Construction Site Security Checklist

How to use this checklist

Walk the site with it at dusk before the first overnight shift, then again at each phase change: after the slab, after dry-in, when the mechanical rough-in and the copper arrive, when the appliances and fixtures go in. Price Protection’s supervisor walks the same items with the superintendent before writing the post orders. Tick what is in place; what is not becomes the plan.

Perimeter and lighting

• Fence continuous, panels clamped, no gaps at corners or where utilities enter
• Fence set back from parked trailers and stacked material that could be used to climb it
• Vehicle gate lockable, with the officer holding a key
• Pedestrian gates closed and locked outside working hours
• Lighting on the fence line, the gate, the laydown area and the trailers, on timers or sensors
• Dark corners and blind spots noted for the patrol route
• Site signage: no trespassing, cameras in use where true, contact number

Access control

• One vehicle entry in use during working hours, staffed or watched
• Sign-in list for workers, subcontractors, deliveries and visitors, with time in and out
• Badge or hard-hat sticker system where the contractor uses one
• Deliveries outside working hours refused unless authorized in advance
• Keys, gate codes and the trailer alarm code held by named people only

Material and equipment

• Copper, wire, tools and fixtures in locked containers away from the fence
• Appliances delivered as late in the schedule as possible and locked up on arrival
• Fuel tanks locked and lit
• Equipment parked nose-in, keys removed, cabs locked, immobilized where possible
• Serial numbers recorded for equipment and tools
• Trailers locked and alarmed

Coverage

• Overnight coverage decided: fixed post, patrol or both
• Weekend and holiday coverage decided
• Post orders written from the walk: route, checkpoints, gate rules, contacts
• Superintendent’s after-hours number and the police non-emergency number on the post orders
• Dispatch and supervisor numbers posted at the gate

Fire watch

• Hot work permit system in place, with a permit authorizing individual named
• Fire watch assigned for every hot work session and the post-work period
• Fire watch scheduled for any period the building’s temporary or permanent systems are out of service
• Extinguishers on every floor and at the hot work location, inspected

Reporting

• Daily activity report to the superintendent each morning
• Incident reports with photographs the same day
• Monthly review of the post orders as the phase changes

Notes on filling it in

The items that prevent the most loss are the least glamorous: a continuous fence, a lit gate, copper in a locked container away from the fence. Coverage starts before the first high-value delivery, not after the first theft. The post orders change with the phase; a route written for a slab does not fit a building with four floors and a roof. The preparing a site article explains each step, and the hot work checklist covers the watch in detail.