“Don’t wait until you’re ready to take action. Instead, take action to be ready.” Jensen Siaw
Many start the New Year with a resolution…. Sometimes they last and, well, sometimes they fizzle out sooner than we’d like to admit. The intention is good, but sometimes the methods – and outcome – are less than ideal. Instead of torturing yourself by going on the latest fad diet or depriving yourself of all things enjoyable, consider focusing your energy on being healthy and take that healthier attitude with you to work. Start off the New Year with a re-dedicated focus on an often overlooked, yet vital part of your company’s overall health: inventory and loss prevention controls.
The construction industry’s Crime Prevention Program of Southern California (CPP) encourages our members to utilize a layered approach to protecting their assets. No one item or method should be relied on when it comes to loss prevention (L.P.). Things like GPS are extremely useful; until they’re not. A criminal’s first objective after making off with your equipment is often to identify the presence of tracking devices and disable them. This is one reason why using a variety of marking and tracking techniques is vital to the health of your company’s L.P. procedures.
The effects of outdated or incomplete inventory controls have the potential to leave a lasting scar on your bottom line. Suffering a loss and not having the information you need can affect your productivity, your good standing with your insurance company and even the likelihood of recovering your equipment. It’s important to check in periodically and ascertain that you have all information updated, correctly entered into your system and readily available. Your complete inventory should include everything from heavy equipment to hand tools; equipment attachments to laptops, and everything in between. While inventory may be the official “job” of one employee, every employee should be accountable for the equipment in their care. Large or small; mark it all!
Just like all good things, you will need to expend some energy and resources to implement a detailed and useful inventory. Generally, it’s not until something goes missing and you’re completing a police report that you realize just how much information is missing from your records. Perhaps you have detailed inventory but not the information needed to help a law enforcement officer more easily identify it while out on patrol. Adding additional, relevant identification markers on your equipment will give your company the layers of protection it deserves. A good inventory is not just about the quantity of information that you have about the tools and equipment your company owns. It’s about the quality of information you have and how readily available it is in the event of an incident. CPP helps our members have a better understanding of the types of useful information to have at your fingertips to get the word out about your loss and, therefore, increase your chances of a recovery.
Taking preventative measures, both with our own personal health and the health of the equipment and supplies your company uses on a daily basis, is one that often falls by the wayside. We are simply “too busy”. Benjamin Franklin said it best: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” We need to remember that our investment in prevention rewards us with piece of mind. Starting off the New Year by taking that ounce of prevention is a great way to improve our personal, and company’s, overall well-being.
Crime prevention equals profit protection. After all, you and your company will perform better if you’re both in good health.
Please contact Melissa Somers, Executive Director of CPP, for information on how your company can become a member of CPP and a part of the community fighting construction crime. 562-860- 9006/ [email protected]
Together, we make a difference.