Construction site security typically isn’t the first priority during the planning the process of construction, but in some cases protecting your construction site becomes more of a necessity rather than an option.
No matter how big or small your site is the risks of theft, vandalism and safety issues can occur. Fortunately, advances in technology have given the building industry a significant boost in security solutions and practices.
Read on as we discuss some of the latest innovations in security technology and how implementing these innovative practices lead to enormous returns on investment and greater security assurance.
Cloud technology integration
Cloud technology is not a new technological innovation, its versatility has made it applicable in many industries, and it has now found its place in construction security. Both big and small construction security providers and construction sites can integrate cloud technology, regardless of their size, to allow an easier and more flexible way to manage their security infrastructure.
As cloud-based services have wider applicability and larger memory capacity, it is the perfect technology to integrate CCTV data capture, store footage and even databases for access control logins. A cloud-based security system can also be more secure and easier to maintain. Additionally, it will also become easier to update features, upgrade capabilities and functionality.
The clouds remote feature allows data to be easily shared across different locations and times. This can be useful as it can help investigations by allowing various organisations to collect, manage, and share image, audio or video evidence and other relevant case information in a secure way.
Building information modelling
Building information modelling (BIM) is among one of the top technological innovations in the construction industry. BIM is a design and 3D-model process that provides construction site planners and risk evaluators with a visual display of construction project at the different build stages.
This can be an effective tool to use to pre-plan locations of CCTV or see where to install fire alarm systems or access control systems. Having this digital model can help to effectively keep the site secure, as the ability to digitally view the builds progress will aid construction site security providers in planning the most efficient strategy, that will require the least maintenance and management throughout the build.
Drone technology
The concept of drone technology seems futuristic, but over recent years it has seen uses in the military, film making, and more relative, in the security industry. Implementing CCTV solutions using drone technology can improve numerous security processes as they pose to be more resilient, durable and cost-effective.
Drone CCTV can cover more areas as it is not limited to capturing surveillance footage from one specific location. It can manually be controlled to go over a specific area on your site or follow a pre-programmed path. If in the case a trespasser alarm is triggered in an area of your construction site, the drone can be used to do the initial investigation and show live footage; this can a good way for a guard or security personnel to assess the risk of the intruder situation or identify whether it was a false alarm. Drones can be an invaluable asset that increases the safety of your staff and the public.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
The application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning go hand in hand with security measures such as access control and video surveillance. With more and more access control systems now using biometric data and facial recognition to control access, AI improves identity management by continually adjusting and identifying a person’s characteristics and features even in different lighting, weather conditions and environments.
These two technological elements can also be integrated into drone technology by having a drone set its own path and flag its own alarms, should it see any movement in a restricted area of your construction site. Drones can make safety and security inspections more efficient, and using AI alongside drone technology can allow for less human intervention – unless necessary.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) technology has now become more accessible and affordable. The potential of VR becomes more evident when used as a tool for training. It can be used to conduct risk assessments for worksite safety and when planning on fire safety exit routes on your construction site.
VR offers a safe and controlled environment that can be built to mimic the plan of your construction site and be constructed to recreate the different build stages. Much like building information modelling but in a 3D setting, it can help a risk assessor identify any potential blind spots on a site. Additionally, construction security providers can use VR to see and plan where to install different security solutions at different stages of the build.