6 Tips To Prevent Tool Theft From Your Business Vehicle
Tool theft is on the increase, with more than 50% of builders in the UK having had their tools stolen, according to research held by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). The theft of tools can completely destroy a business, whereby jobs are not able to be started or finished as a result of incomplete or empty toolkits.
Do you live in one of the tool theft hot spots? Find out here.
To help you prevent tool theft from happening to your business, we have created a list of 6 top tips to deter the thieves.
1. Park In A Secure Location
During the day, whilst working at a job, we recommend that you park your vehicle in a secure location where CCTV is around if possible. It is also common that thieves have been targeting vans/vehicles in broad daylight so you can still be at risk while working in the day.
2. Install Locks To Your Vehicle
The break-in of vans is extremely common these days with the ‘peel and steal’ technique being one of them. It is therefore recommended that strong locks are installed around the vehicle, to prevent unwanted access to the vehicle.
3. Alarms And Immobilisers
We recommend that you install extra alarms and immobilisers to the vehicle, to deter the thieves and stop the movement of the vehicle if it is to be tampered with.
4. Add Stickers To Your Vehicle and your assets
Adding stickers to your vehicles is recommended, to emphasise the fact that no tools are left on board the vehicle overnight, to be a preventative measure to thieves.
If you leave assets in the vehicle, make sure they are properly marked with stickers or in other ways.
5. Use The Glove Compartment
For small, but valuable assets like: keys and documents, use the vehicles glove compartment to hide and conceal the valuables
6. Implement GPS Tool Trackers
Invest in small GPS tool trackers, that operate on a global network, and can be visualised on a live map, to see their whereabouts if the unfortunate event happens that they are stolen.
Although it is an easy option, we would recommend that you do not leave your tools in your vehicle overnight and you take a few minutes at the end of the day to take them out of your van and into your house or secure them safely in a garage.