwise, if it’s just shouted, people will naturally assume someone else to perform the action requested. The security guard can then start providing care to the unconscious crew member based on their observations until professional first responders arrive. The security guard can provide to first responders their observations and what care was provided. The steps and response behavior explained in this scenario provides a brief sample of the first aid training security personnel staff members receive.  

During the off hours of construction time, the machinery, tools and equipment, and building materials are typically left at the construction job site. These items are left at the job site simply because it takes time and funds to move them in and out every day. Having a security guard on site can save the construction company a lot of money. A security guard can deter trespassers, deter vandalism, and deter theft. The presence of a security guard is the first line of defense on a job site. If the security guard is clean cut with a clean and wrinkle free uniform and well put together, a person may have second thoughts of performing illegal activities at the job site. The machinery, tools, and equipment are often targeted in theft. The tools and equipment are likely easy to resell or pawn the items for cash. Construction job sites are a hotspot for street artists to spray paint their tag or name. This causes issues for the building owners as they will have to spend more money to clean up the spray paint. It could also delay the construction depending on where it was placed on the building and what is needed to remove the spray paint. A security guard is trained to look for suspicious behavior or persons and in return can provide the proper response for that behavior or person. In addition to a security guard, a company can place temporary tall fencing around the construction job site but that will not keep every trespasser out of the site area. A human being, the security guard, can interact with the trespasser in a safe manner and remove them from the construction job site area or call the proper authorities to assist.  

During construction hours a security guard can provide access control and ensure that all persons entering the job site is supposed to be there. A hard hat, bright neo vest, boots, jeans, t-shirt is the typical attire of a construction crew member and all those items are easily accessible in stores. Ensuring that only authorized personnel access the job site can reduce theft and/or damage to the machinery, tools, equipment, and materials. Allowing anyone and everyone to enter the job site can increase liability on the contractor. What if a random person got hurt on the job site? That’s an opening for a lawsuit against the contractor and risk in loss of funds/expenses. What if someone had a vendetta against the owner of the property or building and wanted to seek revenge? They blend in with an outfit matching the construction crew members and set up a bomb. That is an opening for a potential to have multiple casualties and injuries. That can be prevented by having a security guard maintain access control to only authorized personnel.  

Anyone can be a security guard. Most young adults with the desire to enter the law enforcement field and/or military field may start in security. It is a great steppingstone into those fields as it provides a basic idea to the person. There are all kinds of security guards to hire available. There are multiple private security companies that can supply a wide variety of various types of security experience. Some companies prefer to only hire active/retired military personnel due to their experience and background. Some companies hire people with little to no experience and provide the training they need to provide adequate service. There are also companies that only hire active law enforcement that have full arrest power. This is likely because the client can skip the worry of calling “911” for an emergency response. The more experience a security guard has, the better they will be in their position.